PART 2

“I don’t want to talk. I want you to leave.”

My mother placed the gift bag down anyway.

That alone was strange—she never followed my lead.

“This is about your father,” Valeria said.

My father had passed away eight months earlier. He was the only one who had ever treated me with quiet kindness. Since his death, I had been kept at a distance from everything.

“What about him?” I asked.

My mother took a breath.

“He changed his will before he died.”

My chest tightened.

“And?”

Valeria spoke quickly:

“He left you the lake house. It’s in your name.”

I stared at her.

“No.”

“Yes,” my mother said. “But there’s more.”

“If you refuse the inheritance,” Valeria added, “the property gets sold, and the money goes to charity.”

I frowned.

“Then why would I give it up?”

My mother leaned forward.

“Because your father left… evidence.”

The room fell silent.

“Evidence of what?”

No one answered immediately.

Then, quietly:

“He had been documenting things. For years.”

Something cold settled inside me.

“Financial records. Transfers. Documents,” Valeria said. “Things that could destroy us.”

I understood before they finished.

The missing money. The debts in my name. The accounts I never opened.

My own family had taken from me.

And my father had known.

“If the information is released…” Valeria said, “Mom could face serious consequences.”

“And you?” I asked.

My mother whispered:

“She helped.”

I held Lily closer.

“Yesterday, you called my daughter a burden,” I said. “And today you’re asking me for help?”

For the first time, my mother broke.

“Please, Mariana. If this comes out, we lose everything. Just sign the papers before the lawyer releases it.”

I looked at the gift bag.

A stuffed toy.

A performance.

“Leave.”

“Family makes mistakes,” Valeria said.

I let out a quiet laugh.

“Family doesn’t do this.”

Then something clicked.

“Wait… Diego didn’t come?” Valeria asked.

I froze.

My mother looked away too quickly.

“What do you know about Diego?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said.

“Tell me now.”

Valeria hesitated.

“Last night… he came to my party.”

My world shifted.

“He said you were fine,” she continued. “That you told him to go.”

“That’s not true.”

“I know,” she whispered. “Because I saw him outside…”

She paused.

“He wasn’t alone.”

My chest tightened.

“He was with Rebecca.”

Rebecca. Someone I trusted.

“They weren’t talking,” Valeria said quietly.

“They were kissing.”

And in that moment—

I knew everything had already broken.