Chapter 9 - The Night He Gave Her
Marcos’s mother set the dish on the floor.
“I don’t know.”
It came too quickly.
Laura opened the door wider.
“Then come inside and say that again.”
The older woman stayed in the hallway.
“He called me before the accident.”
Laura’s hands went cold.
“What did he say?”
“That he’d made a mistake. Something about money.”
Elena folded her arms.
“What kind of mistake?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did he mention Laura?”
“No.”
That single word loosened something in Laura’s chest.
Something that had been tight for two years.
“He wasn’t coming to get me.”
“I never said that.”
“You let him say it.”
His mother looked away.
“I thought it was easier.”
“For who?”
No answer.
Laura bent down, picked up the covered dish, and placed it back in the woman’s hands.
“I’m done carrying things because they’re easier for him.”
She closed the door gently.
That surprised her.
She had expected to slam it.
The next morning, Nora helped her request the available accident records.
Meanwhile, Daniel traced payments from the months before the crash.
The pattern was ugly.
Money moving from one business to another.
Deposits that appeared just before older debts were paid.
A growing hole disguised by more transfers.
“The accident didn’t start the financial trouble,” he said.
“It gave him a reason I wouldn’t question it,” Laura answered.
Daniel nodded.
Later that day, Laura visited the old studio.
The sign was gone.
A logistics company occupied the front office.
For a while, she stood outside with her hands in her pockets.
Then someone said her name.
Beth.
Her former office manager.
Beth had been collecting a package from the neighboring shop.
She hugged Laura before asking anything.
That nearly broke her.
“I tried to call,” Beth said.
“Marcos told me you were angry.”
“Angry? He told us you didn’t want contact.”
Laura stepped back.
“What?”
“He said seeing us would make it harder for you to move on.”
Beth searched her face.
“Laura, I sent you the revised purchase offer.”
“What revised offer?”
“The higher one. The buyer increased it after the equipment appraisal.”
Laura shook her head.
“I never saw it.”
Beth pulled out her phone.
“I still have the email.”
The second offer was dated three days before Laura signed.
It was almost twice the amount she had received.
And Marcos had replied to it.
May you like
Please communicate only through me.
My wife is not in a condition to make decisions.
