doorway, Gabriel could see Teresa carrying an enormous tray.
She was wearing an old gray uniform.
Her hair was pulled back tightly.
Her face looked gaunt.
He enlarged the photograph.
For several seconds, he stared at his wife’s hands.
They were swollen and discolored.
He called Sebastian.
No answer.
He called Teresa.
The phone rang until the connection ended.
The following morning, Gabriel took his car keys and left without informing his son.
He had been driving for almost an hour when Teresa finally answered.
‘Where are you?’ he asked.
‘At the house.’
‘Are you all right?’
‘Of course.’
Behind her, a door slammed.
Then Victoria shouted, ‘If you’re finished talking, those guests need fresh towels!’
Teresa ended the call.
Gabriel gripped the steering wheel and drove the rest of the way without stopping.
When he reached the mansion, the driveway was filled with luxury vehicles.
Music played from the garden.
Through the glass doors, he could see people laughing around tables decorated with white flowers.
There was no sign of financial ruin.
A uniformed attendant stood beside the front entrance, but Gabriel avoided him and followed the service path around the house.
An open utility window overlooked a laundry room.
There, on the floor, was Teresa.
He recognized her by the small gold wedding ring she had worn since 1977.
She was washing Victoria’s expensive clothing in a basin.
The room was poorly ventilated, and the sleeves of her blouse were wet.
Gabriel was about to call her name when Sebastian entered.
‘Why aren’t these finished?’ his son demanded.
‘My hands hurt, sweetheart,’ Teresa said.
‘I just need a little rest.’
Sebastian kicked the basin.
Water spilled across the floor and onto his mother’s apron.
‘You’re living here for free! At least make yourself useful!’
Gabriel’s first instinct was to smash the window.
He wanted to drag his son outside and demand to know how anyone could treat his mother this way.
But then Teresa spoke.
‘Please don’t tell your father what you’ve done with his company.’
Sebastian froze.
‘You promised you wouldn’t mention that again.’
‘Those papers frightened me.’
‘You signed them.
That’s what matters.’
Gabriel stepped away from the window.
He called Lucia Mendoza, the chief financial officer of Navarro Construction Group.
Lucia had managed company finances for twenty-three years.
She was cautious, meticulous, and one of the few people willing to challenge Gabriel’s decisions.
‘I need you to review all payments made to Navarro Residential Services during the last eighteen months,’ he said.
‘Is there a problem?’
‘I believe there may be fraud.
Preserve the records, and don’t alert Sebastian.’
Lucia agreed to begin a confidential review with the company’s legal counsel.
Gabriel then approached the front door.
A housekeeper opened it.
He recognized her immediately.
‘Marta?’
She looked terrified.
‘Good afternoon, Don Gabriel.’
‘Where is Teresa?’
‘In the service area.’
‘Why is she working there?’
Marta glanced over her shoulder.
‘Your son says she has to earn her place.
I’m sorry.
I tried to help her, but Mrs.
Victoria threatened to dismiss me.’
Gabriel could see that Marta was afraid of losing her job, yet she continued speaking.
‘They took away her upstairs bedroom.
She’s been sleeping beside the storage room.
Sometimes they don’t let her sit with the family.’
Gabriel felt something inside him
