The Deadbeat Dad Snubbed His Genius Twins—Until They Plucked the Blue Folder From Their Backpacks and Ruined His Elite Life Forever! / Chapter 1 / 69

Chapter 1 - The Stranger in the Auditing Hall

The heavy oak doors of the municipal auditorium creaked open, admitting a slice of grey morning light that cut across the scuffed linoleum floor. Lucía gripped the strap of her canvas bag, her knuckles white. She hadn’t stepped inside a building like this in over a decade—places coated in the expensive scent of floor wax and quiet, suffocating ambition. Thirteen years ago, the door had slammed shut behind Álvaro, leaving her with an empty crib, a half-filled bank account, and two newborns who would never know the warmth of a father’s embrace.

Now, here he was.

Standing by the registration desk, Álvaro looked polished, his silver-streaked hair trimmed to perfection, a bespoke navy blazer hugging his broad shoulders. Beside him stood Verónica, her silk scarf tied with immaculate precision, and Hugo, a boy of seventeen whose posture reeked of elite tutoring and iron-fisted expectations. Álvaro laughed at something Verónica whispered, a rich, confident sound that belonged to a man who believed the past was a locked room he had successfully boarded up.

Lucía stopped a few feet away. The air in her lungs felt suddenly thin.

"Don't make this a scene," Álvaro muttered, his eyes barely raking over her before snapping back to his phone. Annoyance flickered across his features like a glitch on a screen. "Today is not the time to dig up the past."

Lucía stared at him. Thirteen years of sleepless nights, of working two jobs to scrape together rent, of answering her sons' tearful questions with brave, hollow lies—all of it compressed into this man's casual irritation.

"What are you doing here?" Álvaro snapped louder, turning fully now, his brow furrowed as if she were a beggar tracking mud onto his pristine carpet. "Today is not the time to bring up the past."

"I've come for my children," Lucía said, her voice terrifyingly steady.

Verónica stepped in, offering a smile that didn't reach her eyes—a smile dripping with the toxic condescension of the ultra-wealthy. "I hope you haven't created expectations, darling. Hugo has been with private tutors for months. This level has nothing to do with standard school competitions. It's an entirely different league."

Marcos clenched his jaw so hard a muscle twitched in his cheek. Mateo looked down at his worn sneakers, his shoulders sinking. Lucía felt the hot, furious urge to tear Verónica's smile right off her face, but a glance at the hall clock stopped her cold.

"Mom, they close the registration in eight minutes," Marcos whispered.

Lucía nodded, stepping past Álvaro as if he were nothing more than a coat rack in her way.