The silent plea.
“Lucas,” he repeated, softer this time. “You’re safe.”
A single tear rolled down the boy’s cheek.
And then he nodded.
The world seemed to stop.
Alejandro’s chest tightened.
He turned to Mateo.
“Did she hurt you?”
Mateo didn’t speak.
He simply rolled up his sleeve.
Faint bruises marked his skin.
Not fresh.
Not accidental.
Patterns of something repeated.
Something hidden.
Alejandro felt something inside him fracture.
He stood up slowly.
His face had changed.
“Camila,” he said quietly.
She forced a smile.
“This is ridiculous, Alejandro. Children make things up. You can’t possibly believe—”
“Leave.”
The word dropped like a stone.
Her smile faltered.
“What?”
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“Leave. Now.”
The room fell into a stunned silence.
“You’re choosing them over me?” she whispered, her voice trembling with disbelief.
“I’m choosing the truth,” he replied.
Her eyes hardened.
“You’ll regret this.”
But he didn’t respond.
He didn’t even look at her.
Security was called.
And within minutes, Camila was gone.
The doors closed behind her with a finality that echoed through the mansion.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Alejandro turned to Rosario.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
Her eyes filled with something deeper than sadness.
“Because no one ever listens,” she said quietly.
The words hit him harder than anything else that day.
He looked at his sons.
At their fragile bodies.
At the fear that had lived in them unnoticed.
And then, slowly, his gaze returned to Rosario.
“Not anymore,” he said.
And for the first time, the house felt different.
Not safe.
Not yet.
But honest.
And sometimes, that’s where healing begins.