He raised his head.
-What do you want?
There it was.
At last.
The right question.
I took a deep breath.
Not because of nerves.
Due to closure.
"First," I said. "My money. All of it. With interest."
Foreign exchange and currency exchange
—I can't pay that now—
"Then sell," I replied without hesitation. "Property. Cars. Whatever you have."
His face became deformed.
—That's all I have…
I stared at her.
—I also gave you everything I had.
Silence.
—Second —I continued—. Immediate transfer of any shares that are in my name.
—That's absurd—
"It's legal," I cut her off.
Break.
—And third…
I looked at Diego.
His eyes avoided mine.
—I am going to start the divorce process.
Divorce and separation.
The blow was sharp.
My mother-in-law took a step back.
—Divorce? You can't do that! What about the child?
—The child —I replied— needs a mother who doesn't humiliate herself to make others feel important.
Diego reacted.
—Lucía, you're exaggerating, this can be resolved—
I denied it.
-No.
Not this time.
—This is already resolved.
Camila let out a nervous laugh.
—And you think you're going to come out ahead? That you're going to start from scratch as if nothing happened?
I looked at her.
Calm.
—I'm not starting from scratch.
A break.
—I'll start without you.
That hit her harder than any threat.
The phones kept vibrating.
The news was traveling faster than she could control.
Inspections. Closures.
Audits.
All at the same time.
Schedules and calendars
It wasn't luck.
It was a consequence.
I took the folder.
I closed it.
"You have 48 hours," I said. "After that, everything proceeds through legal channels."
I turned around.
I walked towards the door.
—Lucía—Diego's voice stopped me.
I didn't turn around.
-Sorry.
I closed my eyes for a second.
Five years waiting for that word.
And it arrived…
when it was no longer useful.
"Keep it," I replied. "I don't need it anymore."
I opened the door.
Doors and windows.
The light from outside came in suddenly.
Clearer.
Cleaner.
More realistic.
I took the first step out of that house.
