Chapter 4 - THE FIANCÉE'S SECRET
Celeste did not answer her phone.
By the time Alejandro returned to the mansion, her bedroom was empty. Her suitcase had disappeared, along with the small jewelry case she kept in the dressing room.
Only one thing remained.
A photograph lay on the bed.
It showed Celeste as a teenager standing beside Isabel outside the blue cottage.
Both girls wore matching bracelets.
On the back, someone had written:
The promise must stay between us.
Alejandro carried the photograph downstairs.
Beatrice stared at it for a long time.
"Celeste's mother was your father's private secretary," she said. "Her name was Margaret Armand. She worked for him for nearly thirty years."
"Why would Celeste have Isabel's bracelet?"
"Because Margaret gave it to her."
Rosa shook her head.
"No. Isabel gave it to her."
Everyone turned.
Rosa explained that Celeste had been a lonely teenager. Her father had died, and her mother spent most of her time working for the Moreira family. Isabel had treated her like a younger sister.
When Isabel became pregnant, she trusted Celeste with the truth.
"She asked Celeste to deliver a letter to you," Rosa said. "A letter explaining everything. But the letter never reached you."
Alejandro's voice hardened.
"Who stopped it?"
"Your father."
Beatrice closed her eyes.
"I knew he had separated them. I did not know he had threatened Isabel."
Alejandro looked at the photograph.
"Why did Celeste keep the bracelet?"
Rosa hesitated.
"Because she promised Isabel she would protect the child if anything happened."
Mateo had been listening quietly.
"Did she protect my mom?"
Rosa knelt beside him.
"I don't know, sweetheart."
The boy's mouth trembled.
Alejandro crouched.
"We'll find out."
He called his security chief and asked him to locate Celeste. Then he ordered a full review of his father's old archive records.
That evening, a message arrived from an unknown number.
Do not look in the archive. Your sister is not the only person who disappeared.
Alejandro read it twice.
Then a second message appeared.
Ask your grandmother what happened to Rafael.
Beatrice's hands began shaking.
"Rafael?" Alejandro asked.
She stood abruptly.
"That name should never have been spoken in this house."
"Why?"
"Because your father told us Rafael died before Isabel's accident."
"Did you believe him?"
May you like
Beatrice looked at Mateo.
"No," she whispered. "I never believed him."
