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.
He hit me. I fell. Everything went dark. How did you survive? Sara looked at Martín, who continued the story. I had returned to the house that night.
I forgot my gardening tools. I saw Gonzalo’s car outside and something seemed off.
I went in through the back door and found Sara on the floor. She was still breathing.
Gonzalo was in the living room putting the gun in Ramiro’s hands while he was asleep. He didn’t see him. He was too engrossed in his thoughts. I got Sara out through the kitchen window.
I took her to my mother’s house. That same night I drove for four hours straight. When we arrived, she woke up. Sara spoke again.
Martin saved my life, but when I learned that Ramiro had been arrested, I wanted to return immediately.
Martín stopped me. Why? Because Gonzalo had contacts in the police and the prosecutor’s office.
If I had turned up alive, they would have truly eliminated me. Salomé too. Gonzalo had seen her that night hiding in the hallway. He knew she was a witness.
If I spoke out, my daughter would pay the price. Dolores understood this woman’s terrible sacrifice. She let her husband be condemned to protect her daughter.
Every day of these 5 years has been hell, Mrs. Medina, but today it ends.
I have proof, and we’re going to use it. Sara pulled an old phone out of her pocket, an old model that hardly anyone used anymore.
“I was recording the night of the attack,” he explained. “I had started documenting everything: Gonzalo’s threats, his calls, his visits.”
I was afraid something would happen to me and I wanted to leave evidence. What exactly did you record? Sara pressed play. The recording was audio, not video, but it was clear.
Gonzalo’s voice filled the room. “Did you think you could threaten me, Sara?”
Did you think you could destroy everything I’ve built? Aurelio told me to give you one last chance, but you chose the difficult path.
Sara’s voice was frightened but firm. “Gonzalo, please, think of Ramiro. He’s your brother. Ramiro is a loser. He always has been.”
She shouldn’t have inherited anything. Everything was for me. For me. And you’re not going to ruin it. Then a bang, a scream, and the recording ended. Dolores felt her heart pounding in her ears.
This is a confession.
And she mentions Aurelio. There’s more, Sara said. The phone kept recording after I lost consciousness.
He caught Gonzalo calling Aurelio. He pressed play again. It’s done, but there’s a problem. The little girl saw everything. She was hiding in the hallway.
Aurelio’s voice. “Take care of the husband as we planned. I’ll take care of the girl.” One word from him and she’d be an orphan. Dolores had the proof she needed.
Gonzalo and Aurelio, condemned by their own voices.
Why did I wait five years to use this? Because I needed Salome to be safe. And because I needed someone to believe me.
Someone with the power to take this to court. Someone like you at the Santa María home. Salomé drew, but this time they weren’t scenes of terror.
She drew a small house, a bright sun, and three figures holding hands: a man, a woman, and a girl. Carmela watched her from the doorway.
After everything that had happened, after Gonzalo’s attempt to take her away, the girl appeared calmer, as if she knew that something was changing.
“Can I sit with you?” Carmela asked. Salomé nodded. Carmela looked at the drawing. “Is that your family?” Salomé nodded again.
You miss them. The girl stopped drawing. She looked at Carmela with those enormous eyes that seemed to see beyond the walls. And then, for the first time in days, she spoke.
“My mother told me to keep it a secret,” she whispered. “She told me that when the time came, I would know what to do. The time has come, Mrs. Carmela.”
I told Dad that Mom is alive.
I told her that she visits me in my dreams and tells me to be strong. Carmela felt tears fall down her cheeks.
Is your mother alive, little one? Yes, and she’s going to save us all. At that moment, Carmela’s phone rang. It was Dolores Medina. Carmela, listen carefully.
Sara Fuentes is alive. I have proof that Ramiro is innocent. We’re on our way to court. I need you to keep Salome safe until this is all over.
How long? Less than 24 hours.
If all goes well, Ramiro will be free tomorrow and Salomé will have a family again.
Dolores. Sara and Martín traveled all night back to the city. Time was their worst enemy. There were less than 18 hours left until Ramiro’s execution.
They arrived at Dolores’s house at dawn. Carlos was waiting for them with news. Gonzalo is in pretrial detention, but his lawyers are moving heaven and earth to get him released.
Aurelio has activated all his connections. If we don’t act quickly, they’re going to bury this.
“They’re not going to bury anything,” Dolores said.
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