Chapter 3 - Shadows Over the Estate
Gabriel felt as though the oxygen had been sucked out of the grand living room. He stared at the cracked screen of the old tablet, hearing his dead wife’s voice reverberate against the high ceilings of his Pedralbes mansion.
“Launder money?” Gabriel repeated, his voice hollow. “Through Nicolás’s trust?”
“Look at the transaction logs, Mr. Valdés,” Lucía said gently, sliding the tablet toward him. “I didn't understand the complex corporate structures at first, but I know how to read dates. Millions of euros were moved through the Valdés Pediatric Foundation—the very foundation you set up for your son’s care—on the exact days you were out of the country.”
Gabriel’s fingers trembled as he tapped open the document files attached to Irene’s video message.
As the chief executive of Valdés Renewable Energy, Gabriel had focused entirely on expanding their green infrastructure across Europe, leaving the management of domestic trusts and family assets entirely in the hands of his brother, Mateo, and their chief legal counsel, Andrés SegCK.
The documents were damning. Over three years, more than twelve million euros had been funneled out of corporate subsidies and routed into offshore accounts in Andorra, all disguised as specialized medical care, sensory facility upgrades, and international therapy consultations for Nicolás.
Irene had uncovered the paper trail two years ago. She had recorded the video as a safeguard before driving to meet a private investigator—a drive she never completed because her car’s brake lines had failed on the winding roads of Tibidabo.
Gabriel buried his face in his hands, a dry sob escaping his throat.
“My God,” he whispered. “I thought she died because she was driving too fast... I blamed her for being reckless... and all this time, she was trying to save our son from my own family.”
A small, warm hand touched Gabriel’s knee.
Gabriel looked up through blurred vision. Nicolás was sitting beside him on the floor. The boy didn't make eye contact—he rarely did—but he pressed his forehead gently against Gabriel’s shoulder, a gesture of comfort he had not offered in two long years.
Lucía watched them with tears in her eyes. “He remembers everything, Gabriel. On the night of the accident, Irene was playing that Catalan lullaby to calm him down before she got into the car. When she didn't come back, Nicolás associated the music with her loss. He stopped speaking because he thought his voice had made her leave.”
Gabriel wrapped his arm around his son, pulling him into a tight, desperate embrace. Nicolás didn't pull away. He leaned into his father’s chest, letting out a long, shuddering sigh.
“I was so focused on building an empire to secure his future,” Gabriel choked out, kissing his son’s dark hair. “I didn't see that the monsters were inside my own house.”
“You see it now,” Lucía said softly.
Suddenly, the headlights of a car flashed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the living room. The heavy crunch of gravel echoed from the driveway.
Gabriel looked up. Through the window, he saw Mateo stepping out of an Audi, accompanied by Andrés Segovia, the family lawyer. Segovia was carrying a thick leather briefcase and looked nervous.
“They’ve come back for the contract,” Gabriel realized, his tone shifting from heartbreak to lethal resolve. He stood up from the floor, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the door.
“Lucía,” Gabriel commanded, his voice growing cold and sharp. “Take Nicolás to the sensory room in the back. Lock the door from the inside and do not come out until I call you.”
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Lucía didn't hesitate. She took Nicolás by the hand. The boy looked back at Gabriel once, letting out three soft knocks against the wooden piano frame—his sign of safety—before following Lucía down the long hallway.
Gabriel picked up the tablet, slipped it inside his jacket pocket, and turned to face the entrance just as his brother pushed the doors open.
