Chapter 8 - The Shadow in the Garden
The revelation of Valeria’s true motive shifted the atmosphere in the house from shock to active paranoia. Alejandro doubled the private security detail around the perimeter of the estate. He instructed the guards that Valeria was to be treated as a hostile threat.
Lucía took her role as protector even more seriously. She refused to let Sofía out of her sight, even sleeping on a small cot in the little girl's bedroom. The trauma of the near-poisoning had bonded them in a profound way.
One evening, a thick fog rolled in from the coast, blanketing the sprawling gardens of the estate in an eerie, impenetrable gray. Lucía was in the kitchen, warming up a glass of milk for Sofía, when she glanced out the large bay window.
The motion sensor lights near the rose bushes had flickered on.
Lucía froze. She set the mug down and stepped closer to the glass, squinting into the fog. At first, she saw nothing but the swaying branches of the oak trees. But then, a silhouette detached itself from the shadows.
It was a woman, wearing a dark trench coat, standing just beyond the edge of the manicured lawn. She wasn't moving toward the house; she was just standing there, staring directly up at the second-floor window—Sofía’s window.
A chill violently ran down Lucía’s spine. The woman slowly raised her hand, lifting a small, glinting object. It looked like a silver lighter. She flicked it on, the small orange flame illuminating Valeria's cold, dead eyes in the darkness.
"Mr. Alejandro!" Lucía screamed, sprinting out of the kitchen.
Alejandro rushed down the stairs, his security chief right behind him. "What is it? What happened?"
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"She's outside," Lucía gasped, pointing a shaking finger toward the kitchen. "Valeria. She's by the rose bushes."
The security team flooded out the back doors, their heavy flashlights cutting through the thick fog. But by the time they reached the edge of the lawn, the garden was empty. There was no trace of Valeria, except for a single, crushed white pill deliberately placed on the stone path. A promise that she wasn't done.
