Part 5

With her permission, I contacted her parents, Rosa and Manuel, in Saltillo.

They arrived the following day, overwhelmed with relief.

Manuel looked at me with tears in his eyes.

“You had the money to protect her, Mr. Salazar. We only had the willingness. And your son made us believe helping her would put her in danger.”

I couldn’t defend myself.

I apologized to all three of them.

As the investigation continued, authorities obtained additional purchase records, surveillance footage, and witness statements connecting Adrián and Verónica to the suspected poisoning.

For the first time, I was beginning to understand the full extent of their plan.

Then, three weeks later, Lucía went into labor earlier than expected.

We rushed her to the hospital.

While Rosa and Manuel waited anxiously beside me, Patricia arrived with alarming news.

“Ernesto, Verónica tried to enter the maternity ward using someone else’s identification. Security stopped her.”

I felt my chest tighten.

Patricia continued.

“And Adrián has been spotted near the hospital.”

I looked toward the doors behind which Lucía was giving birth.

Even after everything we’d uncovered, my son was still trying to reach her.

Part 4: My Son Tried to Reach His Wife in the Maternity Ward—But the Police Were Already Looking for Him

Patricia’s warning sent a wave of fear through me.

Lucía was in labor, her baby was arriving earlier than expected, and the two people she’d spent eight months hiding from had appeared near the hospital.

“Where is Adrián?” I asked.

“Security has been notified,” Patricia replied. “The authorities are also on their way.”

Verónica had already been stopped after attempting to enter the maternity ward using someone else’s identification. Hospital staff refused to give her any information about Lucía.

I immediately asked the nurses to restrict visitors to Lucía’s parents and me.

Rosa sat beside Manuel, gripping his hand. Neither of them had forgotten how Adrián had threatened their family when Lucía first tried to escape.

“Will they get to her?” Rosa whispered.

“Not if I can prevent it.”

I wasn’t making another promise I intended to leave unfulfilled.

Over the previous weeks, investigators had gathered financial records, witness statements, and evidence related to the suspected poisoning.

They had also received messages Adrián sent Lucía, demanding that she withdraw her statements in exchange for leaving her and the baby alone.

Those threats were now part of the case against him.

When officers arrived at the hospital, Patricia provided the information needed to locate Adrián and Verónica.

Both were detained under the judicial orders already issued in connection with the investigation.

I saw Adrián as the officers escorted him toward a police vehicle.

For a moment, I barely recognized him.

This was the boy I’d taught to ride a bicycle, the young man whose graduation I’d celebrated, and the son I’d trusted to help run the business I’d spent my life building.

Now he was facing the consequences of his own decisions.

“Dad!” he shouted when he noticed me. “Tell them it was Verónica’s idea! She planned everything!”

I stopped a few feet away.

“Adrián, you had opportunities to stop.”