On the ground floor of the enormous mansion, the dining room presented itself as a cozy and familiar space. The three huge windows let in the daylight, bringing life to a large table that occupied the center of the room. The long and wide table had twenty-four seats. Along its length, nine chairs flanked each side, arranged with ceremonial precision, and three chairs across the width.

The three chairs at the top center were occupied; in the middle sat Henry Frank, the lord and owner of the mansion. To his right was Beatriz, and to the left of the aristocrat was Eleuteria. This arrangement aimed to ensure that the master of the mansion and his most important associates were closer to the kitchen and were the first to be served. However, Henry wasn't entirely convinced, as he always liked to change places and sides at the table; he enjoyed conversing with his maids. Therefore, he never sat at the top or bottom, leaving those places empty and using only the sides. However, on this occasion, he considered it appropriate for the guests to see who was in charge of the mansion.

The three guests were seated on the eastern flank of the table, specifically under Beatriz. Rosa led the row, followed by the strange woman and the young canine. Ceache was next to the young one, by Henry's orders, as Eleuteria had warned that the woman might be an assassin, so he decided it would be good for her to watch over them. On the other hand, Brínea, Pipi, and Sara took their usual places next to Ceache. They always sat together chatting, playing, and sharing meals, as they were the youngest in the mansion and shared the same interests.

Henry trusted in Ceache's strength, so he said nothing to the trio of friends to change places. Moreover, if he did, it could cause unnecessary concerns. On the other hand, on the western flank of the table was Eliza, the first of all, followed by Pando, María, Dalia, Amelie, Cristina, and Narcisa. They were all enjoying the stew he had prepared, or rather that he had watched Eliza cook. None of the maids, not even the talkative Pipi, spoke as they usually did. The dining room had always been the epicenter of gossip and laughter. However, that day they were all silent, except for the two guests he didn't know. "Sister, this is delicious," commented the young man. "It lacks meat, but it's not so bad," opined the strange woman.

To Henry's keen ears, that brought him quite some pleasure. Having strangers praise the dishes of his childhood always pleased him. He still remembered when he had prepared a dish for Eleuteria himself, with Eliza's help; she was delighted, and Henry was content. "I'm glad you like the food," said Henry with a smile towards the, now that he knew, siblings. "It's not so bad, but I've had better," said the woman in response, playing with her spoon and rice, showing herself totally contradictory to what she thought before.

However, Henry knew that was a lie, as not even in the best restaurants had he found a remotely similar recipe. However, he didn't mind her showing bad manners, as he had heard her earlier and knew what she really thought.

"I loved it," said the young man, taking a spoonful to his mouth.

"I'm glad you like it. What's your name, young man?" Henry asked, looking at the young man who had just emptied his plate.

"My name is Nik," he replied with his mouth full.

"A pleasure, my name is Henry Frank, owner and lord of this mansion," he said, pointing to himself and added, "Although I think you already know who I am, but it's rude not to introduce oneself properly."

Henry turned to look at the woman as he said those last words. The woman noticed it and, angry, introduced herself vociferously: "I am Valeri, Ana's girlfriend!"

Who is Ana? Henry wondered, but before he could ask her, Rosa began to scold Valeri. "Don't be like that, please, behave," Rosa gestured embarrassed by what Valeri had just said.

Everyone watched the scene without knowing how to react. Henry observed the reaction of each of his maids, and more than one gave him a smile when their eyes met, a smile he returned before moving on to the next. Henry was judging the situation and seeing if the others had finished eating so he could start his inquisition on Rosa.

It was better to let several minutes pass, that was at least what Henry wished. However, his wishes were frustrated when Rosa, as if she remembered what she had come to do, spoke to him. "Henry, do you know what Argentina is? Because I'm not sure of anything anymore."

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Sure? Did she refer to herself as him? Is she really an impostor? Those questions began to arise in Henry's head. Confused, he decided to return her question with another question. "Are you an admirer and don't know what Argentina is?" Henry asked, annoyed. "It's not that, what I meant is, what is Argentina really?" she asked with a sad look.

In his head, Henry already knew that this woman was a fraud; however, his heart was touched by her presence and quite vulnerable because of what had happened in the morning. However, he had to be firm and dismantle who was posing as his best friend and the woman he had loved at some point. "Is that really all you came here for, impostor?" Henry asked with a hateful look.

Rosa was scared by the intensity of his eyes and backed away with the chair and all, making a sliding sound on the floor. Valeri intervened angrily and said: "Hey! Ana just came to seek answers about who she is!" She stood up annoyed and hit the table with both hands.

Ceache stood up, and Nik did the same as he took out a knife from his right pocket. Eleuteria, frightened, grabbed Henry's hand, while Beatriz remained calm and watched the scene without flinching. On the other hand, the girls began to stand up, nervous. Only María, Dalia, and Eliza remained seated. "Silence! Ceache, sit down!" he ordered angrily, pointing his index finger at her.

Ceache sat down again and apologized: "I'm really sorry."

Nik followed suit and sat back down, tucking his knife into his pants pocket. Henry turned to look at the girl who had started the fight, and, remembering Eleuteria's warning words and the daggers she displayed in her presence in the living room, Henry focused on her attire and glimpsed a shiny fabric. It must be a light chainmail over a poorly buttoned black shirt, as it gave her a very pronounced neckline. However, although he had an incredible vision to see the scars that adorned her chest, he didn't have the ability to see through her clothes and discover where she hid her weapons. However, he remembered seeing her take out double daggers from her back, presumably from her dark gray baggy pants, besides hearing the clinking of metal coming from her lower part, including her short black boots. "Hey? Are you looking at my breasts?" Valeri said seductively as she cupped them with both hands.

Henry couldn't believe the clownish display of that woman in such a serious and tense situation. However, he didn't let himself be carried away by her and said: "You're a beautiful woman like any other. However, I'm not interested in vulgar women like you," he said mockingly and continued to see what she was about to reply. "Don't get me wrong! You don't know me. Besides, I've had the kindness to put up with you in my house, despite sneaking in like vulgar thieves just because that woman," he pointed to Rosa, ". Is pretending to be a dead friend and I want to know why."

The girls who had stood up sat back down, convinced that there was no reason to worry and letting themselves be carried away by Henry's assertive words. While Brínea released her venom, Pipi and Sara tried to calm her down by holding her hand; they remained standing, apart in the corner of the dining room. Eliza noticed from a distance and felt bad for not being able to do anything for the poor girl. Also, she felt indebted to her, as she had taken care of her when she was unconscious. However, she decided to trust her daughters, who knew her better than she did, as she had little interaction with Brínea.

When Valeri was about to say something, Rosa took her hand and looked her in the eyes. Without words, she understood her silent plea. Valeri sat down again and said: "I'm sorry..." "Wow, I had never seen my sister apologize to an aristocrat," mumbled Nik between laughs. "You'll see later when we get out of here," muttered Valeri, angry.

Henry heard them and felt satisfied with their display of toughness, but deep down, he knew that it was the impostor who had calmed the waters. However, that reminded him of the old Rosa and how she always remained calm in the face of difficulties; he hoped that maybe it was her indeed. "I want you to answer me one thing," said Henry, fixing his gaze on Rosa as he released Eleuteria's hand to gently rest both elbows on the table, finally letting both hands fall.

"Okay," she replied, looking back at him seriously.

Henry could hear the sound of their hands touching, and he knew that Valeri was holding his hand, reminding him of Eleuteria, and he felt motivated knowing that he was not alone, as Beatriz had told him in the kitchen while hugging him. Determined, he asked the question. "Which of these ten fingers did your daughter Ana take when she first saw me?" Henry wiggled his ten fingers as he awaited her response.

"If I answer correctly, will you answer my questions?" Rosa asked defiantly, following Henry's fingers with her eyes. "All of them, I'll even tell you what's behind the door of my study," Henry replied with a grin from ear to ear, knowing that she wouldn't be able to answer correctly.

The maids began to murmur intrigued, as no one had ever seen what was behind that door. They imagined all sorts of things, from war decorations to money stored in large safes. However, they all fell silent when Rosa spoke. "The index finger of the right hand," Rosa replied hesitantly.

"Is that your final answer?"