PART 1
Lucía Armenta was sitting next to the incubators of her premature twins in the Neonatal Care Unit of the Santa Regina Hospital, in Guadalajara.
I hadn’t slept well in 11 days.
Her daughters, Renata and Camila, had been born prematurely, so tiny that their diapers looked like blankets and the tubes that helped them breathe looked bigger than their arms.
Lucia had red eyes, her hair was haphazardly tied up, and her hands were trembling on her skirt.
Even so, he didn’t move from there.
Not even if I were hungry.
Not even from tiredness.
Not even out of fear.
Because every beep from the machines was proof that their girls were still fighting.
Then the glass doors opened.
Rodrigo Cárdenas, her husband, entered.
He was wearing a navy blue suit, shiny shoes, and that cold face that Lucia knew all too well.
But he didn’t come alone.
Behind him walked Priscila Montalvo, his lover, with one hand on her pregnant belly and a smile so calm that she seemed to be entering a family meal.
The worst part wasn’t seeing her.
The worst part was the coat.
Priscila was wearing Lucía’s cream-colored maternity coat, a unique piece hand-embroidered in Tlaquepaque, with the initials LA hidden in the lining.
Lucía had that coat made for her after losing four pregnancies.
It was the coat she wore when she finally believed that life was giving her something beautiful back.
Rodrigo stopped in front of her and dropped a folder onto her legs.
The documents carelessly hit his lap.
« Sign them, » he said, without looking at the incubators. « They’re the divorce papers. »
Lucia slowly raised her gaze.
-Here?
Rodrigo sighed, as if she were the one making a scene.
—Yes, here. I’ve already emptied the joint accounts. I’ve also canceled your cards. You and those girls are going to have to sort this out on your own.
A nurse who was checking medication froze.
Priscilla smiled more.
—Oh, Lucia, don’t make it so awkward. Rodrigo and I are going to start a real family.
Lucia looked at Priscilla’s belly.
Then she looked at her daughters inside the incubators.
Rodrigo hadn’t even looked at them once.
« Did you bring your pregnant lover to the neonatal intensive care unit? » Lucia asked in a low voice.
« It’s not my fault you couldn’t give him healthy children, » he replied.
The silence fell like a stone.
Even Priscilla stopped smiling for a second.
Lucía looked down at the folder.
His name was on the first page.
Lucía Armenta Rivas.
Pension waiver.
Waiver of assets.
Temporary waiver of custody rights due to emotional incapacity.
Everything is ready.
Everything calculated.
Rodrigo handed him a pen.
—Be a good girl, sign it, and don’t make a scene. Seriously, you’re not in a position to fight.
Lucia picked up the pen.
He signed a page.
Then another one.
And one more.
Rodrigo smiled with relief.
Priscilla approached, caressing the stolen coat.
—Look how easy it was to accept your place.
But Lucía put the pen down on the folder, took out her cell phone and dialed a number that did not appear to be saved with a name.
Rodrigo frowned.
—Who are you talking to?
Lucia looked him straight in the eyes.
—To my grandfather.
Rodrigo burst out laughing.
—No way, Lucia. You told me you were an orphan with no family.
She waited for them to answer.
And when a deep voice answered, Lucia simply said:
—Grandpa, come to Santa Regina Hospital. Rodrigo just abandoned my daughters in intensive care and brought his lover using my coat.
There was silence on the other side.
Then a single answer.
—I’m going there.
Rodrigo was still laughing when Lucia hung up.
But eight minutes later, the doors of the unit burst open and no one could believe what was about to happen…
PART 2
First, three men dressed in black entered.
Then two lawyers with thick folders.
And finally, an old man appeared with white hair, a fine wooden cane, and a gaze so hard that even the doctors stopped moving.
The hospital director ran towards him, almost tripping.
—Don Ernesto… we didn’t know you were coming.
Rodrigo stopped laughing.
Priscila nervously adjusted her coat.
Don Ernesto Armenta did not greet anyone.
He walked straight towards Lucia.
Her eyes softened as soon as she saw her sitting next to the incubators.
Then he looked at the twins.
For the first time, his powerful man’s face broke.
He placed a hand on the glass of Renata’s incubator.
—Are these my great-granddaughters?
Lucia nodded.
Don Ernesto swallowed hard.
—They are beautiful.
Rodrigo stepped forward.
—Sir, I think there’s a misunderstanding. This is a couple’s matter.
Don Ernesto turned slowly.
The tenderness disappeared from her face.
—Are you the man who left my granddaughter penniless while her daughters struggle to breathe?
Rodrigo paled.
—I… look, things aren’t like that.
—Did you empty the joint accounts?
No one answered.
The nurse who was standing next to the cart lowered her gaze.
The silence said it all.
Don Ernesto turned to one of his lawyers.
—Freeze any activity linked to Rodrigo Cárdenas. Review transfers, cards, companies, and contracts. Everything.
Rodrigo opened his eyes.
—You can’t do that.
Don Ernesto raised an eyebrow.
—Of course I can. You’re standing in my hospital.
Priscilla let out a nervous laugh.
—Excuse me, is this your hospital?
The director intervened almost in a whisper.
—Santa Regina Hospital belongs to the Armenta Medical Group.
Rodrigo looked at Lucia as if he were seeing her for the first time.
—What’s going on?
Lucia did not respond.
For years, Rodrigo believed she was a woman without support.
A discreet designer who worked from home, avoided social parties, and never talked about money.
She called it simple.
He called her « grateful ».
I told him that without him I would be nothing.
He never asked why Lucia knew so much about contracts.
She never asked why the best doctors treated her without charging her a penny.
She never asked why the hospital director always greeted her with excessive respect.
Don Ernesto pointed to Priscila.
—And you. Take off that coat.
Priscilla stepped back.
-That?