Part 8
Elena leaned closer to the screen.
Clara had not destroyed the case. She had kept it as leverage.
Another reporter asked whether Clara’s brother had received foundation-related payments through Litoral Consultores.
For the first time, Clara’s gaze shifted toward her attorney before she answered.
“Litoral provided essential engineering services during an emergency,” she said. “The relationship was disclosed to management.”
“To whom?”
“The appropriate individuals.”
“Was it disclosed to the board?”
Her attorney ended the press conference.
Elena replayed the answer twice.
“She didn’t expect that question,” Andrés said.
“No.”
“Who told the press?”
“Someone with access to the records.”
“My accountant sent the files only to Ana.”
“Then either the investigation is leaking or someone else already knew.”
The doorbell rang.
Rafael stood outside with a loaf of bread, a container of soup, and no visible idea what to do with either.
“I was told not to arrive empty-handed,” he said.
“By whom?” Andrés asked.
“The woman at the café.”
He entered and set the food on the counter.
Elena showed him the press conference. He watched without interrupting. When Clara claimed to have resisted pressure to conceal irregularities involving Andrés, Rafael removed his glasses and cleaned them with the edge of his tie.
“I never instructed her to protect Andrés,” he said.
“Did you tell her you wanted his company selected?” Elena asked.
“No.”
“Did you discuss the storm damage?”
“Yes. She said local firms were unavailable and asked whether Andrés could inspect the site.”
“What did you say?”
“I said he was capable.”
“Anything else?”
“I may have said the foundation should trust people who care whether the wall stands after the photographers leave.”
Andrés laughed bitterly. “That sounds like an instruction.”
“It was an opinion.”
“You were chairman.”
Rafael replaced his glasses. “Yes.”
The word carried more responsibility than any defense would have.
Elena opened the project email and showed him Clara’s message claiming he wanted no delays.
“I never said that.”
“You wanted no delays,” Andrés replied.
“Of course I wanted no delays. The building was unsafe.”
“Clara converted your preference into authority,” Elena said. “And none of us challenged it because it gave each of us something we wanted.”
Rafael looked at her.
“You wanted the center repaired,” she continued. “Andrés wanted your trust. Clara wanted control of the emergency funds. I wanted to believe my disclosures were sufficient because formalizing them would have forced us to reveal the marriage.”
“And what did you receive?” Rafael asked quietly.
“A position I might not have been offered if the board had known everything.”
Andrés turned toward her. “You believe that?”
“I have to consider it.”
“You were the best candidate.”
“That is not the same question.”
Rafael sat at the table. For several moments he watched the rosemary branches move beyond the balcony glass.
“I hired you because you told me no,” he said.
Elena waited.
“During the port museum dispute,” he continued, “every lawyer in the room advised settlement because the mayor wanted it. You said the settlement shifted environmental liability onto the fishermen’s cooperative. You were junior counsel, and no one had asked for your opinion.”
“I remember.”
“You were correct.”
“That does not remove the conflict.”
“No.”
He touched the edge of the project box.
“I should resign,” he said.
Andrés leaned back. “From the foundation?”
“As chairman.”
“Now?” Elena asked.
“The institution cannot investigate this while I remain above everyone involved.”
“If you resign before the board understands the finances, Clara will present it as proof of her allegations.”
“Then I remain because leaving looks guilty?”
“You temporarily delegate all authority and announce that you will submit to the investigation. Resignation should follow facts, not panic.”
Rafael gave her a tired look. “You advise everyone except yourself.”
“I stepped aside.”
“You did so because Ana told you.”
“She recommended it.”
“And if she had not?”
Elena had no answer.
Rafael left the soup and took the bread with him by mistake.
Three days later, Ana interviewed Elena in a conference room at a law firm overlooking the marina. The obstetrician had approved the trip on the condition that Elena remain seated and avoid “unnecessary agitation,” a phrase Ana read from the medical note without comment.
A forensic accountant named Hugo Ferrer attended by video. Two recording devices sat on the table, both visible and both tested before questioning began.
Ana started with Elena’s hiring.
For two hours, Elena explained the verbal disclosures, Rafael’s request for privacy, Clara’s awareness of the relationship, and the absence of a signed waiver. She admitted that she had not insisted on documenting the conflict because she feared losing the appointment and embarrassing Andrés during the succession dispute.
“Did you believe the secrecy was in the foundation’s interest?” Ana asked.
“At the time, I told myself it was.”
“That was not my question.”
“No. It was in our interest.”
Ana moved to the financial review.
The foundation had transferred four million euros from donor-restricted education accounts into a general emergency fund after the storm. Some money financed legitimate repairs. Some covered overdue payroll and operating deficits. Nearly six hundred thousand flowed through consultants linked to Clara, including Litoral.
The transfers were concealed through board materials that described them as temporary reallocations already approved by donors. Elena had found no evidence that the donors approved.
“Who prepared the board materials?” Ana asked.
“Clara’s office.”
“Who signed the authorization?”
“Rafael.”
“Did he understand the donor restrictions?”
“He says no.”
“Do you believe him?”
Elena looked at the signature projected on the screen. Rafael’s handwriting leaned forward sharply, as if even his name disliked delay.
“I believe he signed without reading the annexes.”
“Why?”
“He had undergone heart surgery four days earlier.”
“Was he competent?”
“Yes.”
“Then why is the surgery relevant?”
“Because Clara brought the documents to his house during recovery, separated the signature pages, and described them as urgent payroll approvals.”
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“How do you know?”
“His nurse recorded the visit in the household log. Clara’s assistant prepared a calendar entry titled Payroll Continuity. The document metadata shows the annexes were revised two hours after Rafael signed.”
