Chapter 7 - The Trip They Never Told Me About
Daniel refused to explain further outside the courthouse.
His attorney pulled him away.
But the damage was done.
Lucía immediately requested disclosure of travel bookings associated with Daniel, Carmen, and Valeria.
By evening, we had our answer.
Cancún.
Three one-way tickets had been reserved for the following week.
Carmen.
Valeria.
Camila.
No return date.
No ticket for Daniel.
No ticket for me.
The reservation had been made using reward points from my business credit card.
I stared at the itinerary until the letters blurred.
“Why would they take her to Cancún?”
Lucía did not speculate.
She sent a formal demand for the passport.
Two hours later, Valeria suddenly “found” it.
She claimed it had accidentally fallen into her handbag during a family outing.
Nobody believed her.
Then the hotel reservation surfaced.
Not three nights.
Six weeks.
A furnished condominium near the beach.
Paid in advance.
With my money.
The plan became clearer when we reviewed Carmen’s messages obtained through Daniel’s voluntary production.
She had written:
Once Mariana finishes the Monterrey project, she will be traveling again anyway.
Valeria replied:
And if Camila is already with us, she’ll have no choice but to keep paying.
Another message appeared.
Daniel needs to grow a spine.
Then Carmen:
He will. Mariana cares too much about appearances to divorce him.
I read that sentence three times.
They had not feared losing me.
They had counted on my silence.
They believed my job made me guilty.
They believed my love for Camila made me controllable.
And they believed I would pay any amount to keep everyone pretending to be a family.
That night, Daniel asked to speak privately.
Lucía advised against it.
I agreed to a recorded video call instead.
Daniel looked exhausted.
“I didn’t know about six weeks.”
“But you knew about the trip.”
“I knew Mom wanted to take Camila for a few days.”
“Without telling me?”
“She said you would say no.”
“She was right.”
He rubbed his face.
“Everything got out of control.”
“No, Daniel.”
I kept my voice calm.
“Things were controlled very carefully.”
He looked at me.
“The old photos.”
“The transfers.”
“The loan.”
“The passport.”
“The trip.”
“You all controlled what I knew.”
He said nothing.
Then I asked the question I had avoided.
“Why did you need 1.8 million pesos?”
His face went pale.
“That has nothing to do with Camila.”
“Then answer.”
He hesitated.
“The company was supposed to be an investment.”
“In what?”
Daniel looked away.
“Property.”
Lucía leaned toward the camera.
“What property?”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“A house.”
I almost laughed from disbelief.
“You were borrowing against my financial identity to buy a house?”
“It wasn’t for me.”
The room went silent.
“Who was it for?”
May you like
Daniel whispered the answer.
“My mother.”
