— 24 —

9:00 am

"I think Rafael's lawyer, Alfonso Sánchez, is the brain that orchestrated all this. He was the one with all the information about the inheritance, the money, Rafael's heir…" Diego said at the library, while discussing the ins and outs of what had happened.

"Alfonso Sánchez, the lawyer from Lima in Peru?" said the lawyer from Santa Paula.

"Yes."

"He can't be… he's dead! Burglars ransacked his office and murdered him."

"How do you know that? When?" Don Alejandro said.

"He's a friend of mine, my cousin Isabel's husband. I got a letter yesterday. He died a month ago, the 5th of July."

"That's one day after he sent us that letter telling us about Rafael's death and the inheritance," Diego said. He thought the lawyer was the connection, as he seemed to know all the details, but he was mistaken. Now it looked like he was just another victim on this plot.

Raúl appeared at the door then, sporting a black eye and a very bruised jaw, the sequels of his encounter with the bandit's fists at the tavern. He was confused by the amount of people in the house.

"Buenos días. Excuse me, Don Diego… aaah, I think maybe I should go now."

"Who's this young man, Diego?" Don Alejandro said. Diego stood up to meet Raúl, inviting him to the table.

"This, Father, is… your cousin, Raúl de la Vega."

"Who?"

Raúl looked at Diego, surprised, and shook his head before shaking hands with the old don.

"I'm Raúl Álvarez, not De la Vega. Nice to meet you, Don Alejandro. I'm glad to see you've been freed from your captors."

"Raúl, there is something I haven't told you yet…" Diego said, hesitating, not sure how to break the news. "I didn't know of your existence until today, nor did my father. Please, tell me, how did you get that surname, Alvárez?

"It was my mother's. I never knew my father's name. She died during childbirth, and she never revealed his name to anyone," Raúl said proudly and defiantly, not ashamed in the slightest to be the son of an unmarried woman. Diego thought he had probably punched any mouth that had ever dared to call him a "bastard child", and he liked him even more for that.

"But she had one of these, didn't she?" Diego said, producing the pendant that came in the box.

"How did you get that?" Raúl said, upset, almost angry. He pulled from the chain around his neck, but his pendant wasn't missing: it was still there. They looked identical. "How…? I don't understand. What's going on?"

"This was in the parcel you delivered yesterday for my father, together with a letter from Rafael de la Vega."

"What parcel?" Don Alejandro said, also baffled by the scene. "What are you talking about?"

"In a moment, Father," Diego said, still trying to make Raúl understand first. "In that letter, Rafael de la Vega said he had an affair with one on his young servants at his colonial house in Lima, but when his wife found out about it, she made her leave the house, probably under some kind of threat —I don't know exactly, I can only guess. Rafael said they were in love, and he gave her a pendant matching this one, made with silver from his own mine, with the words maybe tomorrow engraved, but she disappeared and he could only find her trace years after that. And that's when he found out she had a son. He traced that son, and… he's you, Raúl. You are my great uncle's heir."

"What?" Raúl and Don Alejandro said at the same time.

"Yes, I know it's a lot to digest. Look, here are the letters: read it for yourselves."

Don Alejandro and Raúl read the letters. Diego watched their facial expressions change as the truth sank in. Raúl finished reading first. He looked stoned by the news.

"So… this Rafael de la Vega… was my father?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't he tell me about this before? Why now?"

"He didn't know your mother was pregnant when she left. He only found out years later, and then he had to find you first, but it took him a while because you moved so much in your youth. He searched for several years, and in the end, he was already too old and sick to do the enquiries himself, so he used a private investigator. It's all there in the letter, you can't really blame him. He tried."

"My name is not in that letter. How do you know I am his son?"

"You father was very clever, he left clues in different letters to protect your identity. Through a code system, he told us that the courier bringing the parcel to us and in possession of that pendant, would be his heir."

"And that's why that man insisted it had to be me and no other delivering that parcel to you…"

"Exactly."

Don Alejandro finished reading all the letters, and looked at Raúl then, with a smile lighting up his bruised face, that somehow matched the bruises on Raúl face.

"Do you know what this means?" Don Alejandro said, grabbing the young man by the shoulders. "You are my cousin. Welcome to the family, primo Raúl."

He hugged the young man. They both had tears of joy in their eyes.

"And you are my uncle," Diego said, enjoying the moment.

"I'm too young to be your uncle!" Raúl said, laughing, still in Don Alejandro's arms.

"You are too young for many people, Raúl," Diego said mysteriously, but the young man didn't get it. Or if he did, he didn't show it.

"I just can't believe this!" Don Alejandro said, breaking the embrace. "Totally unbelievable. Now, how do we make this official? Because this young man is entitled to Rafael's inheritance now, isn't he?"

"What inheritance?" Raúl said. He didn't have a clue how rich his father was.

"Raúl, do you recognize this place?" Diego said, showing him the map.

"Hum… Maybe… Yes, I think this could be a map of San Diego."

"That's what I thought. And do you know what is this, in here, this X mark?"

"Yes, there is a solitary, old evergreen oak in that spot, outside the pueblo. A favourite spot for lovers," he said with a cheeky smile.

"And that's where we will find the documents, signed by Rafael. Easy," Diego said, handing the map to the lawyer. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I'm really tired. It's been a long day, and my broken ribs are killing me. I'll retire to rest now."

"Yes, Zorro mentioned you got badly hurt. Go to rest, Son, you did well," his father said, giving him a much-needed hug of approval and gratitude.

"Thank you, Father. I was so worried about you. I'm sorry I couldn't find you sooner."

Damn, Diego thought, realizing of his blunder, but nobody, not even his father, seemed to noticed Diego didn't find him, but Zorro, and assumed it was just a manner of speaking.

"You sorted out all this mystery, Diego, and you found us a new member of the family. After this horrible experience, I'm alive and in one piece, and so you are. What else could I wish for?"

Diego addressed the lawyer and the banker then, who were quietly enjoying the scene unfold.

"Thank you for coming all the way from Santa Paula to help my father, exposing yourselves to danger. I'll be eternally grateful."

"Don't worry about it. All's well that ends well," the banker said, shaking Diego's hand, same as the lawyer.

"When I got kidnapped, we were on our way to Santa Paula to see you both, to discuss the inheritance," Don Alejandro said. "So, your journey here is not completely wasted. Now, if this young man is the new heir… how do we…?"

Diego left them talking legal matters. He really needed to rest or he could faint out of pure exhaustion.

9:12 am

When De Soto arrived at the Aranda hacienda, Don Emilio had collected a few things and was about to mount his horse to run away.

"Don Emilio," De Soto said at the entrance. "I want to…"

Don Emilio looked back at him and panicked. He got up the saddle and spurred his horse to get away. De Soto was caught by surprise, not expecting that kind of reaction at all. He also spurred his horse to follow the man.

"Stop! Where do you think you are going? Stop!"

Don Emilio ignored him, so the alcalde gave chase. When he eventually got near the man, he wondered how to stop him, because shooting him down was too drastic. He knew what Zorro would do in that kind of situation, but he wasn't Zorro. He would not jump off the saddle to tackle that man to the ground at full gallop as the daring bandit would do. Although… why not?

Trying to be as macho as Zorro, De Soto jumped to tackle Don Emilio, dragging him off the saddle. At that speed, they both hit the ground pretty hard. A very bad idea.

After the impact, the two men stayed on the ground for a while, complaining in pain. At least, De Soto didn't have any broken bones, unlike Don Emilio, who had fractured his arm.

"What the hell, Alcalde? Are you crazy? You broke my arm!"

"I told you to stop, didn't I?" De Soto said, standing up slowly, wiping the dust off his clothes, feeling grateful because at least he hadn't banged his head and he wasn't dizzy and nauseous again. However, he cursed to himself when he saw the horses galloping away in the distance, racing together in a crazy competition without riders. "Come on, get up. There's a long walk back to the pueblo. You can walk with a broken arm, can't you?"

Or we could go to the hacienda de la Vega. That's much closer, and then I can find out what happened to that spineless ninny, De Soto thought.

"Have you seen Don Diego de la Vega?"

"No! Why is everybody asking me about him?"

"But you've seen Don Alejandro…"

Don Emilio's substandard poker face could not hide his guilt. De Soto helped him up, pulling from his good arm.

"We'll have plenty of time on the way back, Señor. Start walking, and talking, please," De Soto said, pushing Don Emilio forward.

9:41 am

Felipe called Diego to his room, gesturing mysteriously. He opened the door for him and let him in, showing him proudly the bathtub, once again full of warm, inviting, soapy water. Diego had to smile.

"Thanks, Felipe," he said, loving the cheeky grin on Felipe's face. "It's been a long day. You should go to sleep too."

After the youngster left, Diego removed his clothes and dressings. The bruise on his side looked almost black now, nearly as dark as Zorro's clothes. He smiled again when he saw the fresh poultice Felipe had left for him in a bowl at the bedside table, ready to use.

Diego got in the bath and sank into the water, with his head submerged below the surface, holding his breath, as he had done exactly twenty-four hours ago. Then he exhaled little bubbles slowly, relaxing his sore muscles.

It had been a long day, indeed, the most intense 24 hours of his life. But he had survived, and so had his father and everyone else. That sense of accomplishment made him feel good, and proud of himself. It was a shame he could only share that thought with Felipe.

He thought about Victoria then, and how willing she was for more, so eager of his love, the same as he was. What would have happened last night if he had carried on? Things would have got out of hand and they would have made love, surely. But he had behaved like a caballero, like a respectable De la Vega, not like an outlaw. His father would have been proud of his self-control. He definitely was: feeling proud of himself, but… stupid at the same time.

At the tavern, he had to restrain himself, but now, in the bathtub, he could let his passion run wild. He got his head above the water, and let his idle hand reach for that old friend down there, closing his eyes, recalling once again the whole heated exchange with his querida.

Right then, disturbing his peace, a strong sense of déjà vu: the noise he was starting to dread the most, that demanding…

"Dieeeegooooooo!"

He cursed under his breath, feeling sorry for himself.

For crying out loud, what grown up bachelor can't even wank in peace?

Diego smiled when his father tried the handle. At least he had latched the door this time, like in his youth.

"Diego, the alcalde is here, with Don Emilio Aranda. Can you tell us what's going on?"

Diego sighed, and got under the water again, ignoring him. He would have time to explain later. Now he only wanted to relax and enjoy his quiet time in the soothing water... in peace… in silence…

"Dieeeeegooooooo!"

Maybe not.

10:00 am

—THE END —

A.N – Thank you all for reading and reviewing this story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Until the next one. Cheers.

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