Chapter 1: The Call That Changed Everything
Rosa's legs finally moved.
She ignored Valeria's icy stare.
Clutching Baby Santi tightly against her chest, she ran through the mansion toward the front entrance. Every heartbeat pounded louder than the sound of her footsteps.
"Stop."
Valeria's voice echoed behind her.
"You walk out that door, and your children will never see another dollar from you."
Rosa froze for only a fraction of a second.
Then she remembered Mateo squinting through broken glasses.
She remembered Lupita crying herself to sleep every night.
If Santi died because she stayed silent, she would never forgive herself.
She burst through the front door.
The security guards looked up in shock.
"Call an ambulance!" Rosa screamed.
"The baby isn't breathing!"
One guard reached for his radio while another dialed emergency services.
Valeria appeared calmly behind Rosa.
"She's lying," she said without emotion.
"The maid panicked because the baby is sleeping."
But the guards hesitated.
Santi's tiny body hung limp in Rosa's trembling arms.
His lips had begun turning pale.
Minutes later, sirens shattered the silence.
Paramedics rushed inside.
One of them checked Santi's pulse.
His expression changed instantly.
"We're losing him."
They raced toward the ambulance.
As the doors slammed shut, Rosa climbed inside without asking permission.
Behind her, Valeria simply watched.
She never cried.
She never ran after the child.
May you like
She only smiled faintly...
as if she believed she still controlled the ending.
