Chapter 1: Breakfast With Ghosts

At exactly six a.m., the pristine white kitchen in the Lomas de Chapultepec house filled with the smell of freshly ground coffee and crisp bacon. Elisa had been awake for hours. Her apron was tied neatly, her movements careful as she placed the final touch on the plate: fluffy pancakes shaped like a teddy bear, strawberry slices for eyes, maple syrup curved into a smile.

She had been married to Esteban Garza for just three months. A wealthy construction executive from Monterrey, now established in Mexico City, Esteban appeared flawless to the outside world—handsome, successful, protective. People said Elisa had won the lottery: a mansion that looked like a museum, a powerful husband, a life wrapped in luxury.

Behind closed doors, her life felt like a quiet war.

Her greatest challenge had a name: Liliana—Lili—the five-year-old daughter Esteban had lost his first wife to the year before. The child’s eyes were too large for her face, heavy with sadness. Elisa never tried to replace Lili’s mother. She only wanted to be a safe place.

“It smells amazing,” Esteban said behind her.

Elisa turned. He stood there in a tailored navy suit, adjusting his cufflinks, eyes fixed on his phone.

“They’re for Lili,” Elisa said gently. “She said yesterday she wanted pancakes. I hope she eats today.”

She straightened his collar. He kissed her quickly, distracted.

“Can you pour my coffee? Strong,” he said. “Please, Mrs. Garza.”

The title felt cold, distant. Elisa swallowed the discomfort, telling herself he was stressed.

Soft footsteps echoed on the marble staircase. Lili appeared, wearing her kindergarten uniform—gray skirt, oversized blue sweater, messy braids framing a pale face.

“Good morning, sweetheart!” Elisa said brightly. “Look what Mommy made for you.”

The child froze. Her eyes widened, darting to her father.

She said nothing. She slid along the wall and sat as far from Elisa as possible.

“Come here, let me fix your hair,” Elisa said softly, reaching out.

“NO!” Lili screamed.

She flung herself backward, chair scraping violently across the floor. She covered her head with her arms, trembling.

Elisa stood frozen, hand suspended in the air.

Esteban lowered his phone slowly.

“Elisa,” he said calmly, dangerously calm, “I’ve told you not to be so rough. You scared her.”

“I wasn’t rough. I just wanted to—” Elisa’s voice cracked. “I’m sorry, Lili.”

Lili stared at the pancake bear, hands shaking so badly the fork rattled against the plate.

Breakfast passed in silence. When it was time to leave, Elisa crouched near the door.

“Have a good day, honey. I put a note in your lunchbox.”

Lili stood stiff beside her father.

“Say goodbye to your mother,” Esteban ordered gently.

Lili took a hesitant step. Elisa leaned in to kiss her cheek.

The reaction was instant.

Lili screamed, shoved Elisa’s face, and hid behind Esteban, clinging to his leg.

“Daddy, no!” she sobbed.

Elisa remained crouched on the floor, humiliated, aware of a neighbor watching.

“What did you do while I was showering?” Esteban asked coldly.

“Nothing. I swear.”

“A child doesn’t react like that for no reason,” he snapped. “Enough with the drama.”

The car drove away, leaving Elisa shattered.

As she stood, she noticed something on the ground: Lili’s drawing notebook.

Inside, a violent red crayon drawing showed three figures: a tall man, a small girl, and a woman with long black hair. The woman had a huge black mouth and snake-like arms choking the child.

Above it were the words: Bad Mommy.

The woman wore Elisa’s blue silk pajamas.

Her phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

“Your husband tells great stories,” the message read. “But he forgot to seal one hole.”

The sun was shining. Elisa felt the world turn cold.

Chapter 2: The Gift and the Trap

The message echoed in her head all day. At work, she couldn’t focus. The drawing haunted her.

That afternoon, she stopped at an upscale toy store in Polanco. She remembered Lili staring at a giant teddy bear in the window.

Maybe a peace offering.

When she arrived home, Esteban’s car was already there.

Inside, Lili sat on the rug doing a puzzle beside Doña Mari, the longtime housekeeper.

Mari smiled politely.

Lili went rigid.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Elisa said carefully. “Look what Mommy brought you.”

She knelt, placing the shiny box in front of the child.

“It’s the bear you liked. Want to open it together?”

Lili’s breathing quickened.

Elisa reached out gently.

“Don’t be afraid—”

“GET AWAY FROM ME!”

Lili jumped up, kicked the puzzle, and hurled the box straight at Elisa’s head. The corner struck her temple.

Pain exploded.

“Holy Mary!” Mari gasped.

Lili backed into the wall, screaming.

“Go away! Don’t hit me! Daddy!”

Elisa stood in shock.

Esteban stormed in.

Without asking, he grabbed Lili and held her.

“What did you do now?” he hissed at Elisa.

“Nothing! She threw the box!”

“Stop acting,” he snapped. “You’re forcing yourself on her.”

“Esteban—”

“Shut up. If you can’t be a mother, leave. Don’t traumatize my daughter.”

He carried Lili upstairs.

“Clean this,” he ordered Mari. “And keep Elisa away from Lili tonight.”

Elisa sank to the floor.

As she picked up the box, something glinted between the sofa cushions—a small black device with a blinking red light.

A voice recorder.

She hid it quickly.

Her phone buzzed again. A photo.

A pharmacy receipt. Esteban’s name.

The medication: Haloperidol.

Another message followed:

“Ask your perfect husband which chocolate milk he’s mixing that into every night.”

Lili drank chocolate milk every night. Prepared by Esteban.

Elisa connected the recorder to her laptop.

She pressed play.

Esteban’s voice filled the room.

“When she comes home, you scream. If she touches you, scream like she’s killing you.”

“But… Elisa is nice.”

“She’s a witch. Do what I say or I’ll cut your doll’s head off.”

Elisa ripped the headphones off.

Her screen flickered.

A message typed itself:

“I know you’re listening. Open the door. NOW.”

The handle turned.

Chapter 3: The Devil’s Diagnosis

Esteban entered calmly, dressed in silk pajamas, eyes empty.

“You’re still awake?” he asked.

Elisa backed away, hiding the USB instinctively.

“You hacked my computer.”

He smiled faintly.

“There was unusual activity. You’re sweating, shaking… hallucinating again?”

“I heard the recording!” she shouted. “You’re abusing your daughter!”

He opened the laptop.

Everything was gone.

“No proof. Just another episode.”

“Give me your phone,” he ordered.

“You’re imprisoning me!”

“I’m curing you.”

He disarmed her easily.

“Nobody will believe you,” he whispered. “Unstable wife versus respected businessman.”

He locked the door from outside.

Chapter 4: Sarah’s Echo

The next morning, a new guard blocked the door.

“You’re not allowed out.”

Mari sobbed when Elisa begged for help.

“He’ll stop paying for my son’s dialysis.”

Elisa wandered upstairs and noticed the attic door ajar.

Inside, she found a leather journal.

Sarah.

The entries mirrored Elisa’s life. Medication. Bruises. Gaslighting.

The final entry read:

“He wants my father’s trust. The proof is behind the sunflower painting in his office.”

The phone rang downstairs.

A landline.

Elisa called 911.

A hand slammed it down.

Esteban stood behind her.

Moments later, his mother arrived with a “doctor.”

A needle. Darkness.

Chapter 5: The Nurse in High Heels

Elisa woke sedated.

“You’re unstable,” her mother-in-law said coldly.

Then a blonde woman entered in a too-tight nurse’s uniform.

“I’m Jessica. I’ll be taking care of you.”

Elisa recognized her voice.

The mistress.

Elisa pretended to swallow the pills.

When Jessica looked away, Elisa searched behind the wardrobe.

A hidden door.

She slipped through.

Chapter 6: The Mask

In Esteban’s office, Elisa found the envelope behind the sunflower painting.

The truth: everything belonged to Lili.

If Lili died or was declared mentally unfit, Esteban inherited everything.

She opened the computer.

The security feed showed Esteban entering Lili’s room—wearing a witch mask, holding a knife.

Elisa grabbed a trophy.

But guards arrived.

One saw the screen.

He turned on Jessica instead.

“Run,” he told Elisa.

She shattered the window and jumped into the pool.

Cut the power.

Escaped barefoot into the street.

Chapter 7: The Broadcast

At a convenience store, Elisa uploaded everything.

She contacted Andrés Colina, Sarah’s brother.

The house went up in flames.

Esteban cried for cameras, blaming Elisa.

But the guard emerged with Lili—alive.

Andrés arrived.

Elisa posted the truth.

Chapter 8: The Monster Falls

At the hospital, Esteban played the grieving widower.

Until the screen behind him lit up.

Elisa. Alive.

The videos played.

The mask. The knife. The threats.

Agents entered.

Esteban was arrested screaming.

Elisa leaned close.

“Lili remembers everything.”

He went pale.

Epilogue: Six Months Later

They lived quietly now.

Lili drew pictures of a new family.

No red crayons. No monsters.

When Elisa brushed her hair, Lili didn’t scream.

She smiled.

“I love you, Mommy.”

And above them, a kite flew freely—no strings, no shadows, no monsters left in the dark.