Chapter 5 - The Secret Behind the Glass
That night, the mansion was shrouded in a heavy downpour. Rain lashed against the high arched windows, and thunder rumbled across the valley.
At 8:00 PM, after the dinner service was complete and most of the staff had retired to the quarter wing, Lucía walked quietly down the dimly lit second-floor hallway. She wasn't supposed to be on this floor, but she couldn't sleep. The memory of Julian’s threat kept repeating in her mind.
As she passed Alejandro’s study, she noticed a warm sliver of light beneath the door.
She knocked softly. "Mr. Rivas?"
"Come in, Lucía," his voice came back immediately.
She pushed the door open. Alejandro was sitting in his leather chair, the silver picture frame resting in the center of his desk. Beside it sat a small pair of metal tweezers and a letter opener.
"You didn't go home?" Alejandro asked, turning his head toward the sound of her footsteps.
"The rain is too heavy, sir. Mr. Vance said I could stay in the staff room overnight," Lucía said, walking closer to the desk. She looked at his hands, which were hovering uncertainly over the frame. "Have you opened it?"
"No," Alejandro confessed softly. "I tried with my hands, but my fingers... I cannot feel the thin paper without risking tearing it. And I... I was afraid."
Lucía felt a wave of deep empathy for the powerful, broken man sitting before her. "Do you want me to do it?"
Alejandro remained silent for a long time, the rain drumming against the windowpane. Finally, he gave a single, slow nod. "Yes. Read it to me, Lucía. Word for word."
Lucía sat down in the armchair. With careful, gentle fingers, she used the metal letter opener to pry open the old velvet backing of the frame. The yellowed paper slipped out easily into her hand. It was a thick piece of stationary, folded into quarters, sealed with a faint wax mark that had been broken long ago.
She unfolded the paper. The handwriting was elegant, slanted, and clearly written in haste.
"It’s a letter," Lucía whispered. "Dated October 14th, seven years ago. The day your wife left."
Alejandro’s breath hitched. "Read it."
Lucía cleared her throat and began to read aloud:
“Dearest Alejandro,
If you are reading this, it means Julian has kept his promise and delivered this letter to you once you recovered from the second surgery. I am writing this from the hospital room down the hall, while you are still unconscious.
The doctors told me today that the damage to your eyes is permanent. My heart is broken into a thousand pieces, but what breaks me more is the truth I discovered this morning.
The explosion at the chemical plant was not an accident, Alejandro. I overheard Julian talking to the site manager in the corridor. He deliberately tampered with the safety valves to trigger an emergency buyout of your shares. He knew you were inside the main lab.
When I confronted him, he threatened to destroy you completely. He told me that if I didn't leave the country immediately, he would ensure the plant’s insurance claim was denied, leaving you bankrupt, penniless, and facing criminal negligence charges for the injured workers.
I am leaving for Europe tonight to protect you, my love. Julian promised that if I disappeared without a word, he would use his influence to secure your lifelong care and protect your remaining assets.
Do not come looking for me. Julian has eyes everywhere. Just know that I never stopped loving you, and I never will.
Forever yours, Renata.”
Lucía’s voice trailed off into absolute silence. Tears stood in her eyes as she looked up from the paper.
Alejandro sat completely still, his face pale as marble. The silence in the study was so intense that the sound of the rain outside seemed to fade away entirely.
"Read... read the last sentence again," Alejandro whispered, his voice trembling violently.
"‘Just know that I never stopped loving you, and I never will,’" Lucía read softly.
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Alejandro closed his eyes, a single tear slipping from beneath his dark glasses and tracing a path down his scarred cheek. Seven years of hatred, seven years of anger, seven years of believing the woman he loved had abandoned him because he was blind—all of it shattered in a single, devastating moment.
"She didn't leave me," Alejandro sobbed, placing his hands over his face as wracking, painful tears broke through his chest. "She didn't leave me... she was trying to save me."
