Chapter 3 - A Race Against Time
I threw my dead phone onto the passenger seat and started the car engine.
The tires squealed against the wet pavement as I sped down the street toward my house.
Every second felt like an absolute eternity.
I did not have a weapon, but I had the fury of a husband protecting his family.
I parked recklessly on the lawn and sprinted to the front door.
It was locked from the inside.
I didn't waste time looking for my keys; I grabbed a heavy garden stone and smashed the glass panel.
I reached through the broken glass, unlocked the deadbolt, and kicked the door open.
"Lucía!" I yelled, running into the living room.
The room was completely empty.
The envelope was gone, and the floor was clean.
"Mateo?" my mother’s voice called out from the kitchen.
She walked out holding a cup of tea, looking perfectly innocent and surprised.
"What are you doing breaking the door, sweetheart?" she asked with fake concern.
I ignored her and rushed down the hallway to our bedroom.
Lucía was lying unconscious on the bed, her breathing shallow and erratic.
"What did you do to her?" I demanded, turning to face my mother.
"Nothing," Mercedes lied smoothly.
"She just fainted from the pregnancy exhaustion, and Julian kindly helped me carry her to bed."
I noticed a small, empty medicine vial sitting on the nightstand.
I picked it up and read the label.
It was a powerful, illegal labor-inducing drug used in veterinary medicine.
"You poisoned her," I whispered in absolute horror.
Before I could grab my mother, a heavy blow struck the back of my head.
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I fell to the floor, my vision blurring as Julian stood over me holding a metal fireplace poker.
"You should have just stayed at work, little brother," Julian sneered as darkness consumed me.
