Chapter 2: The One Second That Answered Everything
Daniel didn't move.
He just stood there in the doorway, staring at the papers in my hands.
"Verónica—"
"Don't."
My voice came out quieter than I expected.
Not shaking.
Not breaking.
Quiet in the way that means there is nothing left to lose.
"How long?" I asked.
He opened his mouth.
"How long, Daniel?"
"It's not what it looks like."
I held up the real-estate document.
His signature.
My name copied beneath it in someone else's hand.
"Then explain what it looks like."
He stepped into the room.
I stood up.
"My mother needed help.
The transfers were temporary."
"Temporary." I set the papers on the desk.
"And the f0rgery?
Was that temporary too?"
His jaw tightened.
"I was going to tell you."
"When?
After she owned half our home?"
He said nothing.
Then his phone buzzed on his hip.
He glanced down at the screen.
Something crossed his face.
Not guilt.
Panic.
"Who is that?"
"Nobody."
"Show me."
"Verónica—"
I looked at him steadily.
"Is there someone else involved in this?
Someone I don't know about?"
May you like
The silence lasted exactly one second too long.
And that was my answer.
