Chapter 3 : The Viper's Cage
The breach at the foundation was repelled, but barely. Vargas and his security team managed to lock down the executive wing just as three masked men tried to force their way in. By the time the police arrived, the intruders had vanished into the rainy Seville night, leaving behind nothing but cut fiber-optic cables and a terrifying realization: the Alcázar family was under siege.
For the next two weeks, the mansion was turned into a fortress. Armed guards patrolled the perimeter. Mateo was confused and frustrated by his sudden confinement, missing his friends and his school.
"Aunt Luz, why can't we go to the park?" Mateo asked one evening, sitting on the plush carpet of the nursery—the same room where Lucía had once discovered the truth.
Lucía knelt beside him, smoothing his dark hair. "Because there's a storm coming, sweetie. And your dad and I want to keep you safe inside until it passes."
"Is the storm very bad?"
"It's loud," she lied softly. "But the walls of this house are very strong."
Later that night, Rafael and Lucía sat in the study, surrounded by scattered files from the Foundation's most recent investigations.
"We are fighting a ghost," Rafael said, running a hand over his exhausted face. "The police have nothing on the intruders. The cameras caught nothing. Whoever is running this syndicate has resources that rival my own."
Lucía looked at a photograph of Dr. Salcedo. "Salcedo is dead. He died of a stroke in prison three years ago." She moved her finger to the next photograph. A mugshot of a woman with cold eyes and a bitter scowl. "Which leaves only one person who knows the names of the syndicate members."
Rafael looked at the photo. "Beatriz."
The next morning, the heavy iron gates of the Alhaurín de la Torre penitentiary slammed shut behind Rafael and Lucía. The visiting room was stark, smelling of bleach and stale sweat.
When Beatriz was led into the room, she looked nothing like the glamorous socialite who had once terrorized the mansion. Her hair was graying and cut short. The prison uniform hung loosely on her thin frame. But when her eyes locked onto Rafael, the same old malice sparked within them.
She sat behind the thick plexiglass and picked up the telephone receiver. Rafael picked up his side. Lucía stood right behind him, watching Beatriz’s every micro-expression.
"Rafael," Beatriz sneered. "To what do I owe this pleasure? Finally realized how empty your bed is?"
"Cut the garbage, Beatriz," Rafael growled. "Someone breached my foundation. Someone sent a doll with a red star painted on it. Tell me who Salcedo was working for."
Beatriz paused. A slow, chilling smile spread across her cracked lips. "Ah. So El Cuervo finally came to collect."
"Who is El Cuervo?" Lucía asked, stepping closer to the glass.
Beatriz’s eyes flicked to Lucía with sheer disgust. "The righteous nanny. Still playing mother to a child that isn't yours?"
"Answer the question, Beatriz!" Rafael slammed his free hand against the glass. The prison guard in the corner took a step forward, but Rafael waved him off.
"Salcedo wasn't just an opportunistic doctor," Beatriz whispered, her voice carrying a manic edge over the phone line. "He belonged to a network. El Cuervo—The Raven. He arranges adoptions for billionaires, politicians, royalty. When I asked Salcedo to get me a baby, he was hesitant. He said the child with the star mark was already 'sold' to an international buyer. A very, very angry buyer who doesn't like being denied."
"Why didn't they come for him sooner?" Rafael demanded.
"Because you made it too public!" she spat back. "The media, the police, the exhumation of Elena's body... it was too hot. They waited. They let you feel safe. They let the boy grow up. And now, they want their merchandise back."
Rafael felt his blood turn to ice. "Give me a name. Where do I find El Cuervo?"
Beatriz leaned closer to the glass. "I don't have a name. No one does. But I know this, Rafael: you can build all the walls you want. You can hire an army. But El Cuervo's people are already inside your house. They always are."
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She hung up the phone and signaled the guard to take her back.
Lucía and Rafael exchanged a look of pure terror. Already inside the house.
