Chapter 3: The Man Who Knew My Name
The words on the screen stayed there like a threat carved into stone.
*Daniel's Final Goodbye.*
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Not me.
Not Beatriz.
Not even Isabella.
The basement felt smaller than before, as if the walls had moved closer while we were watching.
I stared at the file name.
My fingers hovered above the keyboard.
A part of me didn't want to open it.
Not because I was afraid of what I would see.
Because I already knew.
Someone had been preparing something.
Someone had been watching my life.
And somehow, my wife was standing in the middle of it.
I clicked the file.
The screen went black.
Then the video began.
The first thing I noticed was the angle.
It wasn't from the basement camera.
It was from inside my office.
My office.
The room where I kept company documents, private contracts, and every piece of information that could affect my business.
The timestamp appeared.
Yesterday.
11:43 p.m.
I watched myself on the screen.
Not the current me.
A recording.
A version of myself sitting behind my desk late at night.
Except I wasn't there yesterday.
I had been in Dubai.
I looked closer.
The person in the video wasn't me.
It was a man wearing my dark suit.
His back was turned toward the camera.
But then he stood.
And my stomach dropped.
Because he looked enough like me to fool someone from a distance.
Same height.
Same build.
Same hairstyle.
Someone had recreated my appearance.
A fake version of me.
"What is this?"" I whispered.
Beatriz said nothing.
I turned toward her.
"How long?""
Her face remained cold.
"I don't know what you're talking about.""
I laughed once.
Not because anything was funny.
Because the lie was unbelievable.
"You are standing in a basement full of hidden recordings, watching someone impersonate me, and you're telling me you don't know?""
She looked away.
That tiny movement was enough.
I returned my eyes to the screen.
The fake version of me opened a drawer in my office.
He removed a folder.
Then he placed it on the desk.
The camera zoomed in.
I couldn't read everything.
But I recognized the logo.
My company.
The folder contained documents from one of my biggest real estate projects.
The Marbella Coastal Development.
A project worth hundreds of millions.
The kind of project people would destroy others for.
The fake Daniel in the video picked up a pen.
Then signed something.
My hands went cold.
Because the signature looked like mine.
Not similar.
Mine.
The video ended.
No explanation.
No conversation.
Just darkness.
I turned slowly.
"Someone forged my signature.""
Beatriz crossed her arms.
"Maybe.""
The answer shocked me.
"Maybe?""
She shrugged.
"You don't know what happened.""
I stared at her.
"I know someone was inside my office.""
"You have security.""
"I know.""
"And?""
"And nobody gets inside my office without my approval.""
Her eyes narrowed.
"Unless they are someone you trust.""
The sentence landed between us.
Someone you trust.
I looked at my wife.
She looked back.
Neither of us spoke.
Then Isabella's voice broke the silence.
"Daddy.""
I immediately turned toward her.
"Yes?""
She was looking at the computer.
Not the video.
The file list.
"There are more.""
I followed her eyes.
Hundreds of recordings.
Different dates.
Different locations.
The villa.
My office.
The garden.
The hallway.
My daughter's bedroom.
My chest tightened.
Her bedroom.
I moved the mouse.
Before I could click, Isabella grabbed my sleeve.
"No.""
I stopped.
Her eyes were full of fear.
"Don't watch that one.""
I lowered myself beside her.
"Why?""
She swallowed.
"Because that's when Mommy found out I was hiding things.""
I felt something inside me break again.
"What things?""
She looked toward Beatriz.
Her mother immediately looked away.
"Isabella.""
The warning in Beatriz's voice was enough.
My daughter flinched.
I stood.
"Don't.""
Beatriz looked at me.
"Don't what?""
"Don't use that voice with her.""
For the first time, my wife looked genuinely angry.
"You have been gone for three months, Daniel. Three months. You walk in here, see one bad moment, and suddenly you know everything?""
I stepped closer.
"One bad moment?""
My voice became quieter.
"Isabella has blisters on her hands.""
Silence.
"She thought she would get punished for not finishing chores.""
Silence.
"She was afraid to hug me because she thought I would leave again.""
Beatriz's expression shifted.
Just slightly.
But I saw it.
She knew.
She knew exactly what she had done.
"You don't understand," she said.
"Then explain it.""
"I was trying to teach her discipline.""
"By frightening her?""
"By preparing her.""
"For what?""
She didn't answer.
I looked back at the screen.
"Who is the man in the video?""
No answer.
"Who was he?""
Still nothing.
Then Isabella whispered.
"I know him.""
Every muscle in my body froze.
I turned.
"You do?""
She nodded slowly.
"I saw him before.""
"Where?""
She looked down.
"Here.""
The room became silent.
"When?""
"A lot.""
My heart sank.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Because Mommy said he was your friend.""
I looked at Beatriz.
"My friend?""
Isabella nodded.
"She said Uncle Adrian was helping Daddy with important things.""
The name hit me.
Adrian.
I knew only one person with that name.
Adrian Vale.
My former business partner.
The man who helped me start my company fifteen years ago.
The man who left three years later after a disagreement over finances.
The man who told me he would never forgive me.
The man I hadn't seen in almost eight years.
Impossible.
I looked at Beatriz.
"Adrian?""
She didn't respond.
That was all the confirmation I needed.
"What did you do?""
Her expression hardened.
"Be careful.""
"No.""
I stepped forward.
"You be careful.""
The woman in front of me wasn't the woman I married.
Or maybe she was.
Maybe I had only loved the version she wanted me to see.
"What was he doing here?""
Beatriz looked at Isabella.
Then at me.
"You want the truth?""
"Yes.""
She laughed quietly.
But there was no humor in it.
"You always think the truth is something you can handle.""
I stared at her.
"Try me.""
She walked toward the computer.
Then she clicked another file.
A video from six weeks earlier.
The camera showed the living room.
Adrian was sitting on the sofa.
Beatriz was standing across from him.
But they weren't discussing my company.
They weren't discussing money.
They were discussing Isabella.
Adrian looked uncomfortable.
"I don't think this is necessary.""
Beatriz replied immediately.
"It is.""
"She's a child.""
"And children grow up.""
"What are you saying?""
Beatriz leaned closer.
"Daniel built everything around that little girl.""
Adrian looked confused.
"So?""
"So if something happens to Daniel...""
I stopped breathing.
The video continued.
Adrian's face changed.
"Beatriz.""
She smiled.
Not the smile from the terrace.
Something worse.
A smile that belonged to someone who had already made a decision.
"Everything becomes easier.""
The video cut off.
The basement went silent.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't speak.
Because for the first time, I understood the message.
This wasn't about chores.
This wasn't about discipline.
This wasn't even about controlling Isabella.
Someone had been trying to remove me.
And my wife had been helping them.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
Everyone looked at it.
I answered.
A man's voice came through.
Calm.
Familiar.
A voice I hadn't heard in years.
"Daniel.""
My blood froze.
"Adrian?""
A pause.
Then he said:
"You finally found the recordings.""
I looked at Beatriz.
She looked terrified.
The man continued.
"But you're too late.""
My grip tightened around the phone.
"What did you do?""
A quiet laugh came through the speaker.
May you like
Then his next words changed everything.
"Ask your wife why your daughter was the last person standing between me and your entire empire.""
