Chapter 4 - The Broken Road
"Daddy, is Emiliano going to be okay?" Jimena’s voice whimpered from the back seat.
Mateo glanced in the mirror. Emiliano was curled into a ball on the floorboards of the car, his eyes closed, clutching his sister's hand. He was breathing in shallow, rapid gasps.
"He's going to be okay, baby. I promise you. We are going to see Mommy," Mateo said, trying to keep his voice steady despite the sheer terror clawing at his throat.
His phone was in his pocket. He needed to call Laura, but he also knew that if Julian was as powerful as he seemed, phone lines could be monitored, or Julian might call Laura first to spin a lie. He had to be careful. He had to get out of Querétaro immediately.
He drove toward the main gate of the residential development. As the security kiosk came into view, Mateo saw the heavy metal bar was down. The guard inside was holding a phone to his ear, looking directly at Mateo's approaching car.
Julian had already called.
"Hold on!" Mateo yelled.
He didn't slow down. He pressed the gas pedal to the floor. The SUV accelerated to fifty miles per hour. The guard's eyes widened in terror, and he dove out of the kiosk just as the SUV slammed into the wooden security barrier.
The bar shattered into a hundred white splinters. The SUV bounced violently, its front bumper scraping the pavement, but it broke through. They were out on the public highway.
Mateo's mind raced. He couldn't go back to their apartment in Mexico City. If Julian's story about the dangerous people in Coyoacán was true—or even if it was a lie designed to keep them quiet—their home would be the first place anyone would look.
He needed a safe place. A place where Julian’s reach couldn't extend.
He dialed Laura's number on the car's Bluetooth system. It rang once. Twice. Three times.
"Mateo?" Laura’s voice sounded tired, heavy with the chronic grief she had carried for a year. "How is the visit going? Is Jimena enjoying the garden?"
Mateo swallowed hard, tears stinging his eyes. "Laura, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Do not ask questions. Do not pack a bag. Just leave the apartment right now."
"What? Mateo, what's wrong? You're scaring me."
"I found him, Laura," Mateo choked out, a sob escaping his throat. "I found Emiliano. He's alive. He's with me."
Silence stretched over the line. It was a heavy, suffocating silence.
"What... what did you say?" Laura whispered, her voice cracking.
"Rebeca had him. He was under her floor. I have him in the car right now. He's safe, but Julian is chasing us. You need to leave the apartment immediately and meet us. Do not call the police. Do not tell anyone."
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Before Laura could respond, a dark SUV pulled up fast in Mateo's side mirror. It didn't have police markings.
It was a black suburban with tinted windows. And it was accelerating.
