Chapter 6
Arturo arrived at noon.
He looked nervous before he even entered.
Rosa noticed immediately.
People could lie with words.
But not always with their bodies.
Arturo saw Elena.
Then Gabriel.
Then the old cassette player on the table.
His face changed.
“You found it.”
Rosa stared at him.
“You knew it existed?”
Arturo stopped.
The silence became unbearable.
Rosa's voice was quiet.
“Answer me.”
Arturo closed the door behind him.
“Yes.”
Mateo, who had just entered the room, froze.
“You knew?”
Arturo looked at him.
“I knew there was a recording.”
Rosa felt her chest tighten.
“How?”
Arturo sat down.
“When I was sixteen, I saw your grandfather put the cassette in the metal box.”
“And you never told me?”
“I was afraid.”
“You have said that many times.”
Arturo looked at her.
“Because it's true.”
Rosa placed the photograph on the table.
“Who is Julián Vega?”
Arturo stared at the photograph.
“He was a lawyer.”
“Your grandfather's lawyer?”
“Yes.”
“Why was he standing with Sebastián?”
Arturo looked away.
“I don't know.”
Rosa pressed her hand against the table.
“Do not lie to me again.”
Arturo's eyes filled.
“I saw them.”
“Where?”
“In the building.”
“When?”
“The night before the accident.”
Rosa closed her eyes.
The words were finally coming.
Slowly.
Too late.
But coming.
“What were they doing?”
Arturo swallowed.
“They were arguing.”
“About the property?”
“Yes.”
“And the money?”
“Yes.”
“Did your grandfather know they had transferred the building?”
Arturo nodded.
“He had discovered it.”
Rosa stared at him.
“Then why didn't he tell me?”
Arturo looked at the photograph.
“Because he wanted to confront them first.”
“And you heard that?”
“Yes.”
“What happened after?”
Arturo's voice became faint.
“Your grandfather told them he would go to the police.”
Rosa felt the room grow colder.
“And Sebastián?”
“He laughed.”
“Why?”
Arturo looked at her.
“He said nobody would believe an old man with no documents.”
Rosa looked at the cassette.
“But he had documents.”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
Arturo shook his head.
“I don't know.”
Rosa stepped closer.
“Did your grandfather leave that building alive?”
Arturo's face went pale.
“I don't know.”
Rosa stared at him.
“You were there.”
“I left.”
“When?”
“Before the argument ended.”
“Why?”
Arturo looked down.
“Because Sebastián saw me.”
The room became silent.
“What did he do?”
Arturo's hands began to shake.
“He told me to go home.”
“And you did.”
“Yes.”
“Then what?”
“I heard a car leave.”
Rosa's heart stopped.
“Whose car?”
Arturo looked at her.
“Your grandfather's.”
“And Sebastián?”
“I don't know.”
Rosa took a step back.
She suddenly remembered the funeral.
Sebastián had arrived late.
He had stood beside her.
He had held her shoulder.
He had told her:
“Your father was tired. Perhaps it was better this way.”
Rosa had believed him.
For thirty years.
Arturo looked at his mother.
“I didn't know if he had done something.”
“But you suspected.”
“Yes.”
“And you kept silent.”
Arturo nodded.
Rosa's eyes hardened.
“Why?”
Arturo's answer came slowly.
“Because Sebastián told me that if I spoke, he would make sure I disappeared too.”
Mateo stared at his father.
“You were sixteen.”
Arturo nodded.
“And you carried that secret for thirty years?”
“Yes.”
Rosa looked at him.
“And then you became like him.”
Arturo flinched.
She had not intended to say it.
But it was true.
He had learned from the man he feared.
He had learned that fear was a powerful tool.
He had learned that silence could be bought.
And eventually, he had used the same lessons against his own mother.
Elena took the photograph.
“We need to find Julián Vega.”
Gabriel looked at the old documents.
“If he is still alive, he may be the only person who can explain the transfer.”
Rosa looked at Arturo.
“Do you know where he is?”
Arturo shook his head.
“No.”
But Mateo suddenly spoke.
“I might.”
Everyone turned toward him.
Mateo opened his laptop.
“Because when I was searching for information about the property, I found an old company record.”
He turned the screen toward them.
A name appeared.
Julián Vega had died six months earlier.
But before his death, he had left behind a daughter.
May you like
A woman named Clara Vega.
And according to the record, she was currently working in the same law firm where Verónica had once handled her financial documents.
