Chapter 11 - the man in storage room 17
Daniel, Camila, Mariela, and 2 trusted security officers drove through the eastern orchard.
Rosa remained at the estate with Sofia, Iker, Teresa, and Octavio. Esteban was kept in the library while the guests were told that a private security issue required the celebration to end early.
No one had legal authority to arrest him yet.
They needed Rafael alive.
The abandoned processing house appeared beyond a line of olive trees. Its roof had partially collapsed, and weeds covered the cracked loading platform.
The main door stood open.
Daniel signaled for everyone to remain behind him.
Inside, the building smelled of dust and old machinery. Sunlight entered through holes in the roof, revealing footprints across the floor.
They found the number O-17 painted on a metal door at the rear of the building.
Mariela called Rafael’s name.
No answer came.
Daniel checked the frame.
“There may be a sensor.”
One of the officers disconnected a thin wire attached to the hinge.
The door opened.
The room was empty.
A chair stood in the center beneath a hanging light. On the wall was the Valdés crest from the photograph. A newspaper lay on the floor.
Mariela picked it up.
“This is the one Rafael was holding.”
Camila examined the chair.
“The photograph could have been taken here this morning.”
Daniel found a speaker mounted behind the wall. When he activated it, Rafael’s recorded voice played.
“Mariela, don’t do what they say.”
The phone call had used a recording.
Mariela covered her face.
“He may already be dead.”
“We don’t know that,” Camila said.
Daniel found fresh tire tracks behind the building. They led toward a narrow service road beyond the estate boundary.
A black button lay in the dirt.
Mariela recognized it.
“It came from Rafael’s coat.”
The tracks ended near a concrete drainage tunnel.
Inside the tunnel, they found bloodless torn fabric, a broken watch, and a series of scratches along the wall.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
“Mariela?”
She ran forward.
Rafael was sitting behind a maintenance barrier, weak but conscious. His hands were secured in front of him, and dust covered his clothing.
Mariela dropped to her knees beside him.
“I thought you left us.”
“They made me sign the confession.”
“What confession?”
“That I stole money from the company. Esteban said he would release me after the trust transfer.”
Daniel removed the restraints.
“Who moved you from the storage room?”
“Bruno and another man.”
“Did you see him?”
“No. He wore a hood.”
“Did you hear his voice?”
Rafael nodded.
“He asked whether Camila had touched the truck.”
Camila felt her stomach tighten.
“Why would that matter?”
“Because the truck was never only about the trust.”
Rafael reached into the lining of his coat and removed a small metal cylinder.
“I stole this from Bruno when they moved me.”
Daniel opened it.
Inside was a rolled strip of photographic film.
The images showed Elena Valdés meeting Esteban beside the courtyard fountain the night before her supposed death.
In one image, Elena handed him a folder.
In another, Esteban passed it to a woman waiting near a black car.
The woman’s face was hidden by a red umbrella.
On the final frame, Elena appeared to see the camera.
She pointed toward the woman.
May you like
Then she formed 3 words with her lips.
SHE IS FAMILY.
