At the hospital, Teresa received five stitches.

The wound wasn't life-threatening, but it wasn't her eyebrow that hurt the most.

It was something deeper.

Something that couldn't be stitched closed.

"He made me feel guilty for saying no," she said, staring up at the emergency room ceiling. "He told me a good mother helps her son. That if the restaurant went under, it would be because of my selfishness."

Arturo said nothing.

He simply held her hand.

That night, after they returned home, they plugged the USB drive into their computer.

It contained audio recordings.

Not from that day.

From several weeks.

Teresa had started recording the conversations when Diego began pressuring her.

In the first recording, Diego said:

"Don't be ridiculous. An empty house isn't worth more than your son's future."

In another, Julián said:

"If the old lady gets difficult, there are ways to make her sign without it looking like pressure."

Arturo felt the blood drain from his face.

But it was the final recording that left them speechless.

It was Diego's voice, talking on the phone.

"My mom never checks anything. If she signs the first page, we'll slip the rest in afterward. My dad won't even notice because he's out of town."

Teresa covered her mouth with her hand.

Then another voice appeared on the recording.

Mariana.

"Diego, that's fraud."

Diego answered without hesitation.

"Fraud is letting my business die because of an old house full of useless memories."

Teresa cried silently.

The following day, they met with a lawyer recommended by a neighbor.

He reviewed every document.

Teresa's signature appeared on none of them.

Nothing had been filed with a notary.

The beach house still legally belonged to her.

But the lawyer found something else.

Diego had already promised the property as verbal collateral to a private lender from Puebla.

If Teresa didn't sign within forty-eight hours, Diego would lose the restaurant, his apartment, and something even worse.

He would be exposed to people who did not forgive unpaid debts.

That afternoon, Diego came to the house.

He wasn't alone.

He brought the lender with him.

A man in a gray suit looked at Teresa as though she were nothing more than paperwork.

"Mrs. Méndez," he said, "your son assured us that you had already agreed."

Arturo stepped protectively in front of his wife.

Diego, dark circles beneath his eyes, uttered the words that finally broke her heart.

"Mom, sign. Otherwise everyone will know that you destroyed your own son."

Teresa looked at the folder he was holding.

This time...

Her hands did not shake.

Part 3

Teresa didn't pick up the pen.

She picked up her phone.

Diego frowned.

"What are you doing?"

She didn't answer.

She dialed her lawyer's number and turned on the speakerphone.

"Counselor, my son is here at my house with the lender. They're trying to make me sign the documents again."

The lawyer's voice came through, calm and firm.

"Mrs. Teresa, do not sign anything. We filed the preventive legal notice this morning. Any attempt to sell, transfer, or use that property as collateral has been suspended while the documents are under investigation."

The lender narrowed his eyes.

"Investigation?"

Arturo stepped forward.

"There are audio recordings. There are photographs. There is a police report for bodily injury and a possible attempted fraud."

Diego turned pale.

"Dad... please..."

"Don't ask me for the compassion you never showed your mother when she was bleeding on the floor."

Mariana, who had quietly arrived behind them and remained standing near the doorway, burst into tears.

"I told him not to do it," she whispered. "I told him it was wrong. But Julián convinced him that if his mother signed, everything would be fine within six months."

The lender slowly turned his gaze toward Diego.

part 4