Chapter 4 - The Woman Who Was Paid to Stay Quiet
Teresa refused to tell Alejandro where she was.
She said she was afraid.
Not of the police.
Not of losing her nursing license.
Of Esther.
Alejandro had never heard anyone say his mother’s name with that kind of fear.
“Listen to me,” he said.
“I can protect you.”
Teresa laughed through her tears.
“You couldn’t protect your own wife.”
The words cut deep.
Alejandro looked at Valeria.
She lowered her eyes.
Teresa continued.
“I’m sorry.”
“You’re right.”
Alejandro swallowed.
“But I’m protecting her now.”
For several seconds, Teresa said nothing.
Then she whispered, “There were envelopes.”
“What envelopes?”
“Cash.”
Esther closed her eyes.
Alejandro noticed.
“How much?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Who gave them to you?”
“You know who.”
“I need you to say it.”
“Mrs. Aranda.”
Esther stepped forward.
“This conversation ends now.”
Alejandro turned away from her.
“What were you paid to do?”
Teresa began breathing faster.
“At first, only routine care.”
“And then?”
“She gave me replacement vials.”
Mateo moved closer so he could hear.
“Replacement for what?”
“The supplements.”
Valeria wrapped both arms around her stomach.
Teresa said, “I believed they came from another private pharmacy.”
Mateo asked, “Were they labeled?”
“Yes.”
“Were the seals intact?”
A pause.
“No.”
Mateo’s jaw tightened.
Teresa began crying again.
“I should have known.”
Alejandro’s voice hardened.
“When did you know?”
“After Valeria started bruising.”
“And you kept injecting her?”
“I asked Mrs. Aranda.”
“What did she say?”
“She said pregnancy could cause bruising.”
Mateo shook his head.
Teresa continued.
“Then Valeria collapsed in the upstairs hall.”
Alejandro looked at his wife.
“You never told me that.”
“You were in Monterrey.”
“Why didn’t anyone call me?”
Valeria laughed bitterly.
“Your mother took my phone.”
Alejandro turned toward Esther.
Esther said, “She had fainted.”
“So you took her phone?”
“To let her rest.”
Valeria shook her head.
“You locked it in your desk.”
Alejandro felt his anger rising again.
Mateo placed a hand on his arm.
“Not now.”
Alejandro understood.
They needed facts.
Not another explosion.
He returned to the call.
“What happened after Valeria collapsed?”
Teresa whispered, “I stopped the injections.”
Esther stared at the phone.
“And?”
“Mrs. Aranda became furious.”
“What did she do?”
“She told me I had one job.”
Valeria closed her eyes.
Alejandro’s voice lowered.
“What job?”
Teresa hesitated.
“She said the pregnancy needed to end before the trust changed hands.”
Rafael buried his face in his hands.
Valeria began to cry silently.
Alejandro felt something inside him break.
He looked at his mother.
She did not deny it.
Not immediately.
That was enough.
Teresa continued.
“I told her I wouldn’t do anything else.”
“What happened then?”
“She threatened me.”
“With what?”
“My younger brother works for an Aranda company.”
Alejandro knew.
He suddenly remembered seeing Teresa at a company Christmas dinner.
Her brother managed one of their shipping depots.
“She said he would be accused of theft.”
Teresa’s voice cracked.
“She had documents.”
Rafael whispered, “Fabricated documents.”
Alejandro looked at him.
“You knew about those too?”
Rafael nodded miserably.
Teresa continued.
“I panicked.”
“What did you do?”
“I kept coming to the house.”
Alejandro’s stomach twisted.
“But I stopped giving Valeria anything.”
Mateo asked, “Then where did the recent exposure come from?”
“I don’t know.”
The answer seemed genuine.
Teresa said, “Mrs. Aranda stopped trusting me.”
“When?”
“About ten days ago.”
“That’s when the tea started,” Valeria whispered.
Alejandro heard her.
“So Mother started doing it herself.”
Esther finally snapped.
“This is madness.”
Everyone turned.
“You are accepting the accusations of a frightened employee over your own mother.”
Alejandro stared at her.
“I’m accepting evidence.”
“What evidence?”
“Valeria’s blood.”
“A doctor’s interpretation.”
“The injections.”
“Routine care.”
“Teresa’s confession.”
“A woman protecting herself.”
“The trust.”
“A legal arrangement.”
“The tea.”
Esther’s face tightened.
“A cup of tea proves nothing.”
Mateo calmly raised the sealed bag.
“Then you should be eager to have it tested.”
Esther’s eyes fixed on the cup.
That was the moment Alejandro knew.
Not suspected.
Knew.
His mother was afraid of what they would find.
He spoke into the phone.
“Teresa, I need you to go to the police.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I can’t.”
“If you disappear, Esther can blame you for everything.”
Silence.
That thought frightened Teresa more than the police.
Alejandro continued.
“You need a lawyer and protection.”
Another long pause.
Then Teresa whispered, “There’s something else.”
Esther’s head lifted sharply.
Alejandro noticed.
“What?”
“The injections weren’t the worst thing.”
Valeria’s fingers tightened around the blanket.
Alejandro’s blood ran cold.
“What was?”
Teresa started to answer.
Then a loud sound came through the phone.
A car horn.
Someone shouted.
Teresa gasped.
The line disconnected.
Alejandro immediately called back.
No answer.
Again.
No answer.
Again.
Straight to voicemail.
Rafael stood.
“Something happened.”
Alejandro called security.
“Trace the phone if you can.”
Then Mateo’s attention shifted suddenly to Valeria.
She had bent forward.
One hand pressed tightly against her abdomen.
“Valeria?”
She looked up.
Her face had gone pale.
“Alejandro.”
He rushed toward her.
“What?”
May you like
Her fingers gripped his sleeve.
“I think something’s wrong.”
