This time he didn’t knock. His men broke down the door. Carmela was prepared. She had called the police after the first visit, but they still hadn’t arrived.
When he heard the door slam, he took Salome by the hand and led her to the safe room he had prepared for emergencies.
Stay here, little one, no matter what happens, don’t leave until I come for you.
Salomé nodded, her eyes filled with terror. Carmela went out to confront Gonzalo.
The two men held her down while he checked every room looking for the girl.
“Where is she?” Gonzalo shouted. “Where did you hide her?” “Far from you, where you’ll never find her.” Gonzalo approached Carmela and grabbed her by the neck.
I’m going to ask you just one more time. Where is Salome?
Go to hell. At that moment, police sirens filled the air. Someone had seen the men break down the door and had called emergency services.
The officers entered with their weapons drawn.
Everyone on the ground. Gonzalo released Carmela, trying to regain his composure. Officer, this is a misunderstanding.
He was just coming to pick up my niece. We have a recording of his previous visit, the officer said. Threats, attempted child abduction, trespassing
She has the right to remain silent. As they handcuffed Gonzalo, Carmela smiled. The security camera had captured everything. Both visits, the threats, the violence.
Gonzalo Fuentes had just destroyed his own freedom. News of Gonzalo’s arrest reached Judge Aurelio Sánchez in less than an hour.
His network of informants was efficient. “He’s an idiot,” he muttered as he dialed a number on his private phone.
“I told him to be discreet. I told him to be patient.” The voice on the other end responded calmly.
“What do we do now? Gonzalo is going to talk. As soon as they pressure him, he’ll negotiate. He’s a coward. He always has been. He can frame you. He knows too much.”
We need to activate plan B. Aurelio walked to his safe and opened it.
Inside were dozens of storage devices, videos, recordings, documents he had collected over decades, his life insurance, evidence of corruption by politicians, businessmen, and judges.
If he fell, many would fall with him. “I’m going to make some calls,” Gonzalo said.
She won’t spend a single night in jail, but there’s another problem. The worst lawyer, the gardener Martín Reyes. We intercepted a call last night.
He’s alive and in contact with Dolores Medina. Where is he? San Jerónimo, at his mother’s house. The lawyer is going there today. Do you want us to intercept them?
Aurelio thought about it for a moment. No, let them arrive, let them all get together, and when we have them all together, we’ll solve all the problems at once.
It was a clean, efficient plan. But Aurelio had underestimated his enemies, and that would cost him everything.
Dolores arrived in San Jerónimo at noon. The journey had been long, and her body protested with aches and pains that she preferred to ignore.
Her doctor had warned her that stress could kill her, but dying while seeking justice was preferable to living without having found it.
Consuelo Reyes’ house was the same as before, but this time the old woman was waiting at the door with a nervous expression.
“My son is inside,” she whispered. “But he’s not the only one. There’s someone else who wants to see her.” Dolores went inside.
In the small room, sitting in an old chair, was Martín Reyes. He was a man of about 40, thin, with an unkempt beard and eyes that had seen too much.
“Mrs. Medina,” he said, standing up. “Thank you for coming. Martín has a lot to explain, starting with how it’s possible that Sara Fuentes is alive.”
Martin looked toward the back door. I don’t need to explain.
She can do it better than I can. The door opened. A woman appeared in the doorway. She was thin, haggard, with short hair and white streaks she hadn’t had before.
But her eyes were unmistakable, the same eyes that Dolores had seen in the photographs in the file.
Sara Fuentes was alive. “Mrs. Medina,” Sara said hoarsely. “I’ve been waiting for this moment for 5 years.
Five years in hiding, watching my husband rot in prison for something he didn’t do. Five years separated from my daughter to protect her.
I can’t wait any longer. Dolores slumped into a chair. Her legs wouldn’t support her. Why?
Why so long? Why didn’t I speak up sooner? Because I didn’t have enough evidence. But now I do, and there are less than 24 hours left to save Ramiro.
Sara sat down across from Dolores and began to speak. Her voice trembled, but her words were firm. The night Gonzalo attacked me, I had confronted my husband.
I told him that his brother had forged his parents’ will.
Ramiro didn’t believe me. We argued. He drank himself to death on the sofa. What happened next?
Gonzalo arrived an hour later. He had a key to the house. Ramiro never took it from him. He found me in the kitchen. I tried to reason with him, but he was furious.
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