Chapter 7 - The Right-Hand Man
Valeria read the diary entry with her heart hammering violently against her ribs. Before she could turn to the second page, the heavy, unmistakable sound of approaching combat boots echoed in the hallway outside the study.
Panic seized her. She quickly shoved the small diary and the silver key deep into her pocket, gently closed the hidden compartment, and dove behind the heavy velvet curtains just as the door handle began to turn.
The door creaked open. A tall, imposing figure stepped into the dark room, sweeping a high-powered tactical flashlight across the dusty furniture. Valeria held her breath, pressing herself flat against the cold glass of the window, praying her shadow wouldn't betray her.
The beam of light passed right over her hiding spot. The man stood in the center of the room, completely silent. When he reached out his right hand to inspect the desk, the moonlight caught his skin.
A thick, jagged, horrific scar ran from his knuckles all the way up his wrist.
Valeria recognized him instantly. It was Héctor, Alejandro Ríos’s second-in-command. The ruthless enforcer who had supposedly saved Alejandro’s life a decade ago. He was the cartel’s most feared executioner. And, according to Mateo’s frantic drawings, he was a monster hiding in plain sight.
Héctor grunted, seemingly satisfied that the room was empty, and stepped back out into the hallway, locking the door firmly behind him.
Valeria waited a full twenty minutes, trembling violently in the darkness, before she dared to move. She picked the lock from the inside and crept back to Mateo’s bedroom.
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The little boy was still sleeping peacefully. Valeria sat on the edge of her bed, pulling out the leather diary. She opened it to the middle pages and began to read the tragic confessions of a doomed mother.
“Alejandro refuses to listen to me,” the diary read. “He trusts Héctor like a brother. But I found the offshore bank transfers. Héctor is slowly siphoning millions from the cartel’s legitimate construction fronts. He is planning a coup. When I confronted Héctor today, he smiled at me. He knows I have the proof in a safety deposit box. He won't let me live to show Alejandro.”
