Chapter 3 - DANGEROUS DISCOVERIES
By 1:00 AM, the house was wrapped in a heavy, suffocating silence. The ticking of the grandfather clock in the living room echoed down the narrow hallway like a countdown.
Daniel and I stood behind our bedroom door, dressed in dark clothes. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.
"Remember," I whispered, touching Daniel's arm. "You go down to the garage and trip the main circuit breaker. When the house goes pitch black, set off the car alarm in the driveway. He’ll think someone is trying to break into his precious sedan. That will pull him out of his room and out of the house for at least three minutes."
Daniel nodded grimly. "Three minutes. Not a second more, Lucía. Get in, grab a packet from the nightstand, check on Mom, and get back here."
"I will. Go."
Daniel slipped out of the room like a shadow, creeping toward the back door leading to the garage. I waited in the dark corridor, pressing my back against the cold wall.
A minute passed. Then, the house abruptly plunged into absolute darkness as the power was cut.
A moment later, the loud, piercing wail of a car alarm shattered the silence outside.
Instantly, Arturo’s bedroom door flew open. "What the hell?!" I heard him mutter angrily. I pressed myself deeper into the shadows near the linen closet as Arturo rushed past me in his robe, holding a flashlight, heading straight for the front door.
The moment the heavy front door slammed shut behind him, I sprinted into Elena’s room.
"Elena," I whispered urgently, turning on my phone's dim flashlight.
My mother-in-law was awake. Her eyes were wide with panic in the low light, her lips moving frantically. I reached the nightstand and spotted the small paper packets next to the bowl of oatmeal. I snatched three of them and shoved them deep into my pocket.
Then I turned to Elena. I pulled back the blanket. Up close, the sight was terrifying. Her abdomen was distended to an unnatural degree, feeling tight like a leather drum. I leaned down and whispered into her ear, "Elena, it's Lucía. Daniel and I know what he's doing. We saw the camera. We are going to save you, I promise you. But you have to hold on."
Tears streamed down the sides of her face, pooling on her pillow. She squeezed my fingers with surprising strength, nodding her head fractions of an inch.
Suddenly, I heard heavy footsteps pounding up the front porch steps outside.
Arturo was back early.
"Lucía, move!" Daniel’s frantic whisper came from the hallway doorway. He had cut the car alarm sooner than expected.
I scrambled away from the bed, but as I turned to run, my foot caught the edge of the nightstand rug. I stumbled, striking my elbow against the lamp. The heavy ceramic base crashed onto the hardwood floor with a deafening shatter.
"Who’s in there?!" Arturo’s roar echoed from the living room foyer.
"Run!" Daniel yelled, grabbing my arm as I regained my balance.
We sprinted out of Elena’s room just as Arturo turned the corner of the hallway, flashlight beam cutting through the dark. He caught the tail end of my jacket disappearing into our bedroom.
Daniel slammed our bedroom door shut and threw the deadbolt into place just as Arturo hit the wooden panel from the outside with full force.
"Open this door!" Arturo screamed, pounding on the wood until the hinges creaked. "I know what you're doing! You steal from me in my own house?!"
"Leave us alone, Dad!" Daniel yelled back, pressing his back against the door. "We know about Carolina! We know about the deeds!"
The pounding stopped abruptly.
A heavy, terrifying silence fell over the hallway.
When Arturo spoke again, his voice was no longer loud and angry. It was dripping with a cold, sinister calmness that made the hair on my neck stand up.
"You think you're clever, don't you, Daniel?" Arturo said softly through the wood. "You think you understand how the world works. You have until sunrise to pack your bags and leave. If you are still in this house when the sun comes up, neither of you will ever leave it again."
We heard his footsteps slowly retreat down the hall, followed by the sound of him locking Elena’s room from the outside.
My hands shook violently as I pulled the three white packets out of my pocket. "We have the powder," I gasped. "We need to get this analyzed right now."
"It's two in the morning," Daniel said, pacing the floor nervously. "No lab is open."
"I have a friend from college, Dr. Marcos, who works the overnight shift in the pathology lab at the University Hospital," I said, pulling out my phone. "If I tell him it's a matter of life and death, he'll run a quick toxicology screen right now."
"We can't leave Mom locked in that room with him," Daniel said, horror in his eyes.
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"We don't leave together," I insisted. "You stay right here outside her door. Make sure he doesn't go back in there tonight. I will drive to the hospital, get the analysis, and bring the police back with us before sunrise. It’s our only shot to put him away for good."
Ten minutes later, I crept out through our bedroom window onto the side yard, slipping into the cold night air, holding the three white packets tight in my fist. I had no idea that Arturo was already one step ahead of us.
