At my son’s funeral, my daughter-in-law admitted to owning the luxury apartment, along with the company, the beachfront house, and even the yacht.

So I went.
The next morning, I boarded a plane with a small suitcase, a black dress that still held the smell of the cemetery, and a pain so deep that I felt like I was walking inside someone else’s body.
The journey was long.
Madrid First.
Then a train north.
Then, a narrow road winds through vineyards, golden hills, and ancient stone villages.
When I got off at San Rodrigo del Valle station, the sun was beginning to set. The platform was almost empty.
I didn’t know where to go.
I didn’t have an address.
I had no further instructions.
He only had the envelope with him.
Then I saw it.
An older man, dressed in a dark suit, was holding a sign with my name on it.
Elena Salazar.

I approached cautiously.
“It’s me,” I said.
The man bowed his head.
—Mrs. Elena. Welcome.
—Do you know why I’m here?
The man looked at me with a mixture of compassion and respect.
And then he uttered five words that took my breath away:
—Gabriel has always waited for her.
PART 2 — THE MAN I THOUGHT WAS DEAD
The world moved beneath my feet.
Gabriel.
I hadn’t heard that name in over forty years.
Gabriel Ortega.
The man I loved when I was twenty.
The man I met during a summer in Madrid.
The man who promised me that we would build a life together.
The man who, I was told, had died in an accident before I could tell him I was pregnant.
I gripped the handle of my suitcase.

“Gabriel is dead,” I whispered.
The driver looked down.
—No, ma’am. Don Gabriel is alive. And he’s waiting for you.
I don’t know how I got to the car.
I also don’t remember how long the journey to the farm took.
I only remember the vineyards stretching out like green seas under the orange light of the sunset. I remember the stone walls, an iron gate, and a long driveway lined with cypress trees.
Finally, an old mansion stood, converted into a wine estate.
Elegant.
Impressive.
Full of life.
The car
He stopped in front of a huge wooden door.
And there he was.
Gabriel Ortega.
He was no longer the young man with black hair and a dangerous smile who had stolen my heart in Madrid. Now he was sixty-four years old,

with silver hair, a face marked by the passage of time, and a calm but powerful presence.
However, her eyes remained the same.
The same eyes as Diego.
I put a hand to my mouth.
—Gabriel…
He slowly descended the steps.
—Elena.
Hearing my name in his voice broke something inside me.
“You’re alive,” I said.
He stopped in front of me.
—I thought the same about you for many years.
I didn’t understand what he meant.
Until we talked.
In his studio, in front of a lit fireplace, Gabriel told me the truth.
There was never an accident.
He never died.
The day I waited for him in a cafe
He was also waiting for me near the university.
For hours.
I never arrived because his roommate, a man named Andrés,

told me that Gabriel had been in an accident and had died in the hospital.
Gabriel, on the other hand, was told that I had returned to Mexico without saying goodbye.
Without explanation.
Loveless.
For forty years, we both lived believing that the other had abandoned us or disappeared forever.
A lie separated us.
A lie changed our lives.
And in the midst of that lie, Diego was born.
“He found me six months ago,” Gabriel said quietly. “He had a genetic test done for a medical reason. Then he did some research and found me.”
I felt my heart pounding against my ribs.
—Diego knew…
Gabriel nodded.
—She knew I was her biological father.
I closed my eyes.
My son had discovered the truth without me.
There was
searched for his father.
He had found a part of himself that I had hidden from him, convinced that it was buried forever.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked.
Gabriel lowered his gaze.
—Because then he discovered something much worse.
Valeria’s name appeared like a shadow among us.
Diego had hired investigators to confirm his origins. But those investigators found something else.
Valeria was in a relationship with Julián.
And that wasn’t all.
Together they were diverting money from Medina Global to offshore accounts. They were also plotting to wrest control of Diego’s own company.
When Diego started getting too close to the truth, they began talking about eliminating him.
And not metaphorically.
They really wanted to eliminate him.
I felt nauseous.
—The yacht accident…
Gabriel did not respond immediately.
It wasn’t necessary.
I covered my mouth with both hands.