The Forbidden Promise (43 page)

Doña
Clara de Coronado and Don Miguel Vargas Rivera, hearing about the scandal,
became convinced that it had been a good thing that Marisol had left Federico
before falling into disgrace with him.
Doña
Clara convinced Don Miguel
that the best thing to do at this point, would be to make peace with Marisol as
soon as possible and take action to annul the marriage. Surely this Don
Cristobal, that popular rumor indicated had been courting Marisol for some time
could certainly help. He had done a great job of returning the legacy to Lucas
that had been taken away from him several years earlier.
They decided to go straight to Viviana’s house to make peace with her and to
take Marisol back home.
Viviana was not at all surprised to see them, she knew them well and recognized
that they would do everything to keep their prestigious name out of any
scandal. She received them kindly, even though the last words they had
exchanged had not been friendly.
Marisol was happy to see them and embraced them both.
"Viviana, I hope you will forgive the abrupt way in which I behaved to
you, for the love of a daughter sometimes one acts without thinking," said
Don Miguel sadly. Viviana knew how much effort it had cost him to apologize, as
he was always so arrogant.
"I know, I've already forgotten everything," she said, smiling.
Don Miguel shook Viviana’s hand, while
Doña
Clara embraced Marisol
tenderly.
"Come home with us, my dear, we’ll help you to annul your marriage to
Federico. Surely your lawyer friend ... Don Cristobal, can help us."
"Of course, Mother," said Marisol that could not help blushing
hearing her say Cristobal’s name.
"I’ve a condition to ask you... "
Her parents looked at her puzzled. Marisol left the room and returned with a
small baby in her arms.
Doña
Clara went straight to cuddle him, she liked children and this baby
was as beautiful as he was sweet.
"What does this mean?" Miguel asked abruptly.
Marisol hesitated, biting her lip.
"This is Federico’s bastard son... The mother was a poor woman who was
deceived by him in the most abject way. She’s now dead and Federico didn’t even
want to see him! I’ve been given temporarily custody of him and I want to keep
him with me."
Don Miguel did not seem to agree.
"It doesn’t seem convenient ... He’s still Federico’s son!"
Doña
Clara immediately intervened looking at Marisol with an expression
of an accomplice.
"It would be a huge act of Christian kindness and generosity," she
said, taking Don Miguel’s hand. "All Tampico will praise Marisol’s
charitable spirit and she will be remembered as a benefactor forever."
"That wretch, failed even to recognize the child," exclaimed Don
Miguel, now convinced. "Fine, the child can stay with us
temporarily."
Doña
Clara, hearing Don Miguel’s response, immediately wanted to cuddle
the baby in her arms, while Marisol sighed with relief.
" Thank you aunt for everything you’ve done for me," she said,
kissing Viviana.
Viviana smiled, stroking her blonde hair.

When Lucas returned
home, he found Aurora still sulky with him.
"You can’t keep me prisoner all my life," she said grumpy.
"I do it to protect you, don’t you understand?" Lucas asked, trying
to calm her down. "I’m afraid that something bad may happen to you."
" I don’t need to be protected, I need to get back to work or I'll go
crazy locked up in this house."
" Not until things are resolved with Federico." Lucas said as he
removed his shirt to freshen up with the water in the basin.
"What are you going to do with them, kick them out of the house?"
"For now no, I don’t want to live in the
hacienda
, I’ve too many
bad memories of that place. I’ll let them stay there, but in the meantime I’ve
blocked their access to all the Navarra’s money and assets."
"They’ll be furious when they find out," said Aurora, watching Lucas
as he dried his broad, tanned shoulders.
“It’s for this reason that I don’t want you to go out, I don’t want them to
take revenge on you, those two are capable of anything."
"Yes, but I can’t accept this situation for long," said Aurora,
standing up abruptly. "Send me to Zacatecas if you feel more secure."
" No, I feel more comfortable having you here with me," he exclaimed,
going over and trying to hug her.
Aurora pulled away and felt faint.
" What happened? Do you feel all right?" Lucas asked worried,
supporting her.
" Yes, but I'd feel better if I could get out of this house," she
said staring into his eyes. "I feel trapped!"
"You'll have to wait a little longer!” Lucas said and left the room
without another word.
When he wants to be he is just unbearable
thought Aurora,
but he
loves me and that's what counts
...

Soon the lack of money produced its first effects on the Navarra
y Reyes estate.
The servants that could no longer be paid, left the house and day by day the
glorious house that was the envy of the town had an increasingly look of decay.
Federico spent his days locked in his room drinking, while
Doña
Raquel
had not had the courage to leave the house.
She had even begun to sell some of her jewelry to pay for food and Federico’s
alcohol. However, she was not yet resigned, she had to find a way to recover
her property. The absurd hope of being able to destroy Lucas still did not
allow her to let go and fall into the abyss in which Federico seemed to have
been lost in.
When Federico received the summons that requested him to appear at the hearing
for the annulment of his marriage with Marisol, alcohol and the pressure that
had built up in the last few days made him explode. He grabbed his coat and
went out.
Doña
Raquel did not have time to stop him as he was already mounted on
his horse and disappearing from her view.
He arrived at the Vargas de Coronado Rivera’s house. He knew from when he went
to the tavern at night to drink that, following the judgment on the
inheritance, Don Miguel had welcomed Marisol back into the family, praising her
for her foresight in having recognized immediately what kind of husband she had
married.
Without waiting to be announced, he opened the door and walked to Marisol’s bedroom
in a fury.
He entered without knocking and found Marisol still in her dressing gown
sitting in front of the mirror.

He seized her arm making
her stand up.
"You, ugly slut, you'll never get an annulment of our marriage! I won’t be
ridiculed in front of everyone again!" Grabbing her by the shoulders, he
shook her violently.
Just then Don Miguel entered, attracted by the shouting, when he saw the scene
he fell upon Federico trying to separate him from Marisol.
Federico, spun around, punched him in the face and left him unconscious on the
floor. Then he turned back to Marisol, slapped her and threw her to the ground.
" What do you want from me?" Cried Marisol terrified.
Federico gave her a sick smile and took a pistol from his belt, pointing it at
her.
"You’ve finished mocking me by having a good time with all the men you
meet! First Lucas, then Cristobal ... And who knows how many others, whore! Now
I'll show you how a real man takes revenge ..."
At that moment, Cristobal, who was bringing a copy of the summons to Marisol,
fortunately arrived.
Hearing the screams he rushed to Marisol’s bedroom and, seeing what was
happening, promptly grabbed Federico by the shoulders. Federico turned and
pulled the trigger, but the bullet went into the wall opposite.
Cristobal and Federico began to wrestle violently, Cristobal tried to disarm
Federico who held on to the pistol tightly. Marisol watched the fight, her eyes
wide open with terror while Don Miguel tried to get up to help Cristobal.
Suddenly they heard deafening gunshot that startled both Marisol and Don
Miguel.
Cristobal's eyes widened, he took a step backwards, staggering, on the verge of
collapsing to the ground.
"No! Cristobal "cried Marisol terrified.
A moment of silence followed in which it seemed as if time stopped.
Then there was the sound of Federico sighing loudly. It was his last breath, as
he had been mortally wounded. Without a cry, he fell to the ground where he
remained motionless, his glassy, aloof blue eyes fixed in the stillness of
death.
Marisol threw herself into Cristobal’s arms, while Miguel, verifying that
Federico was dead, closed his eyelids to hide his disturbing eyes.

Doña
Raquel waited for Federico until late afternoon. She thought that he had either
drunk so much that he was unable to return home or was in some brothel as was
his custom. She was certainly not ready to receive the news that Don José
brought.
Don José approached her cautiously, speaking softly.
"I'm sorry to disturb you,
Doña
Raquel," he said, looking into
her eyes, "but a terrible misfortune has occurred..."
Doña
Raquel listened impassively to the sad account of the tragedy her
eyes fixed on the flame of a nearby candle while silent tears streaming down
her pale cheeks.
"I'm very sorry
Doña
Raquel, let me know if you need anything,"
said Don José.
Doña
Raquel did not answer, her eyes were fixed and
vacant, as she sat on a couch like a queen of a kingdom in ruins.
Don José left quickly while launching a look at the now dirty and shabby house.
He immediately decided to go and inform Lucas as Federico and
Doña
Raquel’s only close relative.
The news deeply unsettled Lucas and Aurora.
"He certainly wasn’t a saint but he didn’t deserve a death like
that," said Aurora.
Lucas nodded upset.
" I don’t think that
Doña
Raquel has the means to pay for a proper
funeral, the Navarra estate is going to ruin, it’s not being maintained and
there are no maids," said José.
" I'll pay for the funeral," Lucas said. "Now if you’ll excuse
me, I’m going to see Raquel."
Aurora and Don José reacted with dismay to his statement.
" Why are you going to her?" Aurora asked worriedly. "I don’t
think she’ll be very pleased to see you ..."
" Don Lucas, if you want my advice, beware,” intervened Don José. "
Doña
Raquel seemed rather strange and worn out ... I think she is ill. Her nerves
are failing."
But Lucas had decided.
"I have to do it. It’s my responsibility. Federico was my cousin, if not
my brother and now that I’ve regained my position, I’ve to take care of the
matter."
"Be careful, then," said Aurora, anxious. She did not trust Raquel’s
reactions at all.
Lucas nodded and left, giving Aurora a kiss. Don José and Aurora exchanged
worried glances but said nothing.
Shortly after Lucas arrived at the house. He knocked repeatedly on the door of
the big Navarra house, but no one came to answer, so he opened it and stepped
cautiously in.
The house was in a state of disrepair, cobwebs and dirt everywhere, in a few
weeks, the luxurious house had been transformed into an unrecognizable place.
He went into the study, where he saw a dim light coming from some candles and
found
Doña
Raquel, sitting at her desk with a picture of Federico in her
hands.
"Have you come to make fun of my misfortune and my pain?" She asked
without lifting her head to look at him.
"You know I'm not that kind of person. I came to tell you that I'm sorry
for what happened and that I’ll give provisions so that a worthy funeral can be
arranged for Federico." Replied Lucas.
"What happened is your fault, and I swear you'll pay for it," she
hissed, her face distorted by anger and fury. "I’ll destroy you and your
family as you did to mine!"
"Don’t you think that after so many misfortunes, the time has come to stop
this useless hatred?"
"Never," exclaimed
Doña
Raquel vehement. "Since you were
little, since the first day I saw you, when your father took me to this house
for the first time, I understood what kind of bad person you were. I sensed
immediately that you would be my downfall and for that I’ve done everything to
remove you from my path! I’ll not rest until I see you destroyed! Now get out
of my house."
Lucas did not bother to reply to the last insults. Now that he had won, he did
not wish to rejoice in the misfortunes of the defeated.
"I'm sorry you think so," he sighed sadly. "I'll let you know about
the funeral," he said, heading for the door.
Doña
Raquel picked up a heavy inkstand and threw it at Lucas who
promptly managed to dodge it.
"Get out and never come back!" She shouted as Lucas walked away
shaking his head.
He left, closing the door behind him. Doña Raquel is completely insane ... he
thought sadly.

A few days later Federico’s funeral was held. Only a few loyal
people accompanied the coffin. All the friends that
Doña
Raquel had had
when she was rich and respected had suddenly disappeared after the inheritance
trial. There was, however, a crowd of onlookers, like jackals that had come to
feast on the misfortunes and the ruins of the most powerful family on the east
coast.
Aurora stared at Raquel’s impassive face then said in Lucas’ ear, "She
seems to have lost her mind!"
"I am afraid so," Lucas said.

Doña
Raquel, her face pale and haggard, moved slowly, like an automaton. She was
dressed all in black, her head covered by dark and gloomy veils, her hands
clasped hold of a flower. She seemed to completely ignore the existence of the
people around her.
Yet, Aurora felt a strange evil aura coming from
Doña
Raquel, so much so
that she shivered involuntarily. Lucas noticed it and hugged her to him.
In the meantime, while the funeral took place, Don José left Tampico
accompanied by two policemen. He had finally got a search warrant from the
magistrate and was heading to the Navarra house to search for conclusive
evidence that would condemn
Doña
Raquel.
He quickly reached the house and dismounted. The main door was locked, so he
went to the service entrance that opened into the kitchen. He called one of the
policemen to force open the door. Once inside, he immediately noticed the
desolation and neglect that prevailed. The servants had left the house, pain
and death hung in the rooms like invisible cobwebs.
Don José moved cautiously among the various rooms, rummaging in the study and
living room. Then he headed upstairs to search the bedrooms. He went
immediately into
Doña
Raquel’s room. He opened the huge wardrobe and
began to search among the clothes, all meticulously ordered, everything black
and sad. Then, suddenly, badly folded at the bottom of the wardrobe, he saw a
cloak. He grabbed the material and opened it up. It was the same silk damask,
as the fragment found by Viviana. Full of emotion, he took the piece of fabric
from his pocket and put it against the cloak. The material was identical. He
carefully checked that the ripped hem matched the fragment in his possession.
The fabric fitted perfectly. A cry of joy broke from his lips, he had finally
found the proof that would nail Raquel Navarra y Reyes to her atrocities.
He called one of the policemen.
"Go to the barracks and organize a group of policemen to guard the
cemetery entrance," he ordered in a firm voice. " At the end of the
ceremony arrest
Doña
Raquel immediately!"
" At once," said the policeman, leaving, but Don José stopped him.
"Be sure to do it at the end of the funeral, I don’t want Don Federico’s
funeral to be disturbed in any way, this at least, we can do for her."
The policemen nodded and hurried to carry out Don José’s orders.
In a short time, a group of policemen lined up silently in front of the Tampico
cemetery gates, taking care not to disturb the funeral ceremony.
Nevertheless, Viviana turned around, she looked with sadness at the few
familiar faces present at the funeral, as much as she hated Raquel it did not
seem right that all of her supposed friends had abandoned her in her time of
need. She then noticed a strange movement outside the gates and saw the
policemen lined up waiting, she knew what was coming and could not help but
think that finally justice would be done.
Father Julian, meanwhile, delivered a moving homily and after saying the last
prayer, blessed the coffin that was lowered into the grave.
Doña
Raquel,
standing like a statue, without shedding a tear, raised her hand and threw the
flower that she still clutched in her hands on to the coffin.
After the ceremony, people began to disperse. The women dressed in black
mourning clothes and the men with a black armband on their sleeve.
The policemen scrutinized each face as the people passed through gate but did
not see
Doña
Raquel. Don José arrived and joined his men.
Aurora accompanied by Lucas and Viviana, passed in front of Don José and
stopped to say hello.
Aurora turned to see where Raquel was and if she now understood that her days
of freedom were over. But she could not see her.
"Come on," Lucas said, moving her gently forward, "I don’t want
to watch this scene. My father can now finally rest in peace and my life has
taken its rightful course. But I’ve no desire to witness Raquel’s defeat.
Indeed, may God prevent me from meeting her again."
Aurora nodded and together with Viviana they return to their respective homes.
When everyone had gone, Don José gave the order to his men to enter and scour
the cemetery. The policemen began to patrol the sad and lonely paths between
the graves, but they found no trace of Raquel.
"We don’t know where she is, Captain!" Said a policeman that came
back to report to Don José.
" Damn it!" He cursed. "Search the whole town! Organize patrols,
send three men back to the
hacienda
to search for her there! "
The policemen obeyed and began to scour every inch of the town. A small group
went to search the Navarra
hacienda
, but found no trace of
Doña
Raquel,
who
seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Don José did not wish to give up and with the arrival of several negative
reports he intensified efforts. The investigation continued for several weeks
but at the end Don José was forced to surrender and declare that she had
disappeared. Nobody ever saw Raquel Navarra y Reyes again.