Chapter 7 - The West Staircase
Alejandro had walked the west staircase thousands of times.
It connected the family wing to an old garden corridor.
Wide stone steps.
Iron railing.
A stained-glass window halfway down.
Nothing about it had ever frightened him.
For Valeria, it had become the place where she nearly lost everything.
She told him what happened from the hospital bed.
It had been eleven nights earlier.
Alejandro was away.
Esther had come to Valeria’s room shortly after dinner.
She said she wanted to talk.
Not argue.
Talk.
Valeria knew something was wrong immediately because Esther was unusually gentle.
They walked toward the west corridor.
Esther asked whether Valeria had spoken to an outside doctor.
Valeria lied.
She said no.
Esther smiled.
Then she asked why Camila had been seen carrying medical supplies upstairs.
Valeria stopped walking.
That was when she realized Esther knew.
“I told her I wanted to go back to my room,” Valeria said.
Alejandro sat beside her.
“What happened?”
“She grabbed my arm.”
His jaw tightened.
“She said I was making a mistake.”
Valeria’s hand moved unconsciously to her abdomen.
“I pulled away.”
Her eyes became distant.
“She told me I had no idea what kind of family I had married into.”
Alejandro looked down.
“She was right about that.”
Valeria continued.
“I started down the stairs.”
Her breathing changed.
“She followed me.”
Alejandro’s hand tightened around hers.
“Did she push you?”
Valeria hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
He stared at her.
“How can you not know?”
“I felt something hit my shoulder.”
Her voice trembled.
“It happened so fast.”
She closed her eyes.
“I fell down four steps.”
Alejandro stopped breathing.
“I landed against the railing.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks.
“My leg hit the stone edge.”
That explained the large bandage.
“Were you bleeding?”
“Yes.”
“And nobody called me?”
“No.”
“Who found you?”
“Camila.”
“What did Mother do?”
“She stood at the top of the stairs.”
Valeria opened her eyes.
“She told Camila I had slipped.”
Alejandro felt rage rising in his throat.
“Did Camila believe her?”
“No.”
“How do you know?”
“Because Camila saw Esther’s hand on my shoulder.”
Alejandro stood so quickly that the chair moved backward.
Valeria caught his wrist.
“Don’t leave.”
He looked at her.
“Please.”
Her voice was barely audible.
“Don’t go confront her alone.”
Alejandro realized his wife was not afraid for Esther.
She was afraid for him.
He sat again.
A few minutes later, Detective Cruz returned with a laptop.
Teresa had given permission for them to hear part of the recording.
The audio quality was poor.
There was rustling.
Footsteps.
Then Teresa’s voice.
“I’m not doing this anymore.”
Esther answered.
“You are being dramatic.”
“I saw her leg.”
“She fell.”
“Camila said you were behind her.”
A pause.
Then Esther’s voice became colder.
“Camila sees what she is paid to see.”
Teresa said, “If the baby dies, this is on us.”
Another pause.
Then Esther spoke.
“The baby was never supposed to reach this point.”
Valeria covered her mouth.
Alejandro stared at the laptop.
Teresa’s recorded voice whispered, “You said you only wanted her weak enough to leave.”
“I said I wanted the problem solved.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Esther’s reply was almost calm.
“In this family, it is.”
The recording ended.
Nobody spoke.
Alejandro looked as though someone had aged him ten years in ten seconds.
Detective Cruz closed the laptop.
“There is more.”
“How much more?”
“Almost forty minutes.”
“What else does she say?”
“We need to verify the recording before discussing all of it.”
Alejandro nodded.
He understood.
But he already knew enough.
His mother had known Valeria was being medically harmed.
She had referred to his unborn child as a problem.
And she had been present when Valeria fell.
The detective continued.
“We searched the west staircase.”
Alejandro looked at her.
“And?”
“The security camera covering that corridor was disabled the night Valeria fell.”
“By whom?”
“We don’t know yet.”
Alejandro gave a humorless laugh.
“I do.”
“Suspicion is not proof.”
“I know.”
Cruz leaned closer.
“That matters now.”
Alejandro looked at her.
“Why?”
“Because your mother has hired lawyers.”
Of course she had.
“How many?”
“Three that we know of.”
Valeria gave a tired laugh.
“That sounds like Esther.”
Cruz continued.
“They’re already describing this as a family dispute involving a pregnant woman under emotional stress.”
Alejandro’s expression darkened.
“They’re going to call her unstable.”
“Yes.”
Valeria’s face lost color.
Alejandro looked at her.
“Not this time.”
Detective Cruz continued.
“There’s something else.”
She removed a document from her folder.
“Mrs. Aranda’s attorneys provided this to police twenty minutes ago.”
Alejandro took it.
It was a psychiatric evaluation.
Valeria’s name appeared at the top.
He read the first paragraph.
Then the second.
His eyes narrowed.
“This says Valeria has a history of delusions.”
Valeria stared at him.
“What?”
“It says you were evaluated six months ago.”
“I was never evaluated.”
Detective Cruz nodded.
“We contacted the physician whose name appears at the bottom.”
“And?”
“He says he has never met Mrs. Valeria Aranda.”
Alejandro looked at the signature.
“Then this is forged.”
“That is what we are investigating.”
Valeria stared at the paper.
A chill moved through her.
May you like
Esther had not merely prepared to hurt her.
She had prepared to make sure nobody believed her afterward.
