Please untie us. We’ve learned our lesson. The twin voices pierced the afternoon silence as Gabriel Ortega entered his home in La Moraleja. He had returned from his business trip to Amsterdam the day before, driven by a disturbing dream about his sons that kept him awake at the hotel.

It was 5 p.m. on a Tuesday. He followed the voices into the living room, and what he saw left him paralyzed with horror. His 11-year-old twin sons, Lucas and Mateo, were tied together back to back in the middle of the living room. Thick rope wrapped around them from their shoulders to their waists, so tight they could barely breathe deeply

They had been crying, their faces red and swollen, their T-shirts soaked with sweat. Their stepmother Nadia sat on the sofa opposite them, calmly sipping her tea, watching them with a cold, satisfied expression. “If you stop fighting, you’ll learn to cooperate,” she said in an almost pedagogical tone.

That’s how you teach teamwork. “What the hell is going on here?” Gabriel roared, startling everyone to stop spilling their tea. The twins turned their heads simultaneously, and seeing their father, they began to cry with desperate relief. “Dad, Dad, help us!” they cried in unison. Gabriel rushed over and began untying the ropes with trembling hands

They were so tight that they had left deep red marks on their skin. When he finally freed them, both boys collapsed into his arms, shaking violently. “How long have you been like this?” “Since this morning,” Lucas said. “Since 8:00.” Gabriel looked at his watch. It was 5:00 p.m. Nine hours. They’ve been tied up for nine hours.

Mateo nodded weakly. “She wouldn’t let us go to the bathroom. We had to hold it. Lucas peed himself two hours ago because he couldn’t hold it anymore.” Gabriel then noticed that Lucas’s pants were wet. The boy looked down in shame, tears rolling down his cheeks. “Stepmother Nadia said it was our fault for being weak,” Lucas whispered.

“She said if we had learned earlier not to fight, we wouldn’t have to be tied up.” Gabriel felt a murderous rage as he checked on his sons. They had deep rope marks all over their torsos, their arms were numb from being in the same position for hours, and both were dehydrated and exhausted

Gabriel, love, you’re early. No one tried to sound casual as they got up from the sofa. The children were tied up like animals for nine hours. It’s a recognized educational method. It’s called Natural Consequences of Cooperation. I read it in a parenting book. What parenting book recommends torturing children? It’s not torture.

It’s teaching them that sibling fights have consequences. If they fight, they must learn to work together. Gabriel picked up both boys, one in each arm, and carried them straight to the bathroom. He gave them water, helped them shower with extreme care so as not to hurt the rope marks, and dressed them in clean clothes.

 “Dad, this isn’t the first time,” Mateo confessed as his father applied cream to the red marks. Gabriel’s heart sank. “What do you mean? It ties us up every time you travel. At first it was only a few hours, but each time it’s longer. How many times?” Lucas and Mateo looked at each other. Maybe 15 times. 20

 Gabriel felt like he was going to throw up. “Why didn’t you tell me before?” “We tried, Lucas,” he explained. “But when you called, Stepmother Nadia was always nearby and threatened us. She said that if we told you, she would tie us up for days on end and never let us go. And at school, the teachers didn’t notice anything.” Mateo looked down. “Stepmother Nadia makes us wear long-sleeved shirts all the time, even in summer.”

“She says it’s to hide the marks.” Gabriel checked the twins’ wardrobe, and sure enough, all their clothes were long-sleeved. In the middle of a Madrid summer, his sons had been wearing winter clothes to hide evidence of abuse. “What else has she done to them?” The twins exchanged nervous glances before Lucas spoke

 Sometimes he ties us up in different ways. Once he tied us face to face and said we had to look into each other’s eyes until we learned to love each other. It was 6 hours. Another time he tied us to separate chairs, but with a rope between us, Mateo added. He said if one of us moved, the other felt the pull. It was to teach us empathy. Gabriel felt a chill.

No one had been experimenting with different forms of psychological torture using the twins’ natural closeness against them. Did he ever leave you tied up overnight? Both boys nodded. Three times, Lucas whispered. He tied us to our beds, one on each side of the room, but with a rope connecting us.

If one of us moved in our sleep, it would wake the other. Stepmother Nadia said that this way we would learn to be considerate even while asleep. Gabriel went to the twins’ room and found evidence that confirmed her words. There were hooks installed in the walls on both sides of the room, clearly used for tying ropes.

In the closet, he found a box with different types of rope, tape, and even plastic handcuffs. He also found a notebook that chilled him to the bone. It was a meticulous record that no one had been keeping. March 15, tied back to back, they fought for four hours over a remote control. The result: they cried, but they learned to negotiate

April 3, tied face to face, 6 hours. They insulted each other. Result: they eventually apologized, though probably insincerely. April 20, tied to separate chairs with connecting rope, 7 hours. Lucas hit Mateo. Result: they both learned that one’s actions affect the other. The notebook continued page after page, documenting months of systematic torture.

The last entry was from that morning. May 14, tied back to back, from 8 a.m., Lucas deliberately broke Mateo’s toy. Planned: 10 hours. Objective: to teach respect for other people’s property. No one had planned to leave them tied up for a full 10 hours. If Gabriel hadn’t arrived early, his sons would have suffered another hour.

When he confronted Nadia with the notebook, she showed no remorse. It’s a scientific record. Any good educator documents their methods and results. Methods. This is documented torture. It’s advanced discipline. The twins have a special connection that can be used to teach them. Used

 You’re exploiting them psychologically. Nadia crossed her arms. Gabriel, you asked me to take care of discipline. You said you traveled a lot and needed someone to keep things in order. I asked you to look after them, not torture them. The line between discipline and torture is subjective. Gabriel pulled out his phone and began photographing everything.

 The marks on the twins’ bodies, the hooks in the walls, the box of rope, the incriminating notebook. What are you doing? Nadia asked nervously for the first time, documenting evidence for the police and child protective services. You can’t do that. I’m your wife. This is private. You tortured my children for months.

There’s nothing private here. Gabriel immediately called his lawyer, the twins’ pediatrician, and the police. While he waited, he continued gently questioning his sons. Is there anything else I should know? Lucas and Mateo looked at each other before Mateo spoke. Sometimes he makes us tie ourselves to each other

 He says that if we participate in the punishment ourselves, we’ll learn the lesson better. He forces them to tie each other up. Yes, Lucas, he confirmed. Once I had to tie Mateo to a chair. I cried the whole time, but Stepmother Nadia said that if I didn’t do it properly, she would tie us both up much worse. The psychological cruelty was even deeper than Gabriel had imagined.

Nadia not only physically tortured the twins, but she also forced them to participate in the abuse of each other, creating additional trauma and guilt. Dr. Ruiz arrived first, and the examination of the twins was devastating. Gabriel, your sons have deep abrasions consistent with being tied with ropes for extended periods.

There is evidence of compromised circulation, severe dehydration, and significant psychological trauma related to their twin bond. Trauma related to their twin bond. Yes, twins naturally have a special bond. Using that bond as an instrument of punishment can cause deep psychological damage.

They may begin to associate the presence of each other with pain and suffering. Gabriel felt like his world was collapsing. Nadia had not only tortured her sons individually, but she had also poisoned the relationship between them. Child psychologist Dr. Mendez, who specializes in twins, arrived an hour later, and her assessment was just as devastating

The boys are showing signs of what we call induced twin trauma. They’ve been conditioned to see their natural connection as something negative. Lucas told me that he sometimes wishes he didn’t have a twin brother because then they wouldn’t be tied together. My God, Gabriel could barely process the words. Mateo expressed similar feelings.

There’s also significant guilt because they were forced to participate in each other’s punishment. Lucas feels he betrayed his brother by tying him up. Mateo feels the same way. The police arrived soon after. Detective Inspector Ramos, with 20 years of experience in child abuse, was visibly disturbed by the evidence.

Mr. Ortega, this is one of the most calculated and twisted cases I’ve ever seen. Your wife not only physically abused your sons, but she specifically designed the punishments to exploit their twin relationship. That’s premeditated cruelty on a whole different level. When Nadia was arrested, she made one last attempt at justification

I was trying to make them better siblings. Twins need to learn not to fight. All siblings fight, Inspector Ramos replied. They aren’t tortured for it. I was a twin; I know how it works. My sister and I fought constantly until our parents taught us using similar methods.

The silence was absolute. No one had just revealed that she herself had been a victim of this type of abuse and had chosen to perpetuate the cycle. “So, you know exactly how much pain it causes,” the inspector said coldly and chose to inflict it anyway. The following months were devastating for Lucas and Mateo.

 They developed severe anxiety when they were near each other. They had nightmares about being tied up. Lucas developed a fear of ropes in general, even shoelaces. But the worst was the guilt. “Dad, I tied Mateo up.” Lucas would cry during therapy sessions. “I’m as bad as Stepmother Nadia.” “No, son, you were the victim too.”

She forced you. Dr. Mendez worked intensively with both boys, focusing on restoring their twin bond that had been poisoned. They need to understand that their special connection is beautiful, not a weapon, she explained to Gabriel. This will take years of work. The trial eight months later attracted national attention.

The prosecutor presented devastating evidence. The notebook documenting each torture session, photographs of the marks, medical and psychological testimonies, and most shockingly, audio recordings that no one had made without anyone knowing. In the recordings, the twins could be heard begging to be untied, crying in pain, promising to be good.

 And Nadia’s cold voice could be heard responding that the suffering was for their own good. Why did she record this? the visibly disturbed judge asked. According to what we found on her computer, the prosecutor explained, she shared the recordings on online forums where people discussed extreme disciplinary methods for twins. There is an entire community of abusers who specifically target twins, using their bond against them

 The horror in the courtroom was palpable. Lucas and Mateo’s testimony was heartbreaking. They testified together, insisting they wanted to be side by side, showing that despite everything, their bond was healing. Stepmother Nadia made us hate each other, Lucas testified. Every time she tied us up, I blamed Mateo for fighting, and he blamed me

But it wasn’t anyone’s fault. Mateo continued. It was her fault for being cruel. Judge Navarro sentenced Nadia to 12 years in prison. You deliberately identified these children’s unique vulnerability as twins and exploited it to inflict maximum psychological suffering. Your cruelty was scientific, calculated, and ruthless.

She deserves no mercy. The following years were a slow but steady healing. Lucas and Mateo, with intensive therapy, managed to rebuild their relationship. At age 13, they participated together in an awareness campaign about twin-specific abuse. Being a twin is a gift, they said in unison in a video that went viral

Stepmother Nadia tried to turn it into a curse, but failed. At 16, they wrote a book together about their experience and recovery, helping other twins who had suffered similar abuse. At 18, they both studied psychology, specializing in multiple sibling trauma. Gabriel founded an organization that identified and dismantled online communities where methods of abuse specific to twins and multiples were shared.

When the twins turned 21, they gave a joint talk to 500 mental health professionals. “No one used our bond as a weapon,” Lucas said. “But that same bond saved us, Mateo,” he finished. Because even in the darkest moments, we knew we weren’t alone in our suffering. And that, they said together, is what made us unbreakable

The strings meant to destroy their relationship only made it stronger. Shared pain became shared strength. Cruelty tried to break nature’s most special bond. Instead, it forged two young people united by something more powerful than blood—their shared survival of the unthinkable.