Chapter 3: What the Friend Knew
I stared at that message for three full minutes.
Camila leaned over my shoulder and read it.
"Do you know who that is?"
"No."
"Could be Diego trying to scare you back."
"Diego doesn't warn me.
He dismisses me."
She looked at the number.
"Should you reply?"
I typed: *Who are you?*
The reply came in under a minute.
*Someone who works at Castillo & Reyes Property Group.
I've seen what Diego and his mother have been doing.
I didn't know you didn't know.
I'm sorry it took me this long.*
Castillo & Reyes.
Diego's firm.
My chest went tight.
*What have they been doing?* I typed.
*T.
Alvarez Holdings isn't just a name.
It's a company Teresa incorporated eight months ago.
Diego has been routing client escrow funds through it.
Not just your savings.
Other people's money too.*
I read the message twice.
Then I looked at Sofía's sleeping face.
"Camila," I said quietly.
"He's not just stealing from me."
She read over my shoulder.
Her hand came down on my arm.
"Verónica."
"He's been using client accounts."
"That's—"
"That's a federal matter."
I typed again: *Do you have proof?*
*I have copies of internal transfer logs.
I made them two weeks ago when I realized what was happening.
I didn't know what to do with them.
Then I saw you leave today with your daughter and a suitcase.*
Someone at his office had been watching.
Had known.
Had waited.
*Why are you helping me?* I asked.
A pause.
Then: *Because I have a daughter too.*
I set the phone down on the mattress.
Camila sat beside me.
Neither of us spoke for a moment.
"You need a lawyer," she said finally.
"Tonight if possible.
First thing tomorrow at the absolute latest."
"I know."
"Not a general lawyer.
A family attorney who also understands financial fraud."
"I know."
"Do you have anyone?"
I thought.
My colleague Renata had gone through a divorce two years earlier — a bad one, with hidden assets.
She had mentioned her attorney more than once.
Said the woman had been like a surgeon.
Precise.
Relentless.
"I might," I said.
I sent Renata a message at half past midnight.
I didn't expect a reply until morning.
She called me back in four minutes.
"Verónica.
Talk to me."
I told her everything.
The transfers.
The home equity line.
The forged signature.
The message from the unknown contact at Diego's firm.
Renata was quiet for a moment.
"Her name is Patricia Osei," she said.
"She handled my case.
She will want to see you tomorrow morning.
I'll send you her number now."
"Renata—"
"Don't thank me.
Just don't go back to that house."
"I won't."
"And don't tell Diego you have any of this."
I looked at the downloaded PDF still open on my laptop screen.
My forged name sitting neatly beneath his.
"He's going to call tomorrow," I said.
"He'll want to talk."
"Let him talk," Renata said.
"You listen.
You say nothing about what you've found.
Can you do that?"
Seven years of swallowing things.
"Yes," I said.
"I've had practice."
After I hung up, I sat in the dark for a while.
Sofía shifted in her sleep and pulled Bunny tighter under her chin.
My phone buzzed one more time.
The unknown contact again.
*One more thing.
The home equity line — the notary who witnessed your signature?
May you like
Her name is Claudia Vega.
She's Teresa's niece.*
