Chapter 3 - The Broken MaskDoña Beatriz's breathing hitched sharply. For a single fraction of a second, her perfectly rehearsed tears dried up entirely, revealing instead the cold, calculating expression I'd grown to genuinely fear over the previous eight months.
"This is strictly a family matter, officer," she said, voice instantly dropping the frantic sobbing, hardening into a sharp hiss instead. "My son is suffering from severe operational stress right now. He isn't thinking clearly at all. I am a respected member of this entire community. I personally fund the local police charity!"
"Ma'am, step back and keep your hands where we can see them," the second officer said, posture shifting completely as he registered the sudden change in her whole demeanor.
Right then, the front door opened again, and Abogado Fernando walked in carrying a heavy briefcase and a tablet. He didn't say a single word to Doña Beatriz. He walked straight to the officers and handed them a certified folder instead.
"Officers, I am the family's legal counsel," Fernando stated plainly. "Three hours ago, acting on an emergency tip from Captain Mendoza's own unit, we executed a full forensic audit on the trust accounts belonging to Talia Mendoza. We discovered that over the last ninety days, multiple medical power-of-attorney documents — bearing a forged signature of the Captain himself — were filed to have Talia committed to a private psychiatric facility the exact moment she went into labor."
The lead officer looked from the papers over to Doña Beatriz directly. "Ma'am, is any of this actually true?"
"I did it to protect my own family's legacy!" Doña Beatriz suddenly shrieked, losing her temper entirely as her carefully constructed trap shattered apart across the kitchen floor. She glared at me with pure, unadulterated venom. "She's a nobody! She was going to ruin everything Rafael has worked for! She doesn't belong anywhere in our circle! I gave her a fair choice to sign the assets over quietly, and she flatly refused!"
"So you used a hot iron to threaten a pregnant woman into submission?" Rafael's voice finally cracked with real emotion, a lethal undercurrent of rage breaking straight through his previously calm facade.
May you like
"I was only going to scare her!" she spat back, her mask now completely gone. "She's weak! She would have broken eventually!"
The lead officer turned to his own partner. "Cuff her."
