Chapter 1 — The Switched Test Results

The Sanchez household always looked perfect. From the outside, it was a modern mansion with immaculate gardens and luxury cars in the garage. Inside, the silence gave away what appearances tried to hide: a family held together by lies.

Selena Sanchez was twenty-three years old.

She watched from her bedroom window as her father left for another business meeting. Rodrigo Sanchez was respected by many and feared by others. She preferred not to know the details of what really sustained the family fortune.

Since her mother's death eight years ago, Selena had carried the weight of loneliness. When Patricia entered her father's life, she tried to be cordial, but living together became unbearable once Ingrid, Patricia's daughter, moved in with them. Ingrid had the kind of beauty that charmed everyone — and the coldness of someone who wouldn't hesitate to destroy anyone who stood in the way of what she wanted.

Selena's wedding to Cassio Alvarez was scheduled for three weeks from now.

The engagement was the talk of both families. Everyone seemed happy — except Ingrid.

From the moment she met Cassio, she'd been interested in him.

Cassio was handsome, rich — everything a woman could want in a man.

That afternoon, Ingrid walked into her mother's room with a cruel gleam in her eyes.

"Mother, I've had an idea," she said, dropping into the armchair with a malicious smile. "We both know I'm infertile. I'll never be able to have children."

Patricia raised her eyebrows, suspicious.

"Yes, dear. An idea for what?"

"To separate Selena from Cassio."

"Ingrid... when you start a sentence like that, it already makes me nervous. Your ideas always end in disaster."

Ingrid leaned forward, confident.

"Not this time. I know where the clinic is — the one where Selena's getting her premarital exams done. And I also know how many doors money can open. I'm going to pay to have the results switched. When Cassio finds out Selena is infertile, he'll call off the wedding."

Patricia stared at her in silence for a few seconds, both impressed and frightened by her daughter's audacity.

"And when he finds out you can't get pregnant either?" she asked quietly.

"That's a problem for the future," Ingrid replied with a faint smile. "Right now, the important thing is getting Selena out of the way."

Patricia sighed. Her maternal instinct screamed that this would end badly, but the obsessive love she felt for her daughter won out.

"All right, Ingrid. You know I'll always be on your side," she murmured. "I just hope you get what you want... before everything spirals out of control."

Ingrid stood up, her eyes burning with determination.

"Don't worry, Mother. After this, Selena will lose everything. The fiance, the name, and if necessary... even her reputation."

As Patricia watched her daughter leave the room, a chill ran down her spine. For the first time, she was afraid of her own daughter.

But it was too late — she had already agreed to help.

Two days later, Selena left the house early. She was radiant, caught up in the wedding preparations. The clinic where she'd have her premarital exams was in the city center — discreet, elegant, and completely confidential. Exactly the kind of place Ingrid needed.

As soon as Selena walked into the office, Ingrid appeared across the street, watching from a distance in sunglasses, her hair pulled back in a perfect bun.

In the back seat of the car, a folder of forged documents waited. Patricia had used her contacts to obtain the clinic's exact form templates, and Ingrid had simply replaced her own name with Selena's.

When the receptionist left for lunch, Ingrid stepped out of the car and strode into the building. She wore a tailored suit and flashed a fake badge with the clinic's logo. The security guard just nodded, assuming she was staff.

Inside the lab, a tall, bald man approached.

"Can I help you, miss?"

"Yes, you can," Ingrid replied, her tone commanding and her smile cold. "I have a delicate matter."

She opened her purse, pulled out a thick envelope, and slid it discreetly across the counter.

"I need a small change."

The man looked at the envelope, then at her face.

"This is illegal."

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't," Ingrid whispered. "Everything's in there — test results, names. All you have to do is deliver the wrong envelope to the right person. These results need to go to the girl who's having her exams done right now."

He hesitated for a few seconds, but the sound of money being pushed toward him broke any resistance.

"The switch will be done. But if anyone finds out..."

"No one's going to find out." Ingrid turned and added under her breath, "And if they do, you'll be dead."

The man went pale.

That evening, Ingrid had dinner with her mother and stepfather as if nothing had happened. Rodrigo talked about a new meeting with Italian partners, never imagining that a conspiracy was being woven inside his own home.

Selena went up to her room after dinner, smiling, sharing details about the wedding. Ingrid pretended to be interested, hiding the cruel pleasure she felt knowing what was coming.

Days later, the test results came back.

When Selena read the results, her face went white. The floor seemed to vanish beneath her feet.

The words printed on the page screamed:

"Uterine incapacity. Permanent infertility."

Selena stepped back, her heart racing, her hands shaking.

"This... this has to be a mistake..."

"Calm down, sis," Ingrid said, holding back a smile. "Sometimes errors happen. But... if it's true... I'm so sorry."

Selena let the paper fall. In seconds, all the joy she'd been carrying crumbled to nothing.

Ingrid watched in silence, savoring every second. Her plan had worked.

In that moment, something inside her shifted. The pleasure of victory over her sister gave her a sense of power she had never felt before.

And for the first time, she understood that she could manipulate anyone.

All it took was money.

All it took was coldness.

All it took was wanting it enough.

Selena went back to the doctor with the test results.

"Selena, unfortunately there's no mistake. Your infertility is permanent. There's nothing we can do."

Selena loved Cassio — but what now? The Alvarez family expected an heir from Cassio, and she would never be the one to give the Alvarez family what they demanded.

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