Chapter 11
By noon, Victoria and Alejandro had arrived in Santa Paula.
After lunch at one of the better taverns, they went their separate ways. Victoria first went to the bank and then to suppliers. Don Alejandro had arranged to meet the notary at a friend's acquaintance to ensure privacy. The notary reacted somewhat strangely when Alejandro expressed his desire to disinherit his son. The notary had known don Alejandro for years and had met Diego several times in his youth. "Alejandro," the man began cautiously. "Do you realize how unbelievable it sounds? You are claiming that someone who looks exactly like your son has taken his place and likely harmed Diego in the process?"
"Luis, I know it sounds strange. Unbelievable indeed. It took me a few weeks to accept the truth. However, I can't help but face the facts and listen to my gut feeling. And my gut tells me that brute couldn't possibly be my flesh and blood. My mind tells me I must face the truth. That man is not Diego. Nothing can change someone so drastically."
"Well, you are, of course, free to act as you see fit. Let me advise you, however, to think very carefully about it."
"Believe me, I have. And more than I wanted. So, please, draw up that will and ensure Felipe becomes my sole heir."
With a sigh, the notary got to work, and Alejandro allowed himself to be persuaded by the man to wander around Santa Paula while he worked on the amended will.
Alejandro decided to go to the church. He felt the need for support and advice from a higher power. Upon entering, he noticed a padre present to hear confessions.
His heart was heavy, and perhaps it wouldn't hurt to entrust his decisions to a man in the service of God. Alejandro entered the small confessional and knocked on the sliding hatch. He knelt in the small confessional, his heart heavy with doubt and sorrow. "Forgive me, Father, for I am about to commit a sin," Alejandro began with a sigh.
"It's been almost two months since I last went to confession."
From the other side of the blinded window came a deep voice. "To commit, you say. Usually, one seeks forgiveness afterwards. Tell me, my son, what troubles you. Why have you come to me?"
"Actually, I'm not even sure if it's truly a sin. My head and heart say it's not. Yet there's a voice deep inside me warning me that I'm about to make a mistake. Tell me, is it a sin if one knows he is being deceived and acts upon it?"
The padre answered. "It is a sin to deceive. You wish to show your deceiver the truth?"
Alejandro hesitated before continuing. "I'm afraid if I were to do that, I would pay for it with my life. That's why I must take precautions first."
The priest hummed for a moment.
"I have come to Santa Paula to disinherit the man who claims to be my son, as he is not who he claims to be."
"What do you mean?"
"This man says he is my son. It pains me to say I know this is not true."
There was a hint of surprise in the voice of the padre. "You think your wife has been unfaithful."
"No, my wife was the most loving creature, and we loved each other deeply. No, father..." Alejandro continued, his voice broken with emotion. "I am convinced that my real son no longer lives. And a deceiver has taken his place. The resemblance to my son is unmistakable. However, this resemblance is only physically visible. Internally, the differences are immense." Alejandro felt silent for a moment before he could move on. "Almost four years ago, my son travelled to Spain to study at the University of Madrid. A few weeks ago, someone returned whom I had never known. This man cannot possibly be my son. That's why I've decided to disinherit him and leave all my earthly possessions after my death to an orphan boy whom I consider a son, even if only in my heart."
"That seems like an unbearable discovery and a terrible burden to make such a decision. Are you sure this man is not your son? Almost four years is a long time. People change, and not always for the better."
"Small things that only a parent notices. How is it, father...," Alejandro asked, his voice trembling, "How is it possible for someone to make me believe he is my son? How can someone exhibit such a strong resemblance?"
The padre, aware of the seriousness of the situation, carefully considered his words before responding. "Sometimes, we want someone to be different from who they truly are. A cloud shadows our judgment and prevents us from facing the painful truth. Not all sons grow up to become the man their father hopes for."
"That's not it, father. The idea that my son is dead is a thousand times more painful than him turning into a man I no longer recognize." Alejandro's voice was barely audible. "Just this morning, I briefly thought I saw something of my Diego in that deceiver. There was something in his eyes, something I hadn't seen in years. His presence, his essence." Alejandro shook his head and let his shoulders slump in despair. "As I said, my mind knows that man is not my son. My heart knows it. And yet, this morning..., I could have sworn. It made me start to doubt whether I'm making the right decision."
"Could it have been hope?" the padre suggested cautiously.
His voice was barely audible as Alejandro whispered, "Only false hope."
"Sometimes, my son," the padre spoke thoughtfully, "God's ways are mysterious and unfathomable. Do not be too quick to assume that the man who has come to you is not your flesh and blood. Memories can deceive. Do not assume too quickly that your son has not returned home. Think of the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15. In it, a son returns home who feared his father would not recognize him. The father thought he had lost his son forever, just like you."
"There is a difference, padre. In the story you refer to, the father recognizes the son immediately. The son returns to his father, fearing he will not be forgiven. I have nothing to forgive my son for. And I should ask for his forgiveness for allowing myself to be easily deceived. My son is dead, and a deceiver thinks I don't notice the difference."
The padre shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He wanted to help the old man, but how to change the mind of someone so convinced of his correctness? "You, yourself, mentioned that you also have a son who is only your son in your heart and not in blood. That must mean you have a lot of love to give. Suppose your son has indeed changed into an unknown person to you. Can you forgive yourself when you discover you made a mistake and it's too late to correct it? Remember that God has the best interests of all his children at heart and loves them all equally. I will pray for you and ask Him to give you insight to do what is right."
"Gracias, padre. But may I ask you, do not pray for me but with me. Pray with me for my son."
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Dazed, Diego sank into the large mahogany desk chair. He wasn't the only one who had believed today would be a good opportunity to take advantage of the knowledge that theoretically no one could catch him if he entered his parental home. In theory, it was certainly true. In practice, it proved incorrect. Not only for him. This was certainly also true for G.R. and, to Diego's great surprise, Inez.
Around ten o'clock Inez had been visibly irritated and was searching for Felipe. The boy had appeared, and without mincing words, Inez had practically forced Felipe to go look for berries. According to Inez, don Alejandro had asked her to make jam from manzanita berries. It was remarkable that Inez wanted to do something domestic on her day off. However, it was July, and the berries she had asked for were only available in spring. Felipe had tried to explain this to Inez. The woman had refused to listen, thrust a basket into Felipe's hands, and told him not to return until the basket was full.
Felipe had left and re-entered the cave through the back entrance. And complained to Diego about the impossible task he had been set of to.
"You're right." Diego agreed. "Trying to pick Manzanita berries is futile. Didn't she mean strawberries or blueberries?"
Felipe shook his head.
"Then it seems that Inez didn't want you around today. Let's try to find out the reason for this."
Being in an empty house, Inez apparently felt safe enough to wait in the library until G.R. joined her. And from that moment on, Diego had fallen into surprise, one after another.
Diego had had a good view of Inez through the peephole and was certain he recognized the woman as the one who had visited him when he was held captive in Spain and had taken his ring. She and G.R. turned out to know each other, and quite well it seemed.
Inez called G.R. Gilberto, and he called her mother. And that wasn't even the most remarkable thing to happen.
The two impostors, there was no doubt that the two were conspiring, and what had happened in Spain and afterwards had not been a coincidence or bad luck but a premeditated plan to get rid of him.
"You need to be more careful, my dear son. Alejandro de la Vega is no fool, and it wouldn't surprise me if he starts to suspect something."
Gilberto gave the woman a charming, reassuring smile. "Mother, you worry too much. Everything is under control. A letter from the governor will arrive at any moment, transferring ownership of the rancho to me. And the more objections he raises, the more it will seem like I'm right and he has gone nuts. Alcalde Ramon has promised to confirm my story."
Inez looked disapprovingly at her son. "You seem quite taken with the alcalde. He doesn't seem that friendly. Let me advise you to be careful. All Luis Ramon does is for his sole ambition. You must be on your guard when you cooperate with men like him."
"Indeed, Luis Ramon is a man with ambitions, high intelligence, and good looks. He is also easy to deceive."
"That certainly explains why he hasn't managed to catch this Zorro yet," Inez muttered.
"I'm helping him with that. Before you know it, Zorro will be dangling from a rope, and we can add four thousand pesos to the family fortune."
Inez snapped at Gilberto. "I couldn't care less about Zorro. And four thousand pesos is just pocket money. The de la Vegas possess at least twenty times that amount in cash, not to mention the value of their assets. We only need to get the rancho in your name, and then Alejandro de la Vega can rot away. Focus on that. Forget Zorro. He is a petty thief who annoys the alcalde."
Gilberto poured himself a glass of Madeira.
"Gilberto, I've told you several times not to drink so much. You get drunk, and drunk men make mistakes."
Gilberto sniffed. "I have done so far till now. We're almost there. What could go wrong now?"
"We are almost. There are still countless things that could go wrong. If someone finds out that you're not Diego de la Vega, everything will have been in vain. I've waited too long to take revenge on Alejandro de la Vega to let you ruin it now."
Gilberto reassuringly placed his hand on his mother's arm. "Don't worry, mother. I'll be careful. And if everything goes according to plan, we'll finally get what we deserve. And so does Alejandro de la Vega."
What Gilberto said next made Diego's head spin.
"As you've always said, I am the firstborn. Once the rancho is on Diego's name we force de la Vega to confess the truth to the world, how he tried to kill his own flesh and blood, no one will doubt that I am the rightful heir."
"Of course, of course," Inez soothed him. "But you forget that he has always denied your existence. As soon he saw your right leg was at an odd angle, he ordered me to rid the world of you. I tried to tell him this was due to birth and that you would grow over it. He didn't believe me, no matter how hard I tried. Your real mother begged him to change his mind. Gilberto, Alejandro de la Vega is a heartless, cruel man.
He doesn't know I took you to my home, let you in my heart and raised you as if you are my child. He knows no better than that you are dead."
Gilberto looked at his mother, hesitating for a moment. "In the pueblo, they hold him in high regard. And that deaf boy who normally hangs around here, he's treated well by him."
"That's probably out of guilt. After you and your brother were born, he hasn't been able to conceive any more children with his wife. When he ordered me to get rid of you, he probably thought more children would come. God decided to punish him for his unforgivable sin of leaving a baby to his fate. He must have some regrets and tries to appear different than he is."
Gilberto nodded. What his mother said sounded plausible.
"Gilberto, I have loved you and cared for you as if you were my child from the moment I held you in my arms."
Inez placed her hand on Gilberto's shoulder. "Alejandro de la Vega will get what's coming to him. You promised me to take revenge for what your father did. All I ask of you is to keep your promise when we are this close."
"Yes, mother. Once the governor's letter arrives, he won't know what hit him."
After hearing so many revelations, so many astonishing confessions, and lies, Diego's head was spinning. Felipe had also heard everything, and just like Diego, disbelief prevailed.
"No, Felipe. I don't know what happened on the day I was born. What I do know is that my father would never reject a child because of any disability. Inez Escondido is lying, and she probably has been for years. She has convinced someone that he is my brother, apparently from childhood."
Diego tried to make sense of the gestures Felipe was making.
"Or what she's telling has any truth in it? The resemblance between me and Gilberto is striking. It is impossible for Inez to have known this since we were children unless... unless she's partly telling the truth."
What Diego said next made Felipe's mouth fall wide open.
"Felipe, I think there's a chance that Gilberto actually is my twin brother."
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