The Forbidden Promise (40 page)

That same eventful
morning, Lucas and Cristobal met at the appointed hour at Father Julian’s
church.
Father Julian was not there. The maid explained that he had gone to the
convent’s clinic for the poor to give the last rites. They therefore waited for
him in the sacristy.
Father Julian was not long in returning, looking somewhat downcast.
"Is everything all right Father?" Cristobal asked.
"Sometimes even for a priest it’s hard to accept our Lord’s
decisions," replied Father Julian, making the sign of the cross.
Lucas interjected, "Is there anything we can do for you?"
" Nothing son, everything happens because it’s included in our Lord’s
plan... But tell me what can I do for you?"
" Father, do you remember the reliquary that came from Spain that I
entrusted to you?" Asked Cristobal.
Father Julian nodded.
"Yes, I keep it in the side arch near the statue of St. Joseph," he
responded, wondering why Cristobal and Lucas were so interested in the
religious relic that Cristobal had offered to the church.
" Good, I need to have it back for a few minutes," replied Cristobal.
Father Julian stood up and followed by the two men, went into church. He headed
for the central arch and came to the altar dedicated to St. Joseph. From a
small alcove in the brick wall he pulled out a small Baroque box in gilded wood
and handed it to Cristobal.
"Son, remember that we mustn’t disturb the sleep of the dead." He
warned.
" No, Father, it doesn’t contain any remains of the blessed dead, but
something that will save Lucas’
hacienda
."
Lucas' eyes widened.
" What do you mean?"
"Let me explain everything from the beginning, and try to forgive me if I
didn’t talk to you about it before!"
Father Julian, speechless, looked at the two men with astonishment.
"When I became a lawyer and after the death of my beloved wife, I came
here to Mexico to settle some of my father’s affairs and start a new
life," continued Cristobal. "I came to Tampico and met your wife. I
fell madly in love with her, I can’t deny it, and in the grip of a kind of
madness, I decided that I would try everything to win her. After such a long
time, since my beloved wife’s death, I finally felt alive again."
Lucas did not interrupt Cristobal’s confession, even though he felt a flicker
of jealousy.
" Among my father’s documents that I brought from Spain, I found a letter
written in Don Eduardo Navarra y Reyes’ own handwriting. It contained a message
from your father explaining the recent events that had occurred and a copy of
his will. He feared that
Doña
Raquel would dispose of his last wishes at
the time of his death and replace them with others in her favor."
" The mysterious letter," exclaimed Lucas turned to Father Julian,
"Do you remember Father Julian what poor Amparo always used to tell me!
The letter that my father had her send in secret just before he died! The
letter that would redeem my situation ..."
"Yes, son, I remember everything," said Father Julian, reminiscing
about those days long gone.
"I never heard anything more about this letter... I've longed for it since
I was a child while I lived in hardships! All my childhood dreams were based on
that hope, waiting for that moment because I was certain that my father had
loved me and had never wanted to hurt me by disinheriting me."
Cristobal looked at him in the throes of an immense sense of guilt.
"Unfortunately, my father, Giacomo de la Vega, died shortly after yours
and therefore it was I who found Don Eduardo’s last wishes after all those
years, right here in Tampico, and due to cowardice and an agreement with
Doña
Raquel, I didn’t say anything to you about the letter."
"
Doña
Raquel?" Lucas asked astonished.
"Yes. You see, in the real will, your father recognize you as his heir.
But I, with the absurd aim of stealing your wife, proposed to
Doña
Raquel to keep the secret as long as she helped me to separate you at any
cost," said Cristobal embarrassed and mortified.
A flash of anger crossed Lucas’ emerald eyes.
"So the staging of that woman in my bed in Zacatecas was the result of a
plan executed by Penelope Robles on the orders of
Doña
Raquel!"
Cristobal nodded sadly, with deep regret.
" Yes, and all in accordance with the agreement that I myself proposed. I
acted like a coward and for that, I beg your pardon, Lucas. I was envious of
you, of Aurora’s love and I couldn’t accept that your life was spent happily at
her side. I don’t deserve anything, but hopefully one day you’ll be able to
forgive me. I’m deeply ashamed and I wish I had realized before that you are a
sincere and honest man, to the point of risking your life to save an
enemy."
Lucas had listened silently, swallowed and pointed to the shrine.
"But where is the will? "
Cristobal opened the reliquary and pulled out two sheets of yellowed paper
folded in thirds and handed them to Lucas who read them avidly.
"I can’t believe it!" He exclaimed when he had finished. "My
father had discovered that Federico was not his son and it was Federico that he
disowned not me. Do you know that this sheet of paper would have meant that I
would have had a totally different life? I wouldn’t have had to fight tooth and
nail to emerge from poverty and I wouldn’t have had to grow up in hardship and
deprivation!"
Father Julian intervened.
" Son, you’ve become a respectable man and you’ve managed to make your way
even without your father’s legacy."
"Yes, but I was deprived of my position and everything that my father had
meant for me and this I can’t forget," Lucas said angrily.
"Remember that forgiveness is the most important Christian virtue,"
replied Father Julian, raising his eyes to the sky.
"If you want to sue me for concealment of the will, you know that you have
the right. I won’t oppose, "said Cristobal.
Lucas ran a hand through his black hair and then rested it on Cristobal’s
shoulder.
"No, in another situation,  I would have at least punched you without a
doubt ... But there is no reason now, you’ve given me news that makes me very
happy and thanks to you I’ve finally discovered the truth.”
“You had the courage to admit your faults and ask for forgiveness, not everyone
would have done so. You could have continued to keep the secret and not risk
anything, not everyone would have made such a choice. Now I want you to help me
recover what I deserve. Then I'm going to deal with my stepmother and Federico
... Yes they’ll have to pay for what they did to me."
Cristobal shook his hand vigorously.
" You can count on me, let's go immediately to the probate court to
register the will!"
" Lucas, I'm very happy for you, but remember that the Lord has taught us
to be compassionate to our enemies," continued Father Julian, "this
family feud must end!"
"Father, I can’t let those who have caused me so much harm go
unpunished!"
"May God be with you and enlighten you, then," replied Father Julian
giving him his blessing.
Cristobal and Lucas said goodbye to Father Julian and leaving the church, they
headed immediately to the probate court where they deposited the document to
start the process of amending the inheritance.
The official assured them, after
Doña
Raquel and Federico were
mentioned, that the civil proceedings would be started within a few days.
Once outside of the building, Lucas decided to go to face
Doña
Raquel.
Cristobal's insistence that he desist was useless, so Cristobal decided to
accompany him, thinking Lucas was too worked up to go alone. Cristobal feared
that there would be adverse consequences as a result of the meeting.
When they arrived at the Navarra
hacienda
, Lucas was too angry to wait
to be announced.
Once he knew that
Doña
Raquel was in the study, ignoring the maid’s
vigorous protests he burst in like a fury, followed by Cristobal.
He opened the door violently, making Raquel, who was intent on checking her
accounts, jump. Raquel looked up and a flash of hatred crossed her ebony black
eyes.
"How dare you come into this house like two savages!” shouted Raquel
angrily.
The maid peeked round the door.
"Excuse me, Ma'am, I could not stop them ..."
Raquel told her to leave with a curt wave of her hand and the maid hastened to
obey.
"Leave now!" Hissed Raquel as she turned to Lucas and Cristobal.
" No," said Lucas approached menacingly, "I need to speak with
you and your idiot son."
"Federico is not here, now leave or I'll call the police."
"It’ll be me who calls them and denounces you for forgery of a will! How
could you have thrown me out from my house for all these years and deprive me
of all that legitimately belonged to me and give it to that bastard
Federico!"
Doña
Raquel paled and put her hands to her face, confused.
"You’re surprised, aren’t you? I know everything, Cristobal has shown me
my father’s true will and I’ve already filed it with the civil registry to get
what I deserve."
" Wait a minute, Lucas, let's talk calmly ..." Stammered Raquel.
"There's nothing to talk about and you should thank the Lord that I’m a
gentleman and would never lift a finger against a woman. But if your son had
been here I would have given him the lesson that he deserves pending that
justice takes its course. I’m looking forward to the pleasure of kicking you
and that bastard Federico on to the street like you did to me," Lucas
concluded with a wry smile and left the room.
Raquel sat stunned. She did not even have the strength to respond. When they
were gone, she poured herself a glass of brandy and drank it down all in one
gulp, then clutched the glass in her hands.
Damn! Don’t think that I’lI give
up so easily, I’ll not let you win and won’t rest until I see you destroyed
,
she thought hurling the glass against the wall.
I really hope that Penelope
and Gonzalo are able to accomplish my order ... If Aurora was raped, Lucas’
pain would be terrible...

Lucas, returning to Tampico, invited Cristobal home for dinner.
They were thus able to discuss the process calmly. At the house, however, they
could not find Aurora, but only the maid who reported having accompanied her to
Doña
Viviana after the clinic and had not seen her since.
Lucas, alarmed by Aurora’s absence at such a late hour of the evening, went to
look for her at the Vargas de Coronado’s house accompanied by Cristobal.
Doña
Viviana was in the living room with Marisol.
When she saw them, Viviana burst into tears and told them about the quarrel
between her and Aurora that afternoon. She told them everything, no longer
interested in preserving the old secret that was now causing her to lose
Aurora’s love.
"I acted so unworthily! I lied to my daughter, I tried to ruin her life,
obstructing her in every way when she wanted to become a doctor," she
said, sobbing. "I behaved badly and also with you, Lucas, all because of
my stupid prejudices!"
Marisol put an arm round her aunt's shoulders.
"You have to have strength, aunt, you’ll see that Lucas will find Aurora
and settle everything."
"She hasn’t returned home, where can she have gone?" Lucas asked,
worried.
"It's best to call the police!" Suggested Cristobal.
"My God, if something has happened to her I’ll never forgive myself,"
said Viviana
" Don’t say that, Aunt, I'm sure she's fine, maybe she just wanted a
little time to think alone," said Marisol, not believing her words
herself.
"There is not a minute to lose, I’ll go to the police and then I’ll begin
the search!" Said Lucas.
"I'm coming with you,” said Cristobal following him.
"Take me too!" Pleaded Viviana.
"No, it is better that you're here when she returns," Lucas said
curtly, "I promise that I’ll bring Aurora home,
Doña
Viviana!”

   
Don José, at the head of a squad of policemen, personally began the search for
Aurora along with Lucas and Cristobal.
The more hours that passed the more worried Lucas became that something
terrible had happened to Aurora.
They searched for her until late at night, to no avail. They went to the
Convent and to Father Julian’s, but no one had seen Aurora since she had left
her work troubled by the recent events. Mother Agostina and Dr. Peron told them
of poor Alma’s death and Aurora’s attempts to meet Alma’s last wishes.
Federico! Damn you, if you’ve done anything to my wife there’ll be no place
on earth where you’ll be able to hide from my fury!
To avoid further tension and tragedy, Don José decided to go alone to the
Navarra
hacienda
to seek Aurora. With tact and delicacy he explained the
situation to
Doña
Raquel who was strangely very cooperative.
"She left here a few hours ago now," she said quietly, stealing a
glance at Don José. She even accompanied Don José upstairs, showing him
Federico’s room, where Federico was already asleep prey to the effects of
alcohol.
Worried, Don José decided to return to Tampico.
" Keep me informed, Don José," exclaimed
Doña
Raquel,
"I'm really worried!"
As soon as Don José left the house,
Doña
Raquel began to laugh wildly.
That
idiot Gonzalo has, therefore, followed my orders? I didn’t think he would be
able to do it so quickly ... Now Lucas will experience the pains of hell and
nothing will save him from its eternal suffering!
Back in Tampico, Don José met up with Lucas and Cristobal in the Cathedral
Square. The police had questioned all the coachmen in the town, but none of
them had testified to taking Aurora out of Tampico after her hasty return from
the Navarra
hacienda
in the afternoon.
She must be here in the city, but where?
Lucas wondered desperately.
They decided to resume the search at dawn, also searching the surrounding areas
of Tampico.
Lucas returned to report the lack of progress to
Doña
Viviana who was
now prostrate with grief. Lucas tried to give her strength, but he himself felt
torn apart by anxiety over Aurora’s fate. He returned home, hoping to find her
there waiting for him. He could not sleep and Cristobal stayed with him all
night, drinking coffee and analyzing all possibilities to understand where
Aurora could have gone, but not for a moment did they get near the terrible
truth.

That afternoon Aurora
left, shocked from her mother's house, she wandered aimlessly, finally finding
herself on the beach again.
She stood for a long time thinking about the argument with her mother and
Alma’s last wretched hours.
Federico had deceived Alma as he had deceived her. Fortunately Aurora had had
the good sense not to indulge him, while poor Alma, driven by love, had become
his slave.
Love,
she thought
, this feeling, so noble, makes us at times display
the worst of ourselves. My mother, Alma, and Marisol have fallen into the trap
of an impossible love that has made them suffer. Maybe it wasn’t entirely their
fault, I also thought I would go crazy when I thought I had lost Lucas.
Aurora sighed sadly.
Maybe I shouldn’t have been so hard on my mother. Tomorrow I’ll go to her
and we’ll make peace, but now I have to respect my promise to Alma made on her
deathbed, I have to go and rescue little Matteo.
She noticed that it was getting dark, but she could not let Matteo spend
another night in the brothel, she had to go to save him at once.
She had no idea what a "house of pleasure", as it was called, was
like, but she knew where it was.
When she arrived, it had just opened; she gathered her courage and entered.
Inside she found some girls scantily dressed with provocative necklines and
knee length skirts, sitting on red velvet sofas.
The bartender, a middle-aged man with graying hair, was busy polishing glasses.
When he saw her, his eyes widened.
"Are you looking for someone ma’am?” He asked looking at her with lustful
eyes.
Aurora could not help blushing. The situation made her extremely
uncomfortable.
"I’m looking for the owner of this
venta
," she said, trying to
keep her voice steady and firm.
"Ma'am do you know what kind of tavern you are in?" Grinned the
bartender.
" Yes, and I don’t intend to stay for long, please could you let me talk
to the owner. My name is Aurora Navarra y Reyes."
The bartender put down the glass that he was drying and headed for the hallway
leading to Don Gonzalo’s room. He found him intent on dressing, preparing for
the evening.
"Sir, you have to go in there, a lady has arrived for you. We’re talking
about Aurora Navarra y Reyes."
"Lucas Navarra’s wife?" Gonzalo asked incredulously.
" Yes, that's her! She says she wants to talk to you."
" The butterfly has flown straight into the spider's web!" Said
Gonzalo smiling, rubbing his hands together. "Bring her through, I’ll see
her in here!"
" In your room?" Asked the bartender confused.
" Yes, if she wants to talk to me she’ll have to come in here," said
Gonzalo, stroking the tips of black mustache.
The bartender invited Aurora to follow him into Gonzalo’s room. A request that
seemed to her somewhat improper but she decided not to have any qualms.
If
I’ve got this far I must have the courage to go all the way.
Trying to appear nonchalant, she followed the bartender who accompanied her to
Gonzalo’s room.
Gonzalo invited her to sit down, giving her a sickly sweet smile, while with
natural movements he stationed himself near the door to block any possible
escape route.
"What can I do for you? It is rare that a lady of high society comes to my
tavern, in fact it’s never happened before. I think they find it
unfitting," he said ironically.
"I'm here to inform you that Alma, one of the girls who worked in this
place, died today and asked me to take care of her son Matteo, who I understand
lives here and is being cared for by some of the girls."
" I think I remember seeing a little bastard around here, I didn’t know
whose son he was... If you want to take him away, you’ll be doing me a favor.
This isn’t a nursery but a place of a completely different mold if you haven’t
noticed!" He said, staring intently at Aurora.
Aurora began to feel extremely uncomfortable. She stood up trying to sound
authoritative.
" Well, if you’ll tell me where he is, I'll take the baby and go,"
she said sternly.
Gonzalo looked at her in silence for a few moments.
"Unfortunately, I fear that won’t be so easy, everything here has to be
paid for," replied Gonzalo.
"How much do you want?" Aurora asked, as she felt anxiety grow inside
her.
"From you, I don’t want money ..." Gonzalo replied, turning the key
in the door and quickly putting it in his pocket.
Aurora’s distress turned into out and out terror.
"Sir, I order you to let me out!" Exclaimed Aurora, unable to move.
Gonzalo never taking his eyes off her, took out a rope from a drawer of his
desk and walked over to her menacingly.
Aurora looked around for an escape route but not finding one, she grabbed a
vase of flowers that was on the nearby table and threw it at Gonzalo. He
managed to dodge it and with a leap was on her with all his weight, knocking
her onto the bed. He grabbed her hands and tied them behind her back with a
rope.
Aurora screamed out loud, but as much as she wrestled she could not fight
against Gonzalo’s overwhelming force that held her firmly.
" Scream all you want, no one here will come to your aid," said
Gonzalo laughing. He then went, got a gag and tied it around her mouth.
Aurora was crying and struggling but it was completely useless, Gonzalo got the
better of her easily and she soon found herself bound and gagged on the bed,
aware that even worse was on its way.
He brought his face near to hers, his breath that smelled of wine made her feel
sick, then he lifted her skirt to expose her calf, caressing the delicate shape
of her leg. Aurora could not help repressing a shudder of disgust.
"I'm curious to know what a lady is like in bed! You'll see, we'll have
fun ... At the very least I'm going to enjoy myself! This assignment has its
risks, but it also has its pleasurable aspects!"
Aurora crying tried not to think about it ... Maybe it was just a nightmare
perhaps she would soon wake up next to Lucas.
Gonzalo left, locking the door and went in search of Penelope but no one in the
brothel had seen her for a few days. So after telling the bartender that no one
must enter his room, he took a horse and hastened, to the Navarra
hacienda
as quickly as possible to meet the woman he believed to be the instigator,
Doña
Raquel Navarra y Reyes.
He arrived at the palatial
hacienda
while Raquel and Federico were
having dinner. When Raquel was informed of Gonzalo’s presence, she reacted
annoyed. She went to join him in the living room followed by Federico.
" How dare you come to my house?" Raquel exclaimed angrily as soon as
she saw him. "This is an honest house of decent people, not a shelter for
wretched men of ill repute!"
" I wouldn’t be so rude if I were you, Ma’am," said Gonzalo, trying
to overcome the natural awe that everyone felt with Raquel.
"Leave our house immediately, and go back to the sewer from where you
came," ordered Federico grabbing Gonzalo by the arm and pushing him out.
" I'm about to finish the plan that you commissioned through Penelope ...
but if you don’t care perhaps it will be of interest to the police!" Protested
Gonzalo.
"Leave him!" Raquel ordered.
So my suspicions were correct, it is
he who is involved in Aurora’s disappearance
, she thought satisfied.
" So we can discuss things," said Gonzalo, adjusting his jacket.
" What do you mean Mr. ...?" Raquel said, staring at him as if he was
a cockroach.
" Gonzalo Sanchez!"
" Gonzalo Sanchez," Raquel repeated, her face assumed a grimace.
"Lucas’ wife is locked up in my
venta
and I can let her go or carry
out the plan suggested to me by that witch Penelope ... But to do that I need a
lot of money." He said with a grin.
Federico looked at Raquel intrigued and went to pour himself a glass of cognac.
"And what figure are we talking about?" Asked Raquel.
"Three times what I’ve already been given and a carriage ready to take me
out of town for a long time. When Lucas finds out what has happened to his
wife, no one will be able to hold him back until he sees me dead, and before
that happens I want to be far away!"
"Wait here," said Raquel, going into the study.
She returned a few minutes later with a wad of banknotes and handed it to
Gonzalo.
"You'll have the same amount again together with a carriage waiting for
you at the exit of the town tomorrow night at eight. You can leave in complete
safety from Tampico and find refuge from Lucas' revenge."
Gonzalo smiled feeling the banknotes between his fingers.
"It
’s
a pleasure doing business with you!" He said, bowing.
After saying goodbye ceremoniously, he left the house to return to the
venta
.
" Mother what do you have in mind?" Asked Federico.
Raquel turned to watch Gonzalo from the window leaving at a gallop.
" I want to hit Lucas where it hurts most: Aurora!" She exclaimed in
a harsh voice.
" And you’ll help Gonzalo to escape? And if he was to report or blackmail
you?"
"He won’t be leaving this town alive! The carriage will be there waiting
for him, but not to take him to safety, "said Raquel, staring at a nearby
candle flame.
Gonzalo meanwhile, left the
hacienda
and rode through the imposing
wrought iron gates, unaware that he had been seen by one of Don José’s
plain-clothes policemen who had been placed on guard to watch Navarra y Reyes’
every movement.
Gonzalo returned to the
venta
and spent the whole night drinking and
giving instructions to the bartender for the management of the brothel during
his absence. He decided that he would send the proceeds of the tavern to
Veracruz. Then maybe he would go to Mexico City to open a fashionable cabaret.
The tavern closed as usual at the first light of dawn; that night’s business
had also gone well.
Gonzalo, to celebrate the large amount of money he had earned, let himself go
and had drunk many glasses of tequila. Staggering, he decided he wanted to
finish the successful night in the company of one of the girls that worked in
the brothel. He would leave the most delicious morsel for the following day
when the effects of the tequila had passed. He was playing with his life and,
at the very least, he wanted to savor every detail of that woman’s body.
He walked over to the girls who looked at him frightened. They all hated
indulging him, knowing full well that he was violent and had questionable
taste.
He decided to take a girl who was sitting on a couch closest to him and pulled
her to a nearby
privé
, where
he began to undress her, while the other girls looked distressed for the poor
girl that had been chosen.

At dawn Lucas and
Cristobal resumed their search, checked every place that Aurora usually went
to, scoured the surrounding areas of Tampico and even went as far as Ciudad
Madero but found nothing, not even the faintest trace.
Lucas was getting more and more desperate. He spent the day running from one
place to another, followed by Cristobal who tried to support him, although he
now was also beginning to despair.
Before sunset they returned to the police station where they found Don José who
told them that his men had also found nothing.
"There is one thing that I wanted to tell you..." Said Don José
seeming to hesitate, "the policeman that I assigned to the Navarra
hacienda
,
saw the owner of the Tampico brothel leaving there last night..."
"What the hell does someone like him have to do with
Doña
Raquel?" Asked Cristobal, appalled. "The town’s pimp with a
lady..."
"Definitely something not quite above board!
Doña
Raquel has no
scruples, this is now clear," exclaimed Lucas.
" But it may not have anything to do with your wife’s disappearance,"
objected Don José.
"I’ll go, however, to his tavern to meet the wretch," replied Lucas.
Cristobal nodded. "I’ll come with you," he said.
"I'm coming too," added Don José, standing up. He wanted to avoid any
serious public safety problems happening in that tavern of dubious morality.