{"id":30284,"date":"2026-10-04T21:16:47","date_gmt":"2026-10-04T21:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=30284"},"modified":"2026-10-04T21:16:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T21:16:47","slug":"part-25-arturos-impossible-phone-call-forced-victor-to-reveal-how-his-father-faked-a-death-and-turned-elvira-into-his-final-bargaining-chip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=30284","title":{"rendered":"PART 25 \u2013 Arturo\u2019s Impossible Phone Call Forced Victor to Reveal How His Father Faked a Death and Turned Elvira Into His Final Bargaining Chip"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Victor did not move after the call ended.<\/p>\n<p>Neither did I.<\/p>\n<p>The cemetery around us seemed unnaturally quiet, as if the rows of stone markers had absorbed Arturo\u2019s voice and were holding it.<\/p>\n<p>Victor\u2019s face had lost what little color remained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was him,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stepped toward him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019re sure?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor looked at Daniel with something close to contempt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI spent forty years learning when my father was disappointed with me. Yes. I\u2019m sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The detective took my phone.<\/p>\n<p>The call had lasted forty-seven seconds.<\/p>\n<p>Blocked number.<\/p>\n<p>Routing already obscured.<\/p>\n<p>They began the trace anyway.<\/p>\n<p>I barely heard them.<\/p>\n<p>Arturo Salcedo was supposed to have been dead for eleven years.<\/p>\n<p>His funeral had been attended by judges, attorneys, former clients, and enough respectable people to fill a church.<\/p>\n<p>Victor had buried an empty coffin.<\/p>\n<p>Or someone else\u2019s body.<\/p>\n<p>And somewhere, Aunt Elvira was with the man whose crimes she had spent years helping women escape.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCall him back,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no number.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen wait.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paola stood beside Teresa, one arm around her mother.<\/p>\n<p>Teresa looked stunned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI met Arturo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everyone turned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen?\u201d Victor asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter his funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The silence sharpened.<\/p>\n<p>Victor stared at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teresa pressed her fingertips against her temple as if testing whether the memory was real.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t know it was him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cExplain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAbout seven years ago, a man came to Grandma Rosa\u2019s house.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did he look like?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOlder. Thin. White beard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid Rosa know him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe called him Arturo once.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor\u2019s expression changed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou never told anyone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought I misheard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou saw my supposedly dead father and decided you misheard?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teresa\u2019s voice hardened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had never met him before. I knew his name from family stories. Why would I assume a dead man was sitting in my grandmother\u2019s kitchen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor had no answer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did they talk about?\u201d Marisol asked.<\/p>\n<p>Teresa closed her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wasn\u2019t supposed to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wanted something returned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe list?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was angry?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuiet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That frightened me more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat did Rosa say?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teresa\u2019s eyes opened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe told him Roberto had made sure he could never have it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marisol inhaled.<\/p>\n<p>The children\u2019s index.<\/p>\n<p>Probably.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cArturo said Roberto was dead.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Rosa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe said dead men could still keep promises.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marisol looked toward Roberto\u2019s grave.<\/p>\n<p>That was exactly how his system had worked.<\/p>\n<p>Signals.<\/p>\n<p>Copies.<\/p>\n<p>Instructions outliving their makers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat happened after?\u201d Daniel asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe man left.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDid you see a vehicle?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA gray truck.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDriver?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teresa frowned.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was someone waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Police took every detail.<\/p>\n<p>Victor sat against the cruiser, handcuffed, watching his entire understanding of his father rearrange itself.<\/p>\n<p>I almost felt sorry for him.<\/p>\n<p>Then I remembered my mother\u2019s voice asking what he put in her tea.<\/p>\n<p>Compassion stopped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere would Arturo take Elvira?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I knew, I\u2019d tell you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew his operations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew his properties.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou knew his codes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStop saying some.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He flinched.<\/p>\n<p>Good.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy aunt is missing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo, you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou drugged my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His eyes dropped.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou threatened her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou helped your father move children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou lied to us repeatedly.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo if you know one useful thing, now would be an excellent time to become less useless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor stared at the grass.<\/p>\n<p>Then said, \u201cThere was a ranch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marisol looked up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNorthwest of Laredo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour father\u2019s?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNever on paper.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhose?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCompany called Rio Seco Agricultural.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The detective began searching.<\/p>\n<p>Victor continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father used it for meetings when he didn\u2019t want anyone coming to his office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cChildren?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel\u2019s jaw tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does that mean?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt means mothers stayed there before placements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWillingly?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That word again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd the others?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor looked away.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel stepped closer until an officer blocked him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnswer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot always.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Marisol\u2019s face became rigid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas I there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor looked at her.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWas Rosa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProbably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRoberto?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGabriel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor hesitated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel closed his eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Every man connected to his infancy had passed through the same machinery.<\/p>\n<p>The detective received an update.<\/p>\n<p>Rio Seco Agricultural still existed.<\/p>\n<p>Dormant corporation.<\/p>\n<p>Property ownership had shifted through several shell companies.<\/p>\n<p>Current titleholder: E.V. Holdings.<\/p>\n<p>My mother\u2019s stolen initials.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere,\u201d Victor said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Police and federal agents began coordinating.<\/p>\n<p>We were told to remain away.<\/p>\n<p>I refused.<\/p>\n<p>The detective did not care.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is potentially a hostage situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s my aunt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is exactly why you\u2019re staying away.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel started arguing.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew stopped him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel looked at him sharply.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know what Arturo wants besides the list,\u201d Andrew said. \u201cShowing up with six relatives makes their job harder.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I hated him for being right.<\/p>\n<p>We returned to the hospital under police escort.<\/p>\n<p>The binders from Emma\u2019s box went into federal custody.<\/p>\n<p>Before they were taken, investigators allowed Daniel and me to open Mom\u2019s envelope.<\/p>\n<p>Together.<\/p>\n<p>Her handwriting filled four pages.<\/p>\n<p>She began without apology.<\/p>\n<p>If you are reading this together, then at least one thing went the way I hoped.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel laughed painfully.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat sounds like her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I continued.<\/p>\n<p>Mom explained that she had obtained both lists from Rosa.<\/p>\n<p>Not willingly.<\/p>\n<p>Rosa initially denied they existed.<\/p>\n<p>Emma confronted her with evidence from Roberto.<\/p>\n<p>Eventually Rosa surrendered copies.<\/p>\n<p>Mom believed the original children\u2019s index had remained with Marisol.<\/p>\n<p>The perpetrators ledger was different.<\/p>\n<p>Rosa had kept updating it.<\/p>\n<p>Names added after Arturo supposedly died.<\/p>\n<p>That meant Rosa knew the network continued.<\/p>\n<p>Mom wrote:<\/p>\n<p>The worst mistake I made was believing Arturo\u2019s death ended anything.<\/p>\n<p>I looked at Victor.<\/p>\n<p>He was being questioned elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>Mom had made the same assumption he claimed to have made.<\/p>\n<p>Then she described E.V. Holdings.<\/p>\n<p>She discovered it while tracing payments.<\/p>\n<p>At first she believed someone had stolen her identity.<\/p>\n<p>Later she realized her initials were deliberate.<\/p>\n<p>A dead woman could be blamed safely.<\/p>\n<p>Except Emma was not dead when the accounts were created.<\/p>\n<p>That meant the architects expected her to die before anyone investigated.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel whispered, \u201cMom knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The next paragraph confirmed it.<\/p>\n<p>Victor is guilty of many things, but I no longer believe he controls the money.<\/p>\n<p>I stopped.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel read over my shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>Mom had investigated Victor independently.<\/p>\n<p>She knew he helped Arturo when younger.<\/p>\n<p>She knew he later attempted to shut parts of the network.<\/p>\n<p>She did not trust his motives.<\/p>\n<p>But the financial records showed transactions Victor could not have authorized because he was hospitalized during two of them.<\/p>\n<p>Someone else used Arturo\u2019s codes.<\/p>\n<p>Someone with access to the original accounts.<\/p>\n<p>Mom suspected Arturo had faked his death.<\/p>\n<p>She never proved it.<\/p>\n<p>Until now.<\/p>\n<p>Her final page concerned Elvira.<\/p>\n<p>Do not mistake your aunt\u2019s secrecy for betrayal.<\/p>\n<p>My eyes filled.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel squeezed my shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>Mom explained that Elvira helped mothers escape.<\/p>\n<p>She found attorneys.<\/p>\n<p>Shelters.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors.<\/p>\n<p>In some cases, she created false travel plans to confuse Salcedo\u2019s people.<\/p>\n<p>She kept those secrets because disclosure could reveal survivors who had built new lives.<\/p>\n<p>Elvira had protected people.<\/p>\n<p>Even from us.<\/p>\n<p>At the bottom, Mom wrote:<\/p>\n<p>If Arturo is alive, he will eventually come for Elvira because she knows which women survived him.<\/p>\n<p>My throat closed.<\/p>\n<p>She had predicted this.<\/p>\n<p>Years ago.<\/p>\n<p>Why had we not opened the box sooner?<\/p>\n<p>Because she hid it.<\/p>\n<p>Because everyone hid everything.<\/p>\n<p>The cycle was almost unbearable.<\/p>\n<p>My phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Detective Ramirez.<\/p>\n<p>I answered immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found the ranch.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIs Elvira there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t know yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProperty appears abandoned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAppears?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThermal imaging shows at least three people inside the main structure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Three.<\/p>\n<p>Arturo.<\/p>\n<p>Elvira.<\/p>\n<p>Cole?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you going in?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re establishing contact.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCan I talk to him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe called me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe wants the list.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen use me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I nearly shouted.<\/p>\n<p>Ramirez remained calm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf he calls you again, keep him talking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He ended the call.<\/p>\n<p>Twenty minutes passed.<\/p>\n<p>Then forty.<\/p>\n<p>Every minute became physical.<\/p>\n<p>Paola sat with Teresa.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol stood at the hospital window.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel paced.<\/p>\n<p>Celeste had gone to retrieve Elena\u2019s surviving papers for investigators.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew stayed near me without trying to make conversation.<\/p>\n<p>At last my phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>Unknown.<\/p>\n<p>Everyone looked at me.<\/p>\n<p>I answered.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is Elvira?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arturo chuckled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou inherited Emma\u2019s manners.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me hear her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBring me the index.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe police have it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was careless.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou expected me to walk out of a cemetery carrying evidence?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI expected you to be smarter than Victor.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor\u2019s name carried contempt.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou faked your death.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI retired.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou had a funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople become sentimental about paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me hear Elvira.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>Then rustling.<\/p>\n<p>My aunt\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLucia?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cElvira.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m all right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you hurt?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arturo interrupted.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe is being treated very respectfully.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKidnapping is respectful now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCompared with what Adrian wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cole.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s there?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Silence.<\/p>\n<p>That was answer enough.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does Cole want?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe same thing he has always wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cControl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arturo laughed softly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMoney.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Simpler.<\/p>\n<p>Uglier.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat does the children\u2019s list give him?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLeverage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgainst victims?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAgainst wealthy adoptive families. Public officials. People who paid decades ago. Their children.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blackmail.<\/p>\n<p>Marisol had guessed correctly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy do you want it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo he cannot have it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I almost laughed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou expect me to believe you\u2019re protecting people?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At least Arturo understood how absurd that sounded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m protecting myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom Cole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat about Elvira?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe knows where the surviving witnesses are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd you want those names.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to know what they remember.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey remember you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMemory is unreliable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDocuments aren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Another pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou sound like your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo everyone keeps telling me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was exhausting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe beat you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His silence pleased me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou faked your death because she was getting close.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Victor had decided he wanted a conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Across the room Daniel stopped pacing.<\/p>\n<p>I put the call on speaker.<\/p>\n<p>Arturo continued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy son began destroying useful relationships. Closing agencies. Returning documents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Victor had told part of the truth.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe tried to dismantle the network.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe tried to dismantle my life\u2019s work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou stole babies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI arranged families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout consent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That word.<\/p>\n<p>Inherited across generations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cVictor turned against you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo you disappeared.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI allowed him to believe I died.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Cole?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAdrian knew.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRosa?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A pause.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teresa covered her mouth.<\/p>\n<p>Her grandmother knew Arturo lived.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRoberto?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGabriel?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMom?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe suspected.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeene?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe discovered it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd Cole killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arturo went quiet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou ordered it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>I believed the denial only because it sounded irritated rather than defensive.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCole acted alone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe became ambitious.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhere is he now?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arturo\u2019s voice changed.<\/p>\n<p>Closer.<\/p>\n<p>Lower.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is the problem, Lucia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The call disconnected.<\/p>\n<p>At that exact moment, Detective Ramirez called Andrew.<\/p>\n<p>The ranch team had made entry.<\/p>\n<p>Two people inside.<\/p>\n<p>Arturo.<\/p>\n<p>Elvira.<\/p>\n<p>Alive.<\/p>\n<p>No Cole.<\/p>\n<p>Relief struck so hard I had to sit.<\/p>\n<p>Then Ramirez added:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s something else.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey found a surveillance room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWatching what?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour homes. The cemetery. Mercer Pavilion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cole\u2019s system?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo,\u201d Ramirez said when I asked.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe equipment appears to belong to Salcedo.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arturo had been watching too.<\/p>\n<p>Two networks of surveillance.<\/p>\n<p>Two people manipulating us.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe more.<\/p>\n<p>Elvira was safe.<\/p>\n<p>Arturo was in custody.<\/p>\n<p>For approximately thirty seconds, I believed the worst part had ended.<\/p>\n<p>Then Paola\u2019s phone rang.<\/p>\n<p>She answered.<\/p>\n<p>Her expression changed immediately.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat do you mean she\u2019s gone?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daniel crossed the room.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Paola lowered the phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy mother.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Teresa\u2019s hospital bed was empty.<\/p>\n<p>The officer outside had been found unconscious in a service stairwell.<\/p>\n<p>On Teresa\u2019s pillow lay a single card.<\/p>\n<p>Daniel read it.<\/p>\n<p>One line.<\/p>\n<p>You found the father. Now find the doctor.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h2><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/?p=30285\">Click here to continue reading: PART 26: Teresa\u2019s Second Disappearance Led to a Dead Doctor\u2019s Private Clinic, Where Paola Found the Birth Record Rosa Had Spent Decades Hiding<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Victor did not move after the call ended. Neither did I. The cemetery around us seemed unnaturally quiet, as if the rows of stone markers had absorbed Arturo\u2019s voice and &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30259,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insightdrama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30319,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30284\/revisions\/30319"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/insightdrama.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}