Chapter Two – The Girl Who Was Forgotten
Rain began falling outside the mansion.
Inside, Elena sat quietly in the old library while Alejandro searched through dusty shelves that had not been opened in years.
The room smelled of leather and cedarwood.
Thousands of books lined the walls.
A grandfather clock ticked steadily.
At last, Alejandro returned carrying a large wooden box covered in dust.
He placed it gently on the table.
"I haven't opened this since Arturo's funeral."
Elena looked uncertain.
"Should I be here?"
"If what I believe is true..."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"This belongs to you."
Inside the box lay dozens of letters.
Photo albums.
Jewelry.
Birth certificates.
And one small velvet pouch.
Alejandro carefully removed the oldest photograph.
It showed Arturo standing proudly beside a teenage girl.
She looked no older than eighteen.
Bright smile.
Long black hair.
The same face Elena had seen in the hallway portrait.
The same face she remembered from childhood dreams.
"My mother..."
Alejandro nodded.
"Isabel De la Vega."
Elena whispered the unfamiliar surname.
"De la Vega..."
"It was hers."
She frowned.
"Why have I never heard it before?"
Alejandro hesitated.
Because answering that question meant reopening a secret buried for more than two decades.
Outside the library...
Verónica stood silently in the darkness.
Her lawyer approached.
"The documents?"
She didn't hesitate.
"Burn them."
"What if Alejandro already knows?"
Her eyes narrowed.
"Then Elena cannot be allowed to stay alive long enough to prove anything."
The lawyer stared at her in disbelief.
"You mean—"
"I mean exactly what I said."
Lightning illuminated the hallway.
For the first time in twenty-two years...
The woman who had stolen an empire realized the past had finally come back for her.
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And this time...
It wore a servant's uniform.
