I was the one who was waiting for you! I was the one who had to endure your questions about a woman who had abandoned you!
Matthew took a step back.
—Did you lock her up because of some papers?
Vanessa ran both hands through her hair.
—You don’t understand anything. Elena was going to destroy our lives.
—Our life? Or yours?
The woman looked at him with an expression he had never seen before.
—She was going to take Sofia away. She was going to tell you everything. And you would have believed her.
—What were you so afraid I would tell you?
Vanessa did not respond.
Then there was a loud bang on the front door.
Someone was calling from outside.
—Police! Open the door!
Mateo felt a wave of relief.
Vanessa, on the other hand, ran towards the kitchen.
“Vanessa!” he shouted.
She opened a drawer and took out a large pair of kitchen scissors.
Mateo remained motionless, hugging Sofia to his chest.
“Leave that on the table,” he ordered.
Vanessa raised the scissors with a trembling hand.
—I’m not going to jail because of her.
—Vanessa, put them down.
—You don’t know what she did!
The knocking on the front door grew louder.
—Madam, put down whatever you are holding and step away!
Vanessa looked toward the entrance. Then, toward the basement door.
For a second, Mateo thought he was going to run towards the police.
But she turned towards him.
—If you open that door, you’ll discover that Elena hasn’t told you the whole truth either.
Matthew did not answer.
Vanessa dropped the scissors on the counter and raised her hands. Two officers entered the house and led her away from the kitchen while a third approached Mateo.
He pointed to the basement door.
—My wife is downstairs. We need to open it.
An officer examined the padlock.
—Do you have a key?
“She has it,” Mateo replied, pointing at Vanessa.
One of the police officers retrieved the keys from his sweater pocket and tried several until he found the correct one.
The padlock opened with a metallic click.
Mateo lowered Sofia to the ground, but the girl clung to his hand.
—I don’t want you to leave, daddy.
—I’m not leaving.
The agent opened the door.
A smell of dampness and old clothes rose from the darkness. The wooden staircase descended to a basement lit by a yellowish light bulb.
Mateo saw stacked boxes, a folding table, a bottle of water, and a blanket spread out next to the wall.
And there, sitting on the floor, was Elena.
Her dark hair was tangled, her clothes wrinkled, and her face gaunt. Her wrists showed reddish marks. When she raised her head and saw Mateo, she covered her mouth with both hands.
“My God,” he whispered.
Sofia stepped down two steps before an officer gently stopped her.
—Mami…
Elena got up with difficulty.
—My child!
The policeman helped her upstairs. As soon as she reached the hallway, Sofia ran to him and hugged his legs.
Elena fell to her knees, holding her in her arms and kissing her hair again and again.
—Forgive me, my love. Forgive me for not being able to arrive sooner.
Mateo knelt beside them.
He wanted to touch Elena’s shoulder, but stopped when he saw her instinctively flinch.
That small reaction hurt him more than any accusation.
—Elena, I didn’t know…
She looked at him with eyes full of tears.
—I called you, Mateo. I wrote to you. I tried to contact you in every way I could.
—Vanessa told me you had left.
Elena closed her eyes.
-I know.
One officer called for an ambulance. Another escorted Vanessa outside as she shouted that it had all been a misunderstanding.
Mateo could barely hear her.
Elena took his hand.
—I need you to do something for me before they take me to the hospital.
-Whatever you want.
—Go to the desk. Open the red folder. Look for the envelope that’s under the house documents.
Mateo felt a chill.
—What’s in that envelope?
Elena looked towards the door through which Vanessa had just been taken out.
—Proof that she didn’t do all this alone.
Then Sofia lifted her head from her mother’s chest.
—Mami…
Elena stroked his cheek.
—What’s wrong, sweetheart?
The girl looked at her father with wide eyes.
—Vanessa wasn’t the only one who came to talk to Mom when she was downstairs.
Mateo was frozen.
—Who else came, princess?
Sofia pointed to the front door.
—The man who always brings me gifts when you’re working.
And from outside, just before the patrol car door closed, a male voice called out Elena’s name.
