CHAPTER 1 — THE HOSPITAL DOOR
Rain hammered the city as Esteban reached the hospital.
“Room 214,” the girl’s words echoed in his mind.
He ran through emergency corridors until he reached a door marked with fading blue paint.
His hands shook as he pushed it open.
And stopped breathing.
Yohandra lay in the bed, pale and weak. Bruises marked her arms. A machine beeped beside her. Oxygen tubes barely kept her alive.
Her eyes slowly opened.
And met his.
“Esteban…” she whispered.
He rushed to her side. “What happened to you?”
Tears slid down her face.
“He found us.”
“Who?”
Her lips trembled.
“Your father.”
A cold silence fell over the room.
“My father is dead.”
Yohandra shook her head weakly.
“No. He made sure everyone believed that.”
Before Esteban could respond, footsteps echoed in the hallway.
Slow.
Controlled.
Approaching.
The door creaked open.
A man in a black coat stepped inside.
Calm. Polished. Dangerous.
“I see you finally returned,” the man said.
Esteban stepped forward. “Who are you?”
The man smiled slightly.
“Someone who has been managing your family’s legacy… for a very long time.”
He placed a file on the table.
Inside were documents.
Medical records.
A birth certificate.
A DNA test.
Esteban’s eyes locked onto one line:
PATERNITY MATCH: 99.99%
His breath stopped.
“She is your daughter,” the man said calmly.
Yohandra reached for Esteban’s hand.
“Don’t let him take her…”
The monitor beside her began beeping faster.
Then the man added quietly:
“Your father wants the child.”
A terrifying realization formed.
May you like
This wasn’t a reunion.
It was a hunt.
