The Barefoot Boy Who Want To Find His Real Father

CHAPTER 2 - THE NAME HIS MOTHER FEARED

Alejandro heard his mother's voice before he could think.

"No. That is not possible."

He turned sharply. Elena stood near the white rose display, one hand pressed to her pearls, the other trembling at her side. She was always controlled. Always elegant. Always impossible to surprise.

But now she looked afraid.

The boy was still crying. Sofia slipped around Alejandro's leg and stared up at him with wide brown eyes.

"Daddy," she whispered, "why is he barefoot?"

The question cut deeper than the accusation had.

Alejandro crouched down in front of the boy. "What is your name?"

"Mateo Moreno."

"How old are you?"

"Seven."

Seven.

The number landed like a blow. Sofia was six. There had been no overlap, no scandal, nothing dirty or secret in the timeline. But seven meant something else. It meant a lost year. A whole life he had not known existed.

"Where is your mother?" Alejandro asked.

Mateo's chin shook. "At Saint Gabriel's clinic. She got very sick. She said if something happened, I had to find you. She said give you the silver rose and say your name."

Alejandro stood too quickly.

Elena stepped forward. "This is not the place for this."

He looked at her. Really looked. "You know her name."

"I know many names."

"Not like that."

The guests were pretending not to stare. Failing.

Alejandro took off his suit jacket and wrapped it around Mateo's thin shoulders. The steel watch at his wrist flashed under the chandelier as he did. Sofia watched every movement.

Then the hotel manager hurried over and said in a low voice, "Sir, there's more. The front desk says the boy wasn't alone. An older woman brought him here, but she left an envelope for you."

Alejandro tore it open.

Inside was a clinic bracelet with Lucia Moreno's name.

And a note in a shaky hand:

Your mother told me never to come to you. She was wrong.

At the bottom was a signature Alejandro had not seen in years.

Rosa Delgado.

Lucia's aunt.