Lucía glanced at the children.
“They will still be connected to you by every morning, every fever, every song, every night you walked the floor with them.”
“But if Elena is their biological mother—”
“Then that truth will matter.”
Esperanza waited.
Lucía met her eyes.
“But it will not erase the other truth.”
Tomás held up a wider bread tower.
“Look!”
Esperanza smiled.
“That one is strong.”
He beamed.
Lucía reached across the table and squeezed Esperanza’s wrist.
“So are you.”
Doctor Paloma arrived just after evening prayers.
She found Mother Caridad in the office preparing travel papers.
“You are certain about tomorrow?” the doctor asked.
Mother Caridad did not look up from the envelope she was sealing.
“No.”
Paloma removed her gloves.
“But you are going.”
“Yes.”
The doctor sat in the chair beside the desk.
“I telephoned the clinic listed on the appointment card.”
Mother Caridad’s hand stopped.
“And?”
“They confirmed that a patient named Ana Valdés attended an appointment seven weeks ago.”
“Esperanza?”
“They would not provide details without written permission.”
“That is proper.”
“Yes.”
“Did they describe the patient?”
“No. But they gave me the name of the physician.”
Mother Caridad waited.
“Doctor Mateo Serrano.”
She recognized the surname.
“Do you know him?”
“Professionally. He specializes in reproductive medicine and complex fertility cases.”
“Was he involved six years ago?”
“No.”
“Then how did he become involved now?”
“I do not know.”
Mother Caridad leaned back.
“You believe someone has continued arranging procedures under Esperanza’s former name.”
“That appears likely.”
“Could a clinic do that without her understanding?”
“Not lawfully.”
Mother Caridad studied the doctor.
“And in practice?”
Paloma’s face tightened.
“A patient could misunderstand forms, especially if she trusted the person guiding her. A clinic could also believe proper consent had already been obtained. But repeated pregnancies would require repeated medical contact. There should be memories.”
“Unless she was sedated.”
Paloma looked down.
“Yes.”
Mother Caridad’s expression hardened.
“I will not accept another vague answer tomorrow.”
“You should not.”
“Will Doctor Serrano speak with us?”
“I asked him to meet us at Elena’s address.”
“You gave him the address?”
“I gave him the name. He already knew where she lived.”
Mother Caridad rose slowly.
“He knows Elena.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you not lead with that?”
“Because I learned it only an hour ago.”
Paloma reached into her bag and withdrew a folded note.
