My Wife Took A Phone Call During Dinner And Forgot I Speak Spanish
Chapter 9
Daniel found his mother sitting in the kitchen.
She was drinking coffee.
Calm.
Too calm.
“You’re awake.”
She looked at him.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Neither could I.”
She smiled.
“What happened to you?”
Daniel sat across from her.
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
Her smile disappeared.
“I know.”
“Why?”
“Because your father wanted it that way.”
Daniel stared.
“Why?”
“To protect me.”
“From Michael?”
“Yes.”
“You knew about Isabella?”
She looked down.
“Yes.”
“You knew Sophia was protecting her?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been helping Michael.”
His mother’s eyes filled with tears.
“I had no choice.”
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“Everyone says that.”
She reached for his hand.
“Michael has been threatening us for years.”
“Us?”
“You and me.”
Daniel pulled away.
“What did my father do?”
“He discovered everything.”
“And then?”
“He tried to destroy Meridian.”
“Did he succeed?”
“No.”
“Who stopped him?”
“Michael.”
Daniel’s voice hardened.
“Then why did my father trust him?”
“He didn’t.”
She opened a drawer.
Inside was a photograph.
Daniel’s father.
Holding a small envelope.
On the back:
FOR DANIEL WHEN HE TURNS FORTY.
Daniel’s heart pounded.
“What is it?”
“A final message.”
They opened it.
His father’s voice came from a small recorder.
“Daniel, if you’re hearing this, I’m probably gone.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I couldn’t tell you the truth while you were young.”
His father explained that the trust wasn’t just money.
It controlled the entire Meridian network.
Whoever held it could expose everyone involved.
He created the conditions.
At forty, Daniel could take control.
But there was one final requirement.
He had to make one independent decision.
His father wanted to know whether Daniel could choose family over wealth.
Daniel looked at Sophia.
His father continued:
“Your greatest danger will come from the people closest to you.”
The message ended.
Daniel stared at the recorder.
“Family over wealth.”
Sophia stepped closer.
“That’s what this has always been.”
Suddenly, someone screamed.
Isabella.
Daniel ran.
Her room was empty.
The window was open.
A rope hung outside.
His heart stopped.
“Sophia!”
They rushed outside.
A vehicle sped away.
Daniel called the police.
Then Victor.
Victor answered immediately.
“Where is she?”
“Taken.”
Silence.
“Where?”
“I don’t know.”
Victor swore.
Then Daniel saw something.
A small red backpack.
On the ground.
Inside was Isabella’s drawing.
The family picture.
But now there was one more person drawn.
A woman.
Daniel’s mother.
At the bottom Isabella had written:
GRANDMA.
Daniel looked at his mother.
She was crying.
“I never met her enough.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You knew her.”
His mother stared.
“I saw her once.”
“When?”
“The day she was born.”
Daniel froze.
His mother continued.
“I held her.”
Then she revealed the final truth.
She had been the one who gave Isabella to Sophia.
She had believed Sophia could keep her safe.
But Michael had found out.
Daniel looked at her.
“Did you tell him where she was?”
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
Daniel stepped backward.
“Why?”
“He threatened to kill you.”
Daniel shook his head.
“You’ve all used me.”
His mother cried.
“I was afraid.”
He looked toward the road.
“I’ll get her back.”
Sophia grabbed his hand.
“We will.”
Victor called again.
“I know where Michael is.”
“Where?”
“The old family estate.”
Daniel looked at Sophia.
They had one chance.
They drove through the night.
When they arrived, the estate was dark.
But the front door stood open.
Daniel stepped inside.
A voice echoed through the hall.
“Welcome home.”
Michael appeared.
And beside him stood Isabella.
