CHAPTER 2 – “THE BACKPACK THAT SHOULD NOT EXIST”
The moment Sofía whispered those words…
Everything in my body went cold.
“I think they saw me take it.”
Alejandro turned slowly.
“Take what?” he asked.
No one answered.
Not Leticia.
Not Valeria.
Not me.
The silence was louder than anything I had ever heard in my life.
Sofía hugged her pink backpack tighter behind my legs.
“Mom…” she whispered again.
Leticia finally smiled.
A calm, perfect smile.
“Oh Alejandro,” she said softly, “this is getting ridiculous. The child is confused.”
Valeria nodded quickly.
“She grabbed something from the counter. Probably nothing important.”
Alejandro’s eyes narrowed.
“Nothing important?”
He looked at me again.
“Camila. Tell me what she took.”
My throat burned.
My whole body was shaking.
I could feel Leticia watching me like a blade pressed against my skin.
If I spoke…
everything would explode.
Sofía tugged my shirt.
“Mom… don’t let them take it.”
Alejandro saw the movement.
“What is in the backpack?”
Leticia stepped forward immediately.
“Just a childish thing. You know how kids are.”
But Alejandro didn’t move.
“Open it,” he said.
The room froze again.
Valeria’s face tightened.
Leticia’s smile flickered for the first time.
“Alejandro, don’t be dramatic—”
“I said open it.”
His voice dropped.
Final. Controlled.
Sofía started crying quietly behind me.
“Mom…”
I closed my eyes for a second.
Then I nodded.
“Baby… give it to Daddy.”
Slowly, Sofía unzipped the backpack.
Her hands were shaking.
She pulled it out.
The pill bottle.
Still inside.
Still visible.
Still proof.
Alejandro stared at it.
No expression at first.
Just silence.
Then he looked at me.
“Camila…”
His voice changed.
“Why does my daughter have this?”
Leticia cut in immediately.
“She stole it! She is lying—children lie all the time!”
Valeria nodded fast.
“She is manipulating you. You know how women like her—”
“Stop talking,” Alejandro said.
Quiet.
Dangerous.
The room went dead silent again.
He stepped closer.
Took the bottle from Sofía’s hands.
Looked at it.
Then at me.
Then at my stomach.
“Were you… forced to take this?” he asked.
My lips trembled.
I couldn’t speak.
Because Leticia was staring at me again.
That same look.
A promise.
Speak… and everything burns.
Alejandro turned slowly toward his mother.
“Mom.”
One word.
Different tone now.
“Tell me the truth.”
Leticia didn’t even blink.
“She is unstable,” she said softly. “She is trying to turn you against your family.”
Alejandro didn’t move.
Didn’t respond.
Just stared at her.
Then—
He opened the pill bottle.
And poured one onto his palm.
The label caught the light.
His face changed.
For the first time.
Something broke behind his eyes.
“Where did you get this?” he whispered.
No one answered.
Not even Leticia this time.
And then Alejandro said something that froze the entire room.
“This is not prenatal medication.”
He looked up slowly.
“This is… not for pregnancy at all.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Impossible.
And then his phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
“…Yes?”
A pause.
His face drained of color.
“Say that again.”
He looked at me.
Then at Sofía.
Then at Leticia.
May you like
And whispered:
“What do you mean this bottle came from a hospital trial that was shut down five years ago?”
