The millionaire baby only smiled at the poor cleaning lady — the father hid and discovered why
Ricardo Salazar Montes was 35 years old when he finally realized that
Something was terribly wrong in his own home, in the three-story mansion.
in Lomas de Chapultepec, which he had bought just two years ago when he
He married for the second time, in a house so big you could scream at one end and
not being heard in the other, full of rooms they never used and hallways
of Italian marble. that echoed with every step. He had worked 18 hours a day
day for 15 years to build his technology empire from scratch,
selling his first startup at 28 for a sum that allowed him to retire
comfortably, but choosing instead to found two more companies that were now worth
Together they made over 3 billion pesos. And all that success had cost him his
first marriage to Laura, the woman who had loved him when he had nothing but dreams and student debt,
who had died in a traffic accident 3 years ago, leaving him
devastated. And only then did he meet Valentina at a charity gala a while ago
Two and a half years, a woman 20 years younger than him, but who claimed to understand
the demands of her job, that she said she wanted to build a family with him, that
She had smiled that perfect smile when he proposed to her afterwards
of only 6 months of courtship, because at 33 years old Ricardo no longer had time
to lose in a long courtship. Diego, her 8-month-old son, had been born
Exactly nine months after the wedding. A blessing that Ricardo had received.
with tears of joy because after losing Laura, without having had children with her, he always wondered if
He would have the opportunity to be a father. And now he was. Father of a beautiful baby.
with dark eyes and chubby cheeks, who should be the center of his world, but
which he saw perhaps two hours a day between meetings, business trips, and dinners
with investors he couldn’t cancel because maintaining an empire required constant attention.
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Valentina had offered to handle everything related to Diego.
insisted on hiring the best nanny money could buy, a woman
French woman named Gabriela, who had impeccable references from families
European aristocrats and who earned more per month than many families
Mexican women earned money in a year. And Ricardo had been grateful because he
It allowed her to focus on work while knowing her son was in the best possible hands. That’s what she had believed.
until that Tuesday in March when he unexpectedly arrived home at 3 p.m.
because an important meeting had been cancelled at the last minute, entering through
the front door with his Italian leather briefcase and his expensive shoes
making sounds against the marble and the first thing he heard was silence.
Absolute silence in a house that should be filled with the sounds of an 8-month-old baby. The gurgles and
giggles that babies make, the occasional cries when they need something, the
Sounds of toys being shaken or dropped. But there was nothing there, just
the low hum of the air conditioner and the ticking of the old clock in the
the lobby, which had cost more than was reasonable, but which Valentina had insisted on, matched perfectly
with the decorations. Ricardo frowned and went upstairs towards the
second floor where Diego’s Nursery was, a huge room painted in
Soft shades of blue and cream, with a crib that had been handmade by a
Famous German carpenter, shelves full of imported educational toys
that Diego was too young to appreciate, a changing room that looked like a space station with all its
compartments and organized drawers. The door was ajar and Ricardo peeked in without
making noise, seeing Diego in his crib awake, but completely still,
Her little hands gripped the wooden bars as she stared at the ceiling with an expression that seemed too serious
for such a small baby. Gabriela, the 40-year-old French nanny with her
impeccable white uniform and her blonde hair pulled back in a perfect bun,
She was sitting in the rocking chair on the other side of the room, looking at her cell phone, her fingers moving
quickly scrolling across the screen, while occasionally glancing up.
He glanced at Diego for a second before returning to his phone. Diego. Ricardo
He knocked softly from the door. The baby turned his head toward the sound.
His father’s voice, his large, dark eyes focusing on Ricardo, but not
He smiled. He didn’t hold out his arms asking to be picked up. He didn’t do any of the
gestures of recognition that Ricardo would expect from a baby seeing his father.
He just looked at her with that same serious, almost distrustful expression.
Gabriela stood up quickly, putting her phone in her uniform pocket with practiced movement.
“Mr. Salazar, we weren’t expecting you so early,” he said with that French accent.
which Valentina found so elegant. “The meeting was canceled,” Ricardo replied.
walking towards Diego’s crib. “How has he been?” “Very well, Gabriela,” she said
with a professional and detached tone. He took his morning nap, had his
He had his bottle at midday and has been quiet all afternoon. Ricardo leaned over
The crib and stretched out her arms toward Diego. Come to Daddy, my love. Diego
She stared for a long moment. Then she turned her little face away.
completely ignoring his father. Ricardo felt a sharp pain in
“The chest. It’s always like this,” he asked Gabriela. “So disinterested.”