Chapter 71

Mateo was very confused when Juan took him to a room and showed him some pictures. The pictures he was seeing were pictures of him as a baby with a young woman who was holding his hand and touching him gently in a very exciting way.

"She is your mother," Juan informed him with the hope that he would understand what he was about to say next mattered a lot. "Elena, your close friend who is way older than you is your mother."

Mateo tried to relax a bit as he let the words sink in.

"That is not possible," Mateo said slowly, his brow furrowing as he stared at the photographs. He looked from the images to Juan and back again, trying to make sense of what he was being told. "Elena can't be my mother. She's only a few years older than me."

Juan sighed heavily, bracing himself against the weight of the revelation he was about to unfurl. "I know this is difficult to understand, but Elena is, in fact, your mother.