Part 3

I thought about my symptoms.

The weakness. The dizziness. The strange taste in my mouth.

And the coffee my son insisted on preparing.

“Why didn’t you warn me?”

“I tried calling you. Adrián answered your phone.”

She swallowed.

“Later, he showed me messages supposedly from you, saying I was a thief and you never wanted to see me again.”

I’d never sent those messages.

Before I could respond, Lucía suddenly bent forward, clutching her stomach.

“Something’s wrong,” she gasped.

I caught her before she fell and immediately called for an ambulance.

At the hospital, a doctor examined her and confirmed that the baby’s vital signs were stable. But Lucía was dehydrated, anemic, and dangerously exhausted.

She needed observation and rest.

I stayed beside her until she woke.

Then she asked for her old backpack.

From a concealed section inside its lining, she removed a small notebook and a USB drive.

“These are the records I managed to save,” she whispered.

I opened the notebook.

The pages contained dates, account numbers, and payment references that I recognized from our company’s financial statements.

One entry caught my attention.

Verónica’s name appeared beside a purchase connected to a chemical distributor.

I immediately called Patricia Beltrán, our corporate attorney.

“Patricia, I need an independent financial audit and an urgent medical examination. My son cannot know about either one.”

“What happened, Ernesto?”

I looked toward Lucía’s hospital bed.

“I think someone may be deliberately making me sick.”

Patricia promised to arrange everything discreetly.

Minutes later, my phone rang.

Adrián.

I answered, forcing myself to sound normal.

“Hello, son.”

“Hey, Dad. How are those dizzy spells? Feeling any better?”

“A little.”

“Good. By the way, how was dinner at La Encina?”

I went still.

I hadn’t told Adrián which restaurant I was visiting.

“Why do you ask?”

He paused.

Then he laughed quietly.

“Someone mentioned that a pregnant waitress approached you tonight.”

My grip tightened around the phone.

“I hope you didn’t believe whatever nonsense she told you,” he continued.

I said nothing.

His voice became colder.

“Listen carefully, Dad. Forget you ever saw Lucía.”

I looked through the glass window toward her hospital room.

Then Adrián added something that made me realize how much danger we were in.

“Because if you keep interfering, neither of you is going to be around to meet that baby.”

Part 3: My Son Threatened His Pregnant Wife and Tried to Take Over My Company—Then the Medical Tests Exposed the Truth

I remained frozen with the phone against my ear long after Adrián ended the call.

For thirty-five years, I’d defended my only son whenever someone questioned his behavior. I’d trusted him with my company, my finances, and eventually my health.

Now he’d threatened both me and his pregnant wife.

I returned to Lucía’s hospital room. She was sleeping with one hand resting on her stomach, unaware that Adrián already knew I’d found her.

I sat beside her and made a decision.

Whatever happened next, she wouldn’t face it alone.

The following morning, Patricia Beltrán accompanied me to another hospital for a complete medical examination. We also reported Adrián’s threats to the authorities and provided the information Lucía had shared.