Chapter 5 - THE PAPERS
Vanessa locked herself in the guest suite.
Roberto’s attorney, Claire Bennett, answered on the second ring. She had helped him buy the mansion, set up his company, and prepare a trust for Sofía.
“I need you here,” he said.
Claire arrived just before midnight with a laptop and the weary expression of someone who had learned not to ask whether a family emergency could wait until morning.
Roberto told her what had happened. Daniel showed her the kitchen footage and the security log.
Claire asked one question. “What papers did the message refer to?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then let’s find out.”
They searched the household office first. Bills, staff schedules, invitations. Nothing strange until Claire opened a folder marked SOFÍA EDUCATION PLAN.
Inside were forms bearing Roberto’s name. They requested a transfer of oversight for Sofía’s trust to a new management company.
“I never signed these,” he said.
Claire held a page under the desk lamp. “You didn’t. The signature is copied.”
The transfer had not been completed. An appointment was scheduled for the next morning with a trust administrator. Vanessa was listed as Sofía’s primary caregiver.
Roberto felt sick.
“How much money?” he asked.
“Enough that someone might go to a lot of trouble,” Claire said.
A noise came from the hallway. Daniel opened the office door. The corridor was empty, but the back entrance stood ajar.
He ran outside and returned with muddy shoes. “Someone was here. They went over the garden wall.”
Claire copied the documents. Roberto called the police. He told them about the suspected forgery, the missing security footage, and the person who had just left the property.
While they waited, María came down the stairs.
“Sofía’s asleep,” she said. “She wanted the hallway light on.”
Roberto nodded. “Thank you.”
María’s gaze fell on the folder. Her face went pale.
“I’ve seen that company name,” she said.
“Where?”
“On a letter Vanessa asked me to throw away.”
Claire straightened. “Do you remember anything else?”
María did. She remembered the name printed beneath it.
“Adrian Vale,” she said. “He came here last Tuesday while you were away. Vanessa told me he was her cousin.”
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Roberto knew Adrian Vale. He was a former business partner Roberto had removed from his company after discovering that money was missing.
And five minutes later, Daniel found a photograph on the security system’s backup drive: Adrian standing at the front gate, smiling directly into the camera.
