Chapter 13 - THE LAST LIE CARLOTA TOLD
The kidnapping report transformed the investigation.
Police issued alerts.
Traffic cameras were reviewed.
School employees were interviewed.
The Martíns were taken to a secure location.
And Carlota Mendoza was questioned again.
This time, Inspector Ferrer placed a photograph of Isabella on the table.
Carlota looked at it.
Then looked away.
Ferrer waited.
"Do you recognize her?"
"No."
"Take another look."
"I said no."
Ferrer placed the photograph beside an older picture of Inés.
Carlota's jaw tightened.
"She's a child."
"Yes."
"Lots of children look alike."
"These appear to be photographs of the same person."
Carlota folded her arms.
"Then why are you asking me?"
"Because we have evidence connecting you to the organization that handled her placement."
Carlota laughed.
"I donated money to a charity."
"Your brother controlled its financial accounts."
"That doesn't make me responsible for everything he did."
Ferrer opened another folder.
"Your phone records show repeated calls to Dr. Serrano before the child disappeared."
Carlota said nothing.
"Where is he?"
"I don't know."
"Where is Isabella?"
"I don't know."
Ferrer leaned forward.
"Someone removed a nine-year-old child from school without permission."
Carlota's face changed slightly.
A flicker.
Fear.
Then it was gone.
Ferrer saw it.
"What's happened to her?"
Carlota looked down.
"I want my lawyer."
Ferrer nodded.
"That's your right."
The questioning paused.
But outside the interview room, investigators were already following another lead.
Eduardo's driver had been identified on a security camera near the school.
His car had traveled south.
Then disappeared near a toll road.
A second vehicle had followed.
The license plate was registered to a company connected to Dr. Serrano.
At Palacio de las Rosas, Tomás waited beside the telephone.
Rafael stood near the door.
Daniel was examining the final set of financial records.
The house was silent.
Then Tomás's phone rang.
Carlota.
He stared at the name.
It was a call he had thought he would never answer again.
Rafael looked up.
Tomás answered.
"What?"
Her voice sounded different.
No tears.
No trembling.
No carefully rehearsed tenderness.
"Do you still want your daughter?"
Tomás went cold.
He motioned urgently for Rafael to contact Ferrer.
"Where is she?"
Carlota ignored the question.
"I need you to listen."
"Tell me where my daughter is."
"You never listen when you're angry."
Tomás clenched his jaw.
"Don't do this."
"I tried to give you another child."
His eyes filled with tears.
"You lied to me."
"I loved you."
"You used me."
Carlota's voice hardened.
"I saved you."
Tomás stared at the wall.
"Saved me?"
"You were a broken man when I met you."
He closed his eyes.
"You couldn't even walk into a room without looking miserable."
"Because my wife and daughter were dead."
Carlota laughed bitterly.
"Your wife was already destroying your life."
Tomás went still.
"What did Elena do to you?"
Silence.
Then Carlota whispered:
"She found out."
"Found out what?"
"About the foundation."
Tomás felt something settle inside him.
The last piece of a terrible puzzle.
"Elena knew what you were doing."
Carlota didn't deny it.
"She was going to the police."
Tomás gripped the phone.
"When?"
"Before the accident."
His heartbeat pounded in his ears.
"Did you arrange the accident?"
Carlota's breathing changed.
"Eduardo said nobody would get hurt."
Tomás stopped moving.
Rafael looked at him.
Tomás stared at the window.
"What?"
Carlota began crying.
For the first time, he believed the tears were real.
"Elena had copies of the financial records."
"Answer my question."
"Eduardo only wanted to scare her."
Tomás closed his eyes.
His wife had died on a road outside Valencia.
His daughter had disappeared.
And for six years, he had blamed a young woman whose name was printed on a police report.
"Was Clara involved?"
Carlota sobbed.
"She was supposed to stop Elena's car."
Tomás felt sick.
"Then what happened?"
"Another vehicle came too fast."
His voice became dangerously quiet.
"Whose vehicle?"
Carlota said nothing.
"Whose vehicle?"
"Eduardo's."
Tomás pressed his free hand against the wall.
He thought of Elena.
Her laugh.
Her perfume.
The way she tucked her hair behind her ear when she was thinking.
He thought of Inés sitting in the back seat, probably singing to herself.
He imagined the sound of brakes.
The impact.
The darkness.
"Where was my daughter taken?"
Carlota whispered:
"Dr. Serrano arranged it."
"Why?"
"Eduardo said she was alive."
Tomás couldn't breathe.
"He said if we brought her back, you'd find out everything."
"So you let me bury her?"
Carlota began crying harder.
"Tomás—"
"You let me stand beside her coffin?"
"I didn't know how to fix it."
"You let me believe my daughter was dead for six years."
She sobbed.
"I'm sorry."
Tomás's face hardened.
"Where is she now?"
Carlota hesitated.
Then she said:
"Eduardo took her."
"Where?"
"To the coast."
"Which coast?"
"Near Dénia."
Tomás looked at Rafael.
Rafael was already relaying the information to Inspector Ferrer.
Carlota continued.
"He thinks if he gets her out of Spain, you won't be able to prove anything."
Tomás swallowed.
"What does he want?"
"Money."
"How much?"
"Twenty million."
Tomás closed his eyes.
Twenty million euros.
A child's life.
Reduced to a number.
"And the trust documents?"
Carlota began crying again.
"Eduardo said if you signed the new agreement, we could all start over."
Tomás looked down at his wedding ring.
He slowly removed it.
Then placed it on the table.
"There is no starting over."
"Tomás, please."
He looked toward the photograph of Elena and Inés on the mantel.
"Tell me one thing."
"What?"
"Did you ever love me?"
Carlota was silent for a long time.
Then she whispered:
"Not enough to tell you the truth."
Tomás ended the call.
He stood motionless.
Rafael approached.
"Ferrer has the location area."
Tomás nodded.
His eyes were wet.
But his voice was steady.
"Bring my daughter home."
Twenty minutes later, police discovered a rented vehicle abandoned near Dénia.
Its rear door was open.
A child's backpack lay on the ground.
Inside was a drawing of a blue bird.
May you like
And beneath it, written in careful handwriting, were four words.
PLEASE FIND MY DADDY.
