"Dad, please don't involve the child!" Manuel cried, clutching the innocent girl in his arms.
"What do you want to do, Manuel? That child is the product of your sister's shame. Why would I keep her?" his father replied coldly, glaring at the child Manuel was protecting.
"Give her to me."
"Dad, please. Not the child." Manuel's voice trembled.
"So now you're siding with your youngest sibling? Don't forget you're the eldest son!" his father scolded, pointing a finger at him.
Manuel remained silent, clutching the girl tighter.
"Are you the one who will raise her? Feed her?"
"I'll do anything, Dad. Just don't hurt her—anything." He pleaded, desperate.
"Come with me," his father ordered. "Bring the child."
As they entered the car, the little girl looked up at Manuel with innocent eyes. "Are we going to Mommy?"
He didn't answer. He was too afraid of the truth.
Eventually, they stopped. Manuel's father gave him a signal to leave the child momentarily.
"We're going to erase her memories—everything about our family and her mother," the old man said firmly.
"D-Dad…" Manuel hesitated, horrified.
"You have two choices: we erase her memory, or I kill her. Choose."
Manuel froze. He looked down at the child and slowly nodded.
Carmela, I hope you'll forgive me, he thought bitterly.
They brought the child to a private clinic owned by the family. Manuel didn't know what was said or done, but the outcome was clear.
"Will I see Mommy and Daddy again?" the child asked softly.
Manuel forced a smile. "Yes. We just need to check something first."
She obeyed without question.
They gave her a pill—one that would erase her memories. Soon, the child fell unconscious. Manuel carried her back to the car.
Then, another shock.
"Leave the child here," his father commanded again.
"What?" he whispered, not sure he had heard correctly.
"I said, leave her."
They stopped at an abandoned lot, no homes in sight.
"I thought we were just erasing her memory!" Manuel protested.
"I don't want a girl. Girls are bad luck in this family."
"Dad, have mercy," he begged.
But his father's stare was stern and final. Defeated, Manuel gently laid the unconscious child in the grass and got back into the car.
"She'll remember only her name," his father said casually.
Manuel said nothing.
Years later, he returned to the same town—still haunted by guilt. He never forgot the little girl he abandoned.
Then came a dream—Leah's dream.
He awoke, sweating and disoriented. In the dream, he had seen the child imprisoned. Their eyes met.
She was still waiting for her mother.
Across the space, Leah stared at him.
"Was it a good dream, Manuel?" she asked with mocking sweetness.
He didn't respond.
"Do you dream of Carmela? Do you want to see her again?" Leah pressed. "I believed you when you said she died of illness. But no—she was killed. By her own blood."
"That's not my fault! It's not my fault!" Manuel screamed, trembling.
Leah only laughed. "You can say that as much as you want, but your conscience will eat you alive."
"Do you know why Carmela is silent now?" she added.
"What happened? Just tell me already!" he yelled.
"Ask Felicia," she said smugly. "Maybe she knows where Carmela is. Maybe she knows where that child is too."
Felicia glared at Leah with venom.
"Leah!" Felicia snapped.
"Oops, did I say too much?" Leah chuckled as she sat on her throne, pleased with the chaos she was sowing.
Manuel turned to Felicia. "Do you know anything about my sister?"
"D-Don't believe her, Manuel."
"I asked if you knew anything." His voice was low but sharp.
Felicia hesitated. Manuel caught it.
"Felicia!" he called again, demanding answers.
"I don't know anything! Nothing!" she denied, her voice rising.
"Are you telling me the truth?"
"Yes! Don't let Leah poison your mind. We're on the same side," she insisted, trying to calm him.
But he wasn't convinced. Leah simply watched them, shaking her head with an eerie smile.