He entered the house with the child in his arms. Rebecca watched him from the table, her face rigid.
“I can explain,” she stammered.
“It’s in your best interest to do so,” he replied, barely containing his anger.
But before she could open her mouth, the front door burst open. A neighbor, Don Mateo, rushed in.
“Álvaro, you need to know something,” he said breathlessly. “This isn’t the first time… and it’s not just about Lucía.”
Álvaro felt his world crumble. Something much darker was about to be revealed.
Álvaro invited Don Mateo in and slammed the door shut. Rebeca took a step back, as if looking for a corner to hide in. Lucía, sitting on the sofa wrapped in a clean blanket, watched the scene silently, her eyes wide.
—Speak —Álvaro ordered the neighbor.
Don Mateo took off his cap and held it in his hands, nervously.
“I didn’t know whether to say anything to you… but after seeing you arrive and seeing the girl like that… I couldn’t keep quiet any longer.”
Álvaro felt a knot in his stomach.
“What did you see?”
The neighbor swallowed hard.
“For months now, your wife… well, your wife has treated the girl like she’s a burden. She’d send her out of the house, even when it was raining. Sometimes we heard her crying. A couple of neighbors wanted to intervene, but Rebecca always said it was ‘part of a strict discipline’ that you had approved.”
“That’s a lie!” Rebecca shouted, jumping up. “Mateo has always been against me!”
“Shut up,” Álvaro replied, not shouting, but with a firmness that made her stop. “Go on.”
“Not only that,” Mateo continued. “Three weeks ago, social services came to the neighborhood because someone sent them an anonymous message saying the girl was being abused. They couldn’t verify anything because Rebeca wouldn’t let them in.”
Álvaro felt his blood boil.
“An anonymous message? Who sent it?”
Mateo lowered his gaze.
“I don’t know. But someone tried.”
Rebeca put her hands to her head.
“Álvaro, I swear I only wanted Lucía to learn to be strong. That girl… she’s weak, she cries over anything. And you were never there. The entire burden of her upbringing fell on me.”
Álvaro could barely contain himself.
“And you thought putting her in a stable would make her strong? She’s my daughter, Rebeca!”
She took a step toward him, desperate.
“It’s my house too! And you have no idea how difficult it was to live with her!”
“Difficult?” Lucia’s small voice suddenly interjected. “I just wanted you to talk to me… to give me a goodnight kiss…”
Rebeca turned to the girl with a look of contempt that Álvaro found unbearable.
“You were never affectionate! You always looked at me like I was a stranger!”
Álvaro stepped between them.
“Lucía isn’t to blame for your frustration.”
Mateo took a deep breath.
“Álvaro… you should know something else. Rebeca wasn’t acting alone. The woman had frequent visitors when you were away. A man. Sometimes he came in through the back door.”
The silence fell like a dagger.
Álvaro looked at Rebeca, who paled instantly.
“Who was it?” he asked, with a dangerous calm.
She did not answer.
See more on the next page
Advertisement
