Chapter 6 - CHAPTER 5: THE ESCAPE THROUGH THE RAIN
The underground passage beneath the west wing of the mansion was dark, cool, and smelled of damp earth and concrete. It had been constructed twenty years ago by Alejandro’s father as an emergency security exit leading directly to a hidden garage two blocks away from the main estate.
Alejandro led the way, holding a high-powered tactical flashlight in one hand and guiding Mariana with the other. Mariana carried Lucía, who was wrapped tightly in Alejandro’s heavy jacket, holding her stuffed rabbit Panquecito close to her cheek.
"Uncle Ale... where are we going?" Lucía whispered, her small voice echoing faintly in the narrow tunnel. "Is it a game?"
"Yes, little one," Alejandro replied, turning back to offer her a comforting smile despite the adrenaline surging through his veins. "It's a secret mission. We have to be very quiet so the monsters outside don't hear us."
"Panquecito is good at secret missions," Lucía murmured, burying her nose into the worn fabric of her rabbit. "He stays super still."
At the end of the tunnel, Alejandro unlocked a heavy reinforced steel door that led into the lower level of a private commercial parking structure. Parked in a darkened bay was an unarmored, non-descript grey Audi sedan with tinted windows—one of several untraceable vehicles Alejandro kept stationed throughout the city for emergencies.
"Get in the back," Alejandro instructed, opening the rear door for Mariana and Lucía. "Keep your heads down until we clear the outer ring road."
Mariana climbed inside, pulling Lucía down onto her lap, covering her with a blanket. Alejandro slid into the driver’s seat, hit the engine start button, and the powerful V8 engine roared to life with a quiet, menacing hum.
He maneuvered the car out of the parking structure, slipping seamlessly into the heavy late-night traffic on Avenida de las Palmas.
Through the rain-streaked rear window, Mariana could see the flashing blue and red emergency lights surrounding the front gates of Alejandro’s mansion two blocks away. Ernesto’s lawyers and the police cars were still standing outside, blocked by Rodrigo’s security team.
"They'll realize we're gone in ten minutes," Alejandro said, his eyes flicking constantly to the rearview mirror as he navigated through the sheet of falling rain. "Ernesto will check the airport manifests and private charter docks."
"Where are we going?" Mariana asked, her heart still pounding against her ribs.
"We aren't going to Toluca," Alejandro revealed, taking a sharp right turn onto an unlit secondary road leading toward the foothills of Ajusco. "That was a decoy message I broadcasted over the mansion's internal comms, knowing Ernesto's team was monitoring our frequency."
Mariana blinked in surprise. "A decoy?"
"Ernesto thinks I react like a businessman—calculating, predictable, following established protocols," Alejandro said, a cold, dark smile touching his lips. "He expects me to fly to Miami or San Diego. He doesn't know that Mateo built a private sanctuary in the pine forests of Ajusco three years before he died. A place that exists on no map, registered under a blind trust that even my family doesn't know about."
Mariana looked at the side profile of Alejandro’s face illuminated by the green glow of the dashboard lights. The billionaire who had once seemed like a distant, arrogant stranger was turning out to be a man of extraordinary depth, intelligence, and terrifying loyalty.
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"Thank you, Alejandro," Mariana whispered softly from the backseat.
Alejandro met her gaze in the rearview mirror, his grey eyes softening. "You don't have to thank me, Mariana. You and Lucía are the only real family I have left."
