The nurse quickly picked Alma up and placed her on the stretcher.

“Take her to pediatrics right now,” he ordered urgently.

Two doctors appeared within seconds and began examining the little girl.

Tomás stood in the hallway, his heart pounding in his chest.

Santiago clung to his arm.

“Dad… Is Alma going to die?” he asked in a trembling voice.

Thomas immediately crouched down in front of him.

“Don’t say that, son,” he replied, trying to remain calm. “The doctors are going to help her.”

But inside, fear was consuming him.

A doctor came out a few minutes later.

—Are you the father?

—Yes —Tomás replied quickly—. How is he?

The doctor sighed.

—She’s very dehydrated and has a severe infection. She arrived just in time.

Tomás felt the air returning to his lungs.

—Will it be okay?

—Yes, but we’ll need to keep her under observation.

Santiago gently tugged on his father’s jacket.

—Dad… I’m hungry.

Tomás froze.

Three days.

Three days without food.

She looked at her son and for the first time noticed how thin he was.

Sunken eyes.

Cold hands.

She felt a mixture of guilt and anger.

—Come with me —he said softly.

He took him to the hospital cafeteria.

He bought hot soup, bread, and juice.

Santiago started eating so quickly that Tomás had to stop him.

—Slow down, son. You’re going to get sick.

The boy looked up.

“I thought no one was going to come,” she whispered.

Those words hit Tomás harder than any insult.

“I will always come,” he said firmly. “Always.”

Hours later, Alma woke up.

Tomás was sitting by the bed when he saw his little fingers moving.

“Dad…” she whispered weakly.

Tomás felt his eyes fill with tears.

—Here I am, princess.

The little girl looked at him, confused.

—Where is Mom?

Silence fell over the room.

Tomás didn’t know what to answer.

At that moment, her phone vibrated.

It was a message.

From Leticia.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t take it anymore.”

Just those four words.

Nothing else.

Tomás gripped the phone tightly.

He had been a successful millionaire.

He had built companies, won huge contracts, and traveled the world.

But at that moment he understood something he had never wanted to see.

I had lost sight of what was most important.

His family.

She looked at her two children asleep in the hospital room.

And she made a decision that would change their lives forever.

From that day on…

The millionaire would stop living for his company.

And she would begin to live for her children.

The nurse returned a few minutes later with a tray of food for Santiago.

The boy looked at her shyly before slowly starting to eat, as if he was afraid that someone might take her away from him at any moment.

Tomás watched in silence.

Each spoonful that his son put in his mouth felt like a reality check.

How could I not have seen what was happening?

How could his own daughter have been sick for two days without him knowing?

The doctor went back into the room.

“The girl is responding well to the treatment,” he said. “But we need to do some more tests.”

Thomas nodded.

—Do whatever is necessary.

The doctor looked at him seriously.

—Have the children been alone for a long time?

Tomás lowered his gaze for a moment.

—Three days.

The doctor frowned.

—That’s very dangerous for a small child.

Thomas knew it.

And that truth weighed on him more than anything else.

When the doctor left, Santiago approached the bed where Alma was sleeping.

“Dad…” he whispered. “I thought Alma was going to die.”

Thomas placed a hand on his son’s shoulder.

—Not while I’m here.

The boy looked up.

—Are you going to stay?

Thomas did not hesitate.

-Yeah.

That word was a promise.

For the first time in years, Tomás turned off his phone.

He cancelled meetings.

He ignored urgent emails.

Nothing was more important than being there.

Hours later, Alma slowly opened her eyes.

-Dad…

Thomas bowed down immediately.

—I’m here, my love.

The girl looked around, confused.

—Is it a hospital?

-Yeah.

-I’m sick?

Tomás stroked her hair.

—But you’re already getting better.

Alma smiled weakly.

Santiago ran towards the bed.

—You woke up!

Alma extended her small hand.

—I was cold.

Thomas took both of his children’s hands.

And at that moment he felt something he hadn’t felt in many years.

Fear.

No fear of losing money.

Nor of losing business.

But we risk losing them.

He looked at Santiago.

—From today onwards we are going to live together.

The boy blinked.

—At your house?

Thomas nodded.

-Yeah.

-Really?

-Really.

Santiago hugged his father tightly.

Alma watched with a small smile.

At that moment the doctor returned with the preliminary results.

“Good news,” he said. “The infection is under control.”

Tomás felt an enormous relief.

But the doctor added something else.

—Although there is something we need to discuss with you.

Tomás looked at him with concern.

—What’s happening?

The doctor hesitated for a second before speaking.

—The girl shows clear signs of malnutrition.

The words fell like a stone.

Tomás closed his eyes for a moment.

Guilt pierced him.

“I know,” he finally said.

—But there’s something else too—the doctor continued.

Thomas looked at him again.

-What thing?

—During the analysis we found something unexpected.

Silence filled the room.

—What did they find?

The doctor took a deep breath.

—The girl has a condition that has probably been developing for months.

Tomás felt his heart racing again.

—What condition?

The doctor spoke carefully.

—You will need constant treatment.

And possibly surgery.

Tomás looked at Alma, so small in the hospital bed.

Then he looked at Santiago.

—Can it be cured?

The doctor nodded slowly.

-Yeah.

—Then do it.

The doctor seemed surprised by the speed of the response.

—The treatment is expensive.

Tomás let out a small, bitter laugh.

—Doctor… money isn’t the problem.

The problem had been something else.

Time.

Presence.

Being a father.

Tomás took Alma’s hand.

—We’re going to fix all of this.

Santiago looked at his father with admiration.

-Dad…

Thomas looked at him.

—Yes, son.

—Are we going to be okay now?

Thomas looked at his two sons.

And this time he spoke with absolute certainty.

-Yeah.

Because for the first time in a long time…

The millionaire had remembered what his true fortune was.

His children.

And I wouldn’t lose them again.