Chapter 10 - The Fire That Came Too Late
By the time Alejandro and Detective Cruz reached Gabriel’s archive building, smoke filled the upper windows.
Firefighters crowded the street.
Gabriel’s assistant stood on the sidewalk wrapped in a gray emergency blanket.
She had smelled smoke before the alarm sounded and escaped.
Nobody else had been inside.
Gabriel watched the flames from across the street.
His face showed no surprise.
Only anger.
Detective Cruz approached a fire investigator.
Alejandro remained beside Gabriel.
“Were the original trust documents inside?”
“Some.”
Alejandro looked at him.
“Some?”
Gabriel tapped the briefcase in his hand.
“I stopped trusting buildings years ago.”
Despite everything, Alejandro almost smiled.
Gabriel had brought the most important files with him.
The fire could destroy paper.
It could not destroy the truth.
Then Alejandro’s phone rang.
Valeria.
He answered immediately.
“Are you okay?”
“I am.”
Her voice sounded tired.
“What happened?”
“You heard?”
“Camila called.”
Alejandro frowned.
“Camila?”
“She left the mansion.”
“When?”
“An hour ago.”
“Where is she?”
“With me.”
Alejandro looked at Detective Cruz.
“Put her on.”
A moment later, Camila’s voice came through.
“Mr. Alejandro?”
“Are you safe?”
“Yes.”
“What happened at the house?”
There was a pause.
“Your mother knows the police have Teresa.”
Alejandro’s jaw tightened.
“How?”
“I heard her speaking to one of her lawyers.”
“What else?”
“She ordered the staff to remove boxes from the study.”
“What boxes?”
“I don’t know.”
“Where did they go?”
“Some into a car.”
“Whose car?”
“Mr. Rafael’s.”
Alejandro cursed under his breath.
Camila hurried to continue.
“But your father stopped them.”
Alejandro froze.
“What?”
“He came downstairs and told the driver to put everything back.”
That was unexpected.
Camila continued.
“Mrs. Aranda screamed at him.”
“What did Dad do?”
“He took the keys.”
Alejandro looked toward the burning building.
“Where is he now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Is Mother still there?”
“Yes.”
“Did she threaten you?”
Camila hesitated.
“Yes.”
Alejandro closed his eyes.
“What did she say?”
“That I should remember who pays my salary.”
Camila’s voice shook.
“So I told her I remembered who nearly died on the staircase.”
Alejandro opened his eyes.
“Camila…”
“I’m done being afraid.”
He felt a surge of gratitude.
“Did you actually see what happened that night?”
“Yes.”
Alejandro leaned against a parked car.
“Tell me exactly.”
Camila took a breath.
“I was carrying towels from the laundry room.”
“I heard Valeria say, ‘Don’t touch me.’”
Alejandro’s hand tightened around the phone.
“I came around the corner.”
“Your mother was behind her.”
“Valeria stepped onto the first stair.”
“Mrs. Aranda reached forward.”
Camila’s voice trembled.
“And pushed her shoulder.”
Alejandro closed his eyes.
No ambiguity remained.
No accidental contact.
No possibility of a slip.
“She pushed her?”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
“What happened next?”
“Valeria fell.”
“I ran to her.”
“Mrs. Aranda told me to call Teresa instead of an ambulance.”
Alejandro felt physically ill.
“Why?”
“She said an ambulance would create gossip.”
Of course.
Reputation before safety.
Always.
“What did Teresa do?”
“She cleaned the wound.”
“Did Valeria ask for a hospital?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“Mrs. Aranda said no.”
Alejandro looked at Detective Cruz.
She was listening now.
Camila continued.
“Then your mother told me that if I repeated what I saw, my daughter would lose her scholarship.”
Alejandro went still.
Camila’s daughter attended a private university through an Aranda charitable foundation.
His mother had weaponized that too.
“Camila, I want you to give a statement to Detective Cruz.”
“I will.”
“You won’t lose anything.”
“I don’t care anymore.”
Her answer surprised him.
“I should have spoken sooner.”
Alejandro understood the guilt.
He was carrying his own version of it.
Then Camila lowered her voice.
“There is something in Mrs. Aranda’s study.”
“What?”
“A safe.”
“I know about the safe.”
“Not the one behind the painting.”
Alejandro frowned.
“There’s another one?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“Under the floor behind her desk.”
His heart accelerated.
“How do you know?”
“I saw her open it last night.”
“What’s inside?”
“I don’t know.”
May you like
Camila paused.
“But she took out a folder with Valeria’s name on it.”
