Chương 8
Elena listened, adding little comments, and the three women briefly constructed a world where catastrophes could be reduced to annoying appliances and vindictive cats.
Then Sofía’s phone rang again.
Lucía.
The room changed immediately.
“There’s been an update,” Lucía said.
“Okay.”
“Ramiro has been formally processed on the assault complaint while the investigation continues.”
Sofía closed her eyes.
“He’s still there?”
“For now.”
“What happens next?”
“I can’t predict the prosecutor’s decision or the timeline.”
Lucía paused.
“But there is something you should know before you hear it from somebody else.”
Sofía sat very still.
“Carmen filed a complaint of her own.”
Elena mouthed, What?
Sofía lifted a hand.
“Against me?”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
“She alleges you assaulted her during the argument.”
Sofía felt a dull pressure behind her eyes.
“She grabbed me.”
“That’s your statement.”
“Her son confirmed it.”
“One of her sons confirmed seeing part of it.”
“And the camera.”
“The camera shows portions of the interaction near the entrance but does not capture everything clearly.”
Sofía pressed her fingers against her temple.
“So now I’m accused too.”
“A complaint has been made.”
“Is that the same thing as being charged?”
“No.”
The distinction mattered.
Sofía forced herself to breathe.
Lucía explained what would likely happen next without pretending the process would be immediate.
Statements would be compared.
The footage would be reviewed.
Medical findings would be considered.
Carmen might provide photographs or seek an examination if she claimed injury.
The authorities would evaluate whether there was evidence of a criminal act rather than simply accepting whichever person complained first.
When the call ended, Elena stood abruptly.
“That woman.”
“Mom.”
“No.”
“Elena,” Maribel said softly.
Elena turned toward her.
“She attacked my daughter, her husband attacked my daughter, and now she files a complaint?”
Maribel leaned against the counter.
“She’s protecting herself.”
“That does not make it acceptable.”
“No.”
“It makes it calculated.”
Sofía looked down at her phone.
“Or scared.”
Her mother stared at her.
“Do not defend her.”
“I’m not.”
“It sounds like you are.”
“I’m saying she’s scared.”
“So?”
“So scared people lie.”
Elena folded her arms.
Sofía could see the argument gathering.
She stopped it before it started.
“I need you not to make me hate everyone for you.”
Elena’s face softened.
“I don’t need you to hate anyone.”
“Then don’t.”
Her mother sat again.
“Fine.”
A beat passed.
“I can hate them quietly.”
Maribel snorted.
Sofía covered her face with one hand.
“Both of you are impossible.”
The moment passed, but the complaint remained.
By early afternoon, Sofía had contacted the hospital’s legal counselor, who referred her to an attorney experienced with family violence cases and related criminal complaints.
Her name was Daniela Cruz.
They spoke by video call because Sofía was not well enough to travel.
Daniela appeared on the screen with reading glasses pushed onto her head and a legal pad crowded with handwriting.
She did not waste time.
“First, do not contact Ramiro or Carmen directly.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“Good.”
“Can I speak to Andrés?”
“You can.”
Daniela’s expression made clear there was more.
“But assume anything you write may be shown to someone else.”
Sofía nodded.
“What about Iván?”
“Same advice.”
“He’s helping.”
“Today.”
Sofía looked up.
Daniela did not smile.
“People become less helpful when families start pressuring them.”
That possibility had been sitting at the edge of Sofía’s mind.
Hearing it spoken gave it weight.
“He told the truth already.”
“Statements can change.”
“Can he just take it back?”
“He can say he was mistaken.”
Daniela removed her glasses from her head.
“He can say he remembered more.”
“He can say someone misunderstood him.”
“He can become vague.”
Sofía thought of Andrés.
Vagueness, she was discovering, could be a form of loyalty.
Daniela asked her to preserve every message and missed call.
“Do not delete anything.”
“I deleted a draft I never sent.”
“That’s irrelevant unless it was transmitted somewhere.”
“It wasn’t.”
“Good.”
“And the car?”
“What about it?”
“It’s registered only to me.”
Daniela glanced down at her notes.
“Keep possession of the keys.”
Sofía almost laughed.
“That seems to be where all this started.”
“No.”
Daniela looked directly into the screen.
“The car is where it became visible.”
Sofía went quiet.
The sentence stayed with her.
After the call, she asked Elena to drive her to the apartment.
Her mother refused immediately.
“No.”
“I need clothes.”
“I’ll get them.”
“You don’t know where anything is.”
“I raised you.”
“That was fifteen years and three apartments ago.”
“You still fold shirts the same way.”
“That is disturbing.”
“I’m your mother.”
Sofía stood carefully.
“I’m going.”
Maribel objected too.
“You’re supposed to rest.”
“That is what every nurse says before becoming a terrible patient.”
Sofía ignored her.
The apartment building looked unchanged when they arrived.
That offended her.
A delivery box sat in the lobby.
Someone had taped a handwritten notice beside the elevator asking residents to stop leaving garbage near the stairwell.
The world was refusing to acknowledge that her marriage had split open.
Elena stayed close as they climbed to the third floor.
Sofía’s key turned normally.
She stopped before opening the door.
“What?”
Elena whispered.
“I don’t know if he’s here.”
“Do you want me to go first?”
“No.”
Sofía pushed the door open.
The apartment was empty.
Andrés’s shoes were gone from beside the entrance.
His work jacket was missing from the hook.
On the kitchen counter sat the bag of sweet bread from his parents’ house.
The same bag he had dropped before she fell.
He had brought it home.
Sofía stared at it.
Elena followed her gaze.
“That’s strange.”
“No.”
Sofía stepped closer.
One corner of the bag was torn.
Sugar had leaked onto the counter.
A roll inside had been crushed flat.
“He picked it up.”
“What?”
“After I left.”
Elena’s mouth tightened.
Sofía touched the paper but did not open it.
May you like
She could see him in the living room again, frozen with the bag in his hands.
Then the bag falling.
