The millionaire’s triplet daughters had been blind since birth—until the old beggar woman changed everything. Ricardo Mendoza could not understand how it had happened so suddenly. One moment, his four-year-old triplets were being supervised by the nanny in downtown Mexico City. The next, they had run straight toward an unknown woman sitting on the sidewalk.
The three girls—Sofía Guadalupe, Valentina Isabel, and Camila Fernanda—diagnosed as blind from birth, ran in a perfect straight line across the crowded plaza, dodging people and obstacles as if they could see clearly. Their identical red dresses fluttered in the wind as they moved with surprising determination toward the gray-haired woman who opened her arms to receive them.
“Girls, come back here immediately!” shouted Marisol, the head nanny, panic tightening her voice as she realized she had lost control of the situation.
Ricardo, walking a few steps behind while checking his phone, lifted his head—and felt his heart stop. His daughters, who could never move on their own without help, were running with coordination he had never witnessed.
“Abuelita! Abuelita!”
All three shouted in unison.
The word froze Ricardo where he stood.
The woman on the sidewalk wore shabby clothes and had an old blanket draped over her shoulders. Strands of gray hair spilled out from beneath a knitted cap, and her trembling hands reached toward the children with aching tenderness.
When the girls reached her, the woman hugged them with a natural familiarity that shook Ricardo to his core.
“Step away from her. Now.”
His voice echoed across the plaza, causing several people to turn and watch.
But the triplets did not move. Instead, they nestled deeper into the arms of the stranger, who whispered soft words Ricardo could not hear.
“Papá, why didn’t you ever tell us about Grandma Carmen?” asked Sofía Guadalupe, the eldest by three minutes, turning her face toward him with a precision that made his blood run cold.
Ricardo felt his knees weaken. He had never mentioned that name—not once. In fact, he didn’t know any Carmen.
How did his daughter know that name?
