Chapter 3 - The Tea Was RealHospital toxicology could not reconstruct years of sedation in one day.
But it could test Lupita now.
Her blood contained metabolites consistent with a prescription sedative not listed in her medical chart.
The remaining tea recovered from her room contained the same compound.
Not enough to prove every episode.
Enough to prove this cup was not herbal sleep tea.
Dr. Paloma eventually identified the medication.
“I gave Beatriz the prescription years ago.”
“Why?”
“She said several sisters suffered severe insomnia.”
“And you believed that?”
“At first.”
“How long did ‘at first’ last?”
Paloma looked down.
Too long.
Lupita’s medical examination documented signs consistent with recent childbirth, repeated prior pregnancies, and previous medical procedures. Nothing in the exam could identify exactly how conception had occurred years earlier.
But one detail mattered.
Lupita had tiny scars on the backs of both hands.
She had always believed they came from repeated blood draws.
Paloma knew better.
“IV access,” she admitted.
“For what?”
“Sedation.”
Inés felt sick.
Paloma explained that before each pregnancy, Beatriz would tell her Lupita needed “women’s treatment” for irregular cycles.
Paloma handled only certain portions.
Basic examinations.
Blood draws.
Later, confirmation of pregnancy.
“What happened between those visits?” Ortega asked.
“Mateo brought someone else.”
“Who?”
“I never knew his real name.”
“A doctor?”
“He presented himself as one.”
“Did you check his license?”
“No.”
Paloma started crying.
That was not absolution.
Ortega waited until she stopped.
“What did he do?”
“I was not allowed inside.”
The cellar records contained procedure dates approximately two to three weeks before each positive pregnancy test.
On those nights, Lupita remembered missing hours.
Cold lights.
Rubber wheels.
Disinfectant.
A familiar voice praying.
And always, the next morning, Father Mateo appeared at breakfast.
She remembered that only after seeing his signature.
The first time he had brought her a small wooden rosary.
The second time, he touched her forehead and said:
“You have endured something holy, even if you cannot understand it yet.”
May you like
Lupita had thought he was speaking about spiritual depression.
Now she understood he may have been speaking about something he had arranged only hours earlier.
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