PART 13 – THE DOCTOR THEY WANTED DEAD
The following morning began like every other.
Sunlight spilled across the gardens of the Velasco estate. Volunteers arrived carrying boxes of medicine. Nurses in white uniforms greeted patients waiting outside the community clinic, while children chased one another beneath the blooming jacaranda trees.
To anyone looking from the outside, it was a place of hope.
Inside, however, Nicolás couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching.
He stood on the balcony overlooking the front gate, a cup of untouched coffee in his hand.
"Three new security cameras," he instructed one of his guards. "Double the patrols at night. And nobody enters the clinic without identification."
The guard nodded.
"Yes, sir."
Sofía walked onto the balcony, smiling softly.
"You've barely slept."
"I'm fine."
She rested a hand on his shoulder.
"No, you're worried."
Nicolás looked toward the gardens where Mateo and Daniel were building a castle out of toy blocks.
"I have a family to protect."
Sofía squeezed his hand.
"And you're not protecting us alone."
Inside the clinic, the waiting room was already full.
Sofía moved from patient to patient with her usual calm compassion.
An elderly woman suffering from arthritis.
A pregnant teenager with no access to prenatal care.
A little boy with asthma.
A construction worker with a broken wrist.
To Sofía, every patient deserved the same kindness, regardless of who they were or where they came from.
Late that morning, a volunteer nurse approached her.
"Doctor, there's a young girl outside. She's terrified."
Sofía looked up.
"Bring her in."
Moments later, a girl no older than ten entered the examination room.
Her clothes were dirty, and one side of her face was bruised.
She clutched a worn backpack tightly against her chest.
"My name is Elena," she whispered.
Sofía smiled gently.
"I'm Dr. Sofía. You're safe here."
The girl glanced nervously toward the window before sitting down.
"They're looking for me."
"Who?"
"The men who killed my uncle."
As Sofía examined her injuries, Elena refused to let go of her backpack.
Finally, Sofía asked gently,
"What's inside?"
The little girl hesitated.
Then she slowly opened the zipper.
Inside was a small digital camera.
"It's my uncle's."
"What did he do?"
"He was a journalist."
Sofía's heart skipped.
"What happened to him?"
"They said he died in a car accident."
Elena looked directly into Sofía's eyes.
"It wasn't an accident."
"He recorded everything."
At that exact moment...
A black luxury SUV stopped outside the estate.
Three elegantly dressed people stepped out.
A man in his sixties.
A woman wearing an expensive navy-blue suit.
And a younger man carrying a leather briefcase.
The security guards approached.
"Can we help you?"
The older gentleman smiled warmly.
"My name is Dr. Ricardo Salazar."
He presented an identification card.
"We represent the National Medical Foundation."
"We heard about Dr. Sofía's clinics."
"We'd like to discuss a partnership."
The guards contacted Nicolás.
Within minutes, the visitors were escorted inside.
Nicolás greeted them politely.
"Welcome."
Dr. Salazar shook his hand.
"I've heard wonderful things about your wife."
"She's the one changing lives."
"We're only trying to help."
The older man smiled.
"And perhaps we can help even more."
Everything about him seemed genuine.
Kind.
Professional.
Trustworthy.
Only Don Esteban, watching quietly from the staircase, felt something twist inside his chest.
His eyes narrowed.
He knew that smile.
He had seen it once...
Thirty years earlier.
Only then...
it belonged to a much younger man.
Inside the clinic, Elena suddenly stood.
Her face had turned white.
"No..."
Sofía looked at her.
"What is it?"
The little girl stared through the glass door into the reception area.
Her body began trembling uncontrollably.
"Him..."
Sofía followed her gaze.
Dr. Ricardo Salazar had just entered the clinic with Nicolás.
Elena whispered in horror,
"That's him."
"He's the one who murdered my uncle."
Without thinking, Sofía immediately stepped between Elena and the reception area.
"Stay here."
She quietly locked the examination room door.
Then she pressed the silent emergency button hidden beneath her desk.
Within seconds, Nicolás's phone vibrated.
Silent Alert – Examination Room Three
His expression changed instantly.
He excused himself from the visitors.
"I'll be back in a moment."
Dr. Salazar smiled pleasantly.
"Of course."
As Nicolás disappeared down the hallway, Salazar's warm smile slowly faded.
He glanced toward one of his companions.
Almost imperceptibly...
He nodded.
Nicolás entered the examination room.
"Sofía?"
She closed the door behind him.
"Elena says Salazar killed her uncle."
Nicolás looked at the frightened girl.
"Are you certain?"
She nodded without hesitation.
"My uncle took pictures of him."
"He found out."
"They chased us."
"My uncle told me..."
"If anything happened..."
"...find Dr. Sofía Velasco."
Sofía frowned.
"Why me?"
Elena reached into her backpack.
She removed the camera.
"I think he wanted you to have this."
Meanwhile...
Outside the clinic...
Dr. Salazar calmly sipped a cup of coffee offered by one of the volunteers.
His expression remained relaxed.
Friendly.
Patient.
He glanced casually around the building.
Every entrance.
Every hallway.
Every security camera.
Every guard.
He wasn't admiring the clinic.
He was studying it.
Planning.
Calculating.
The younger man beside him whispered,
"Should we retrieve the camera now?"
Salazar smiled.
"No."
"If we force them..."
"They'll fight."
"But if we make them trust us..."
"They'll hand it over themselves."
Back inside the examination room...
Nicolás inserted the camera's memory card into a nearby computer.
The first images appeared.
Photos of illegal warehouses.
Luxury vehicles arriving at abandoned factories.
Meetings between politicians and armed men.
Then...
A video.
The timestamp showed it had been recorded only five days earlier.
Nicolás pressed play.
The footage shook violently as someone hid behind stacked crates.
Voices echoed.
Then...
Dr. Ricardo Salazar walked into view.
But he wasn't wearing an expensive suit.
He wore black gloves.
Standing beside him were heavily armed men.
One of them dragged a wounded journalist across the warehouse floor.
The journalist pleaded.
"You don't have to do this."
Salazar answered calmly.
"I know."
"But loose ends are expensive."
He raised a silenced pistol.
The screen went black.
A gunshot echoed.
Silence filled the room.
Sofía covered her mouth.
Daniel stared in disbelief.
Elena quietly cried.
Nicolás slowly closed the laptop.
His jaw tightened.
"He came here..."
"Pretending to help us."
Don Esteban entered the room.
His face had gone pale.
"I know who he is."
Everyone turned toward him.
He spoke with quiet certainty.
"Ricardo Salazar isn't his real name."
"He was one of the three men who swore the oath with me."
"The man we believed had died thirty years ago."
He looked toward Nicolás.
"The ghost..."
"...has finally revealed himself."
Outside...
Dr. Salazar looked toward the clinic windows.
For a brief moment...
His eyes met Nicolás's through the glass.
Neither man smiled.
Neither looked away.
Without saying a single word...
May you like
Both understood.
The war had begun.
