Clara felt the cold hospital room spin around her. She looked at her daughter’s pale, sweaty face and tried to gather her thoughts. The doctor remained outwardly calm, but her eyes betrayed an impossible-to-disguise concern.

— “Ana, honey, please… tell us exactly what happened Saturday night,” the doctor asked softly, leaning toward the girl.

The little girl hesitated. She bit her lip, and tears began to roll down her cheeks.

— «It hurt a lot… and Martín told me not to tell Mom… that she’d only worry. He gave me some pills… very bitter. Afterwards… I don’t remember everything very well.»

Clara’s blood ran cold. Pills? Why the hell would Martin give medication to a little girl without telling anyone?

The doctor reacted immediately:

— “It’s essential to know what kind of substances he ingested. I’ve already called an ambulance, and at the hospital we’ll run all the necessary tests. It’s not just indigestion.”

Every minute seemed like an eternity. Finally, the ambulance arrived, and blue lights illuminated the office windows. The paramedics carefully transferred Ana to the stretcher and immediately began stabilization procedures.

Clara walked down the hospital hallway, trying not to burst into tears. Her mind kept returning to the same question:  How could she have missed him before? How could she have left her daughter alone with Martín?

During the journey, the doctor whispered to her:

— “The symptoms and what we saw on the ultrasound suggest that Ana’s body has been exposed to something it shouldn’t have. Her liver and stomach show damage. We’ll have a precise confirmation after the lab tests.”

In the waiting room, Clara felt for the first time a burning rage, mixed with unbearable guilt. Martín. The man she had entrusted with her life and that of her daughter. The man she had believed in. What was he really hiding?

Her cell phone vibrated. A message from Martin:

“Everything okay? I’m home now. Are you all right?”

Clara clenched her fists. She didn’t respond. At that very moment, the doctor came out of the emergency room door.

— “Ana’s condition is stable, but we have serious suspicions. We must inform the authorities. It’s very likely that she ingested a toxic substance.”

The words “report to the authorities” struck Clara like a bolt of lightning. She realized the nightmare had only just begun.

She looked up at her daughter’s pale face, visible behind the glass in the living room. And in that instant, she made an irrevocable decision: she would never allow Martín near the girl again.

And deep down in his heart, he knew the truth about that weekend would be far darker than he could have ever imagined.

The girl was complaining of severe abdominal pain after a weekend with her stepfather—and the doctor, upon seeing the ultrasound, immediately called an ambulance…😱

That Monday morning was supposed to start like any other. Clara, mother of an eight-year-old girl named Ana, was preparing breakfast before taking her to school. But there was something deeply unsettling.

Ana was pale, sitting at the table with her hand on her stomach.
“Mom… it still hurts,” she whispered weakly.

Clara felt a lump in her chest.
“Did it hurt yesterday too?”
Ana nodded, her eyes wide and scared.
“It started Saturday night… really bad. I told Martín (Clara’s husband, Ana’s stepfather), but he told me it was probably because of the pizza.”

That weekend, Clara had to work, leaving her daughter in Martín’s care. Until then, she had always downplayed the girl’s complaints, convinced they were temporary annoyances. But this time, a cold feeling ran through her blood.

Without wasting time, he took her to the pediatrician who had been treating her since she was born.

After a thorough examination, the doctor decided to perform an ultrasound “just in case.” However, the moment the images appeared on the screen, the serenity vanished from her face. She exchanged an alarmed glance with her assistant.

— “Doctor, what’s wrong?” Clara asked in a trembling voice.

The doctor immediately picked up the phone and said firmly,
“I need an ambulance for an eight-year-old girl.”

Then she turned to Ana, lying frightened on the examination table. And at that moment, a terrifying question crossed Clara’s mind:

What had really happened that weekend with her stepfather?