Chapter 76: Blood Calls to Blood

POV MATEO

The plane landed in Calgary while the sky over the Rocky Mountains was still dark. The runway was covered in a thick layer of snow, and the icy wind slammed hard against the glass walls of the international airport. I couldn’t remember ever feeling such intense pressure in my chest in my entire life. It wasn’t simple fear. It was something deeper—a devastating mix of guilt, rage, and absolute desperation.

Lucía had called me the night before from Jasper, her voice completely shattered, telling me that Damián had taken our daughters. Our daughters. Those two words had struck me like a hammer. It had been more than a year and a half since the last time I saw her. And now I was discovering that I was a father. That I had twin daughters. And that a psychopath had kidnapped them.

I took a taxi straight to Jasper, two and a half hours away by mountain road. I didn’t notify anyone from the Archdiocese about my trip. I couldn’t explain why a monsignor would suddenly drop everything, without permission, to go after a woman with whom, in theory, he had no ties.

But theory had gone to hell. This was real. Visceral. Blood of my blood.

I found her sitting in the lobby of the small hotel, her gaze completely empty, her face swollen from so much crying. She was wearing a coat—the same worn one I remembered—though even more worn now by time.

When she saw me walk in, she jumped up and ran toward me without caring who saw her.

“Mateo…”

I hugged her without thinking, without measuring consequences. Her body shook violently against mine.

I felt her rapid breathing against my neck, that familiar scent I had never forgotten, now mixed with fear and extreme exhaustion.

“Where did you see them last?” I asked, my voice controlled.

“They were sleeping in the crib. When I came back up with the warm milk, they were gone.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “He left a note, like he always does. He says he warned me… that they’re his…”

“Okay. We’re going to find them,” I said, trying to sound certain, though inside I was falling apart. “I swear it to you before God.”

We sat on a sofa in the empty lobby. I asked her to tell me everything again, detail by detail, in chronological order.

I needed to understand. To know where to start looking.

She spoke through broken sobs.

“I thought he’d never find me so far away, but… he did. I don’t know how he tracked me to Canada.”

“And the girls?” I asked, needing confirmation. “You said on the phone that they’re… that they’re mine.”

She took a few seconds before answering. She looked straight into my eyes, and in that moment I knew something was coming that would change my life forever.

“Mateo…” her voice broke. “They’re not Damián’s daughters. They never were.”

I felt the air literally leave my lungs.

“They’re yours.” Tears fell freely now. “Isabella and Sofía are your daughters. From that night of the storm. The only times I was ever with a man without protection were with you.”

The entire world stopped.

I said nothing for endless seconds. I just stared at her. My breathing became slow and heavy, as if my lungs were filled with lead.

Everything I had repressed for a year and a half crashed down on me like an avalanche: the sleepless nights, the constant guilt, the forbidden desire, the loss.

And now, the final and definitive blow.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” I asked in a low voice, heavy with pain. “Why did you let me live without knowing I had daughters?”

“Because I didn’t want to ruin your life,” she covered her face with her hands. “I hurt you enough already. You were already carrying so much guilt because of me. I saw how you became a monsignor, how people admired you. I couldn’t destroy that.”

“And you think this is better?” I said, barely able to breathe. “My daughters, Lucía. My daughters are with that monster, and I didn’t even know they existed until now.”

She sobbed with her entire body.

“I’m sorry, Mateo. I’m so sorry. If I could turn back time…”

I hugged her because I needed to. I felt rage, helplessness, love, fear—a cocktail of emotions consuming me from the inside.

But above all, I felt an animal fear. A fear I had never experienced before.

My daughters. I hadn’t even met them, and I would already give my life for them.

The hours that followed were slow torture. The local Jasper police barely had any useful information. They had found a Chevrolet truck abandoned with stolen plates on the outskirts of town, but nothing more concrete.

Lucía paced back and forth around the room, biting her nails until they bled, unable to stop trembling. I tried to maintain outward calm, but my blood was boiling.

And then I remembered Santiago and Sebastián.

I knew they had contacts all over North America. People who didn’t ask questions and got fast results.

I didn’t want to involve them, but there was no other option.

I stepped out of the room and dialed Santiago’s encrypted number.

“Mateo,” his deep voice answered immediately. “You already arrived in Canada?”

“Wait—how do you know I’m here?”

“We have trackers in all major airports. We saw you pass through Calgary hours ago.” He paused. “What exactly do you need?”

I took a deep breath.

“Two girls were kidnapped. Eight-month-old twins. I can’t give you all the details right now, but… I need to find them urgently.”

There was a brief, calculated silence on the other end.

“It’s the same man we’ve been looking for for months,” he finally said, his voice icy. “The one who ran you over. We’ve been tracking him for weeks. His name is Damián Reyes. He’s in Canada. Now everything makes sense.”

I froze against the wall.

“How the hell do you know all that?”

“Our best men have been discreetly following him. We wanted revenge for what he did to you. Now I understand why he kidnapped children.”

I pressed my forehead against the cold hallway wall.

“The mother called me in desperation. It was him. He took them. It’s… it’s a long, complicated story, but I need you to help me get those girls back now.”

“Then there’s nothing more to discuss, little brother,” Santiago said with that calculated coldness he’d always had. “Sebastián and I are taking the private jet right now from Guadalajara. Our men are already close to your location in Jasper. I’m sending you coordinates.”

“I don’t want him killed yet,” I said automatically. “He might be the only way to know where the girls are.”

“We won’t kill him… yet,” he promised. “We need him alive to interrogate him properly. But tonight we’ll catch him, I swear it to you by our blood.”

He hung up before I could respond.

I went back to Lucía. She looked at me with swollen eyes, hopeful and terrified.

“Who did you talk to?”

“With someone who can truly help us.” I couldn’t explain that my brothers were drug traffickers—not now. “We’ll find them soon. I swear it on the lives of our daughters.”

Our daughters. The words still felt unreal in my mouth.

At midnight my phone rang. It was Santiago.

“We had him located at a cheap motel in Calgary, but when my men arrived, he had already moved. Looks like he changed vehicles. But we’re tracking him through traffic cameras. We’re flying to Calgary now. I’ll send you the exact address when we have something solid.”

“Thank you, brother. Truly.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Just don’t do anything stupid or heroic. Wait for us.”

He hung up.

I showed Lucía the text message that arrived afterward.

“We’re heading to Calgary at dawn. His men will pick us up here.”

She nodded, though her eyes were full of questions she didn’t dare ask.

“What kind of people do you know, Mateo?”

“This isn’t the time for explanations,” I said, exhausted. “Just trust me.”

At dawn, a black armored SUV stopped in front of the hotel. Two large men got out. They wore no uniforms, but they moved with the military precision of people accustomed to real danger.

One of them greeted me respectfully.

“Mr. Santiago sent us, Monsignor.”

Lucía looked at me with confusion and fear, but she got in with me without saying a word.

The drive to Calgary was long—almost three hours on snowy roads. No one spoke the entire time. Only the sound of the engine and the hum of the wind cutting across the frozen highway.

She fell asleep at times, completely exhausted, her head resting on my shoulder. I stared out at the white landscape stretching endlessly to the horizon, obsessively thinking about the girls.

My daughters. Isabella and Sofía.

I never thought I would see Lucía again, much less imagine she had given me two daughters. It was madness. I didn’t know how I was going to face this, what the Church would say, what would happen to my career.

But for now, the only thing I wanted was to find them alive.

We arrived in Calgary at midday. The hotel was discreet, on the outskirts of the city, a building without flashy signs. When I got out of the vehicle, I saw four armed men discreetly guarding the entrance.

I recognized Santiago’s style immediately.

Inside the private lobby, he and Sebastián were waiting. Santiago stood up when he saw me. His hair was grayer than the last time I saw him, but he still had the same tempered steel gaze.

“Mateo,” he said, opening his arms.

“Thank you for coming,” I said, hugging him tightly.

“We’re family. We’ll always come.” He hugged me firmly. “I’m glad to see you, even if the circumstances are shit.”

Sebastián stepped forward in silence. He gave me a serious pat on the shoulder, no unnecessary words.

His presence commanded respect, as always.

Santiago turned to his men with authority.

“What do we have?”

The head of security stepped forward.

“We had him located at a roadside motel in northern Calgary, but when we arrived, he was already gone. He left the car with swapped plates and stole another vehicle. However, we have camera footage. We believe he’s still in the city.”

Sebastián ran a hand over his face, clearly frustrated.

“How the hell did you let him slip away?”

“We didn’t want to risk a shootout, sir. The babies are with him. Mr. Santiago’s orders were clear: recover the girls with no casualties.”

Lucía let out a sob and covered her face with her hands.

I stepped closer and put my arm around her shoulders.

“Calm down, love. We’ll find them. Our daughters will be back in your arms.”

“Our daughters?” Santiago asked, raising an eyebrow in genuine surprise.

I froze. It was too late to pretend.

“Yes.” The word came out like a tired sigh. “The twins are mine.”

The silence that followed was thick and heavy. Then Santiago let out a short but genuine laugh.

“Who would’ve thought, little brother. And here I was thinking you were still a consecrated virgin.”

“This is not the time for jokes,” I warned seriously.

Sebastián, who rarely smiled, let out an almost amused smirk.

“So the Salazar name won’t die out with us after all. We have heirs.”

“Enough,” I said, exhausted. “I just need you to find them alive.”

Santiago nodded, immediately regaining his seriousness.

“And we will. Today this ends, one way or another.”

That afternoon, while we waited for news from the tracking operation, I stood by the hotel room window, looking at the distant lights of Calgary. Lucía slept on the bed, completely exhausted, still wearing her coat.

I thought about everything we had been through. About how life had brought us together again, not through romantic love, but through shared tragedy.

The girls were out there, in the hands of a man who knew no limits or mercy. And for the first time in my priestly life, I fully understood what it meant to be willing to break every vow, every rule, every divine and human law, just to save what you love.

My faith was violently shaken, but something inside me burned with unbreakable force.

Damián had no idea who he had messed with.

He hadn’t just attacked the girls’ father.

He had attacked the Salazar family.

And that never went unanswered.