—Why didn’t you go to the police?
—I tried.
He looked at her.
-That?
—I went to a police station. But before I could submit all the documents, someone called your phone. Later, I received a photograph of Sofia leaving her preschool.
Elena began to cry.
—Vanessa told me that if I tried to report her again, I would never see our daughter again.
Mateo felt the air leaving his lungs.
—I would never have allowed them to hurt you.
—I didn’t know that. Vanessa told me that you had chosen to believe her. That you thought I had abandoned Sofia.
Mateo couldn’t hold his gaze.
Because, in part, it was true.
He had believed Vanessa’s explanations without looking any further. He had mistaken the absence of evidence for proof that there was no danger.
Sofia gently tugged on her sleeve.
—Dad, can we all go home now?
Mateo knelt in front of her.
—Yes, princess. But first we have to make sure Mom is okay.
The girl looked at Elena.
—Are you going to disappear again?
Elena kissed his forehead.
—I never wanted to leave, my love.
At that moment, one of the agents returned from outside with a small transparent bag.
Inside there was an old key and a folded photograph.
“Mr. Reyes,” he said, “we found this under your brother’s passenger seat. Your wife asked us to give it to you.”
Mateo took the photograph with trembling hands.
It was a picture of his house, taken from the street.
Vanessa appeared in the kitchen window.
Behind her, reflected in the glass, the silhouette of a man could be distinguished.
Mateo brought the photograph closer to the light.
The man was wearing his own blue work shirt.
And on the back, written in black ink, was a sentence:
* “If Matthew finds out who opened the door that night, we’re all doomed.” *
Mateo looked up at Elena.
—Which door?
She paled.
—The basement door wasn’t the first one they closed, Mateo.
His mother, Rosa Reyes, had died three years earlier in a domestic accident. According to the report he had read, she had fallen down the stairs of the old family home, located twenty minutes away.
Gabriel had been the first to arrive that night.
He was also the one who gave Mateo the documents to close the property after the funeral.
“Why do you have that key?” Mateo asked.
Elena looked at the transparent bag.
—Because I found it on Vanessa’s desk, along with a copy of the deed to your mother’s house.
—That property has been empty for years.
—That’s what we thought.
Mateo looked at the agent.
—Can we go there?
“Not until we finish taking statements and secure the scene at this house,” the officer replied. “Also, if you believe there is evidence related to a crime, you shouldn’t go in alone.”
Mateo nodded, although every second seemed unbearable to him.
The paramedics insisted on taking Elena to the hospital. She only agreed after Mateo promised that he and Sofia would stay with her.
Before getting into the ambulance, he held her hand.
—There’s something else you need to know.
—Tell me.
Elena looked at her daughter, who was hugging the doll.
—The night your mother died, I was there.
Mateo stopped breathing for a moment.
-That?
“I didn’t tell you because Vanessa threatened me. She said that if I spoke, she would make it look like I caused the accident.”
—Did you see Gabriel?
Elena nodded.
—I saw him leaving the house. He was arguing with your mother. She yelled at him that he couldn’t keep using your name to sign contracts.
Matthew stepped back.
He remembered the funeral. Gabriel hugging him while telling him that his mother had suffered greatly during her last moments. He also remembered how his brother insisted that he not look at the details of the police report because they would only hurt him.
For three years, Mateo had been grateful for that supposed protection.
—Why didn’t you ever tell me?
—Because Gabriel found me two days later. He knew I had been there. He showed me photographs of Sofia and told me he could make her disappear from my life forever.
Elena lowered her gaze.
—Then I met Vanessa. At first she seemed nice. She helped me with the baby while I was working. Then she started asking questions about your mother’s deeds and documents.
Mateo clenched his fists.
—And did he lock her up so she couldn’t talk?
—Yes. But it wasn’t just about the documents. She needed to know if I had found anything else.
-What thing?
Elena hesitated.
—A will.
Mateo felt the word echoing in his head.
His mother had left a small property, some savings, and a collection of family jewelry. Gabriel had managed the inheritance and ensured that everything was distributed according to Rosa’s wishes.
—My mother never spoke to me about another will.
—Because he had hidden it.
Elena explained that, months before she died, Rosa had changed her legal arrangements. She had left the family home and a considerable portion of her savings to Sofía, with Mateo as administrator until the girl turned eighteen.
The property also contained a safe with original documents on various real estate transactions.
If those documents proved that Gabriel had forged signatures, the entire inheritance could change.
“Vanessa told me the will had disappeared,” Elena continued. “But I found a reference to it in a letter from your mother.”
Mateo suddenly remembered a conversation with Rosa.
One Sunday afternoon, while they were preparing tamales for a family gathering, she had taken his hand and told him that one day he would have to protect his daughter from people who were most like him.
At that moment, Mateo had thought that he was referring to the usual problems between siblings.
Now those words seemed like a warning to him.
“I’m going to find that will,” he said.
Elena squeezed his hand.
—Don’t go alone.
-I won’t do it.
Two hours later, a detective named Salazar accompanied Mateo to Rosa’s old house. Sofia stayed with Elena’s aunt while her mother received medical attention and gave a statement to another investigator.
The property was surrounded by tall trees. The windows had their shutters closed, and the garden had become a mixture of dry grass and accumulated leaves.
Mateo inserted the old key into the lock.
It turned without difficulty.
The door opened with a groan.
The smell of dust and damp wood brought back memories of his childhood. There he had learned to ride a bicycle, celebrated his birthdays, and listened to his mother sing while she cooked.
Now every room seemed to hold something he had never wanted to see.
