Chapter 3: The Prison Behind the Door
Chapter 3: The Prison Behind the Door
When Santiago reached the end of the hallway, he stopped.
The bedroom door was locked.
From the outside.
His hands trembled.
"No..."
Mariana silently handed him the key she had secretly copied.
The lock clicked open.
Inside, Doña Consuelo sat beside the window.
She looked smaller than he remembered.
Weaker.
Older.
For a moment she didn't recognize him.
Then tears filled her eyes.
"Santiago?"
He rushed forward and fell to his knees beside her chair.
"Mom."
The elderly woman touched his face as if she feared he might disappear.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Then she began to cry.
Not loudly.
Not dramatically.
Just the quiet tears of someone who had waited far too long.
Mariana opened drawers and cabinets.
What she found shocked Santiago.
Expired medication.
Hidden letters.
Unopened birthday cards.
Photographs from relatives she had never received.
Years of memories stolen from her.
Then Mariana lifted a cushion from the chair.
Dozens of folded napkins appeared.
Each containing tiny pieces of dry bread.
Doña Consuelo looked away in embarrassment.
"I saved them for the days when there was nothing else."
Santiago felt his heart break.
At that moment Camila appeared in the doorway.
For the first time, she looked afraid.
"Santiago, I can explain."
"No," he said coldly.
"You've been explaining for years."
Security was called.
The family attorney arrived.
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And by sunset, Camila was no longer mistress of the Aranda estate.
But the truth was about to become public.
