Chapter 13 - The Nurse Who Remembered Lucia
Beatriz Salas was seventy-eight and living under another surname.
Investigators located her through old hospital archives.
She had traveled voluntarily to the Taxco property after Esther contacted her.
Why remained unclear.
By the time authorities arrived, Esther and Dr. Velasco were gone again.
Beatriz had been left behind.
She agreed to speak.
Alejandro watched the recorded interview from the clinic.
The old woman looked exhausted.
"I was a nurse in the emergency department when Lucia Marquez arrived."
"She was bleeding heavily."
"We couldn't control it."
An investigator asked.
"Did she say what had happened?"
"She kept repeating one name."
"Esther."
Alejandro's hand tightened.
Beatriz continued.
"At first I assumed Esther was a relative."
"Then a woman arrived."
"Elegant."
"Very calm."
"She introduced herself as Esther Aranda."
"What did she want?"
"She wanted Lucia's personal belongings."
"Did you give them to her?"
"No."
"Lucia's sister had already collected them."
Beatriz looked down.
"Esther asked whether Lucia had said anything before losing consciousness."
"What did you tell her?"
"I lied."
"I said no."
"What had Lucia actually said?"
The old nurse stared directly at the camera.
"She said, 'She put it in my drink.'"
Alejandro closed his eyes.
Thirty years.
The same method.
The same symptoms.
The same woman.
The investigator asked another question.
"Why didn't you report this?"
"I did."
"To whom?"
"Dr. Javier Velasco."
Alejandro opened his eyes.
Velasco again.
"He was a young resident then."
"He wrote it down."
"But by the next day, the note was gone from the chart."
"Did you confront him?"
"Yes."
"He told me I had misunderstood the patient."
"I knew I hadn't."
Beatriz folded her hands.
"Years later, Eduardo Aranda came to see me."
Alejandro leaned closer to the screen.
"When?"
"About a month before he died."
"He asked exactly what Lucia had said."
"I told him."
"What was his reaction?"
"He cried."
The image blurred in Alejandro's eyes.
Beatriz continued.
"Then he told me he thought Esther was doing the same thing to him."
The investigator paused.
"Why did Esther contact you now?"
"She wanted to know whether Eduardo had given me anything."
"Had he?"
Beatriz nodded.
"A photograph and a cassette."
Alejandro stood abruptly.
"What cassette?"
The investigator on screen asked the same question.
"Where is it now?"
Beatriz's eyes filled with fear.
"I gave it to Esther yesterday."
Alejandro swore.
"Why?"
"She told me Alejandro's wife was trying to destroy the family."
"She said the old recording could be misunderstood."
"What was on it?"
Beatriz swallowed.
"A conversation between Eduardo and Esther."
"What did Esther say?"
The nurse looked away.
"I only listened once."
"But I remember one sentence."
"What sentence?"
Beatriz whispered.
"Esther told Eduardo that Lucia should have known better than to threaten her marriage."
The video ended.
Alejandro stared at the black screen.
Valeria, sitting upright in bed, had watched everything.
"She did it."
Alejandro nodded slowly.
"Maybe."
Valeria looked at him.
"You still need proof."
"Yes."
"Because this isn't only about what I believe anymore."
He reached for his phone.
"We need that cassette."
Rafael answered immediately.
"Tell me you found another location."
"We did."
"Esther used one of the foundation's aircraft."
Alejandro's eyes narrowed.
"Where did she go?"
"Mexico City."
Alejandro almost laughed from disbelief.
"She came back?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"We think we know."
"She is heading toward the Aranda corporate archive."
Alejandro understood instantly.
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His father's original trust documents were stored there.
And if Marcela had been right about the inheritance structure, Esther had one final reason to destroy them before Valeria's son was born.
