Chapter 7
My father had known Helena.
That was impossible.
I had met Helena two years after Sofia died.
She had come through charity circles.
Elegant.
Soft-spoken.
A widow, she said.
A woman who understood grief.
But in the photograph, she stood beside my father with a glass of wine in her hand and a smile I had never seen.
Not gentle.
Hungry.
On the back, my father had written one sentence.
She will destroy whoever gives her a door.
I opened the ledger.
Names.
Payments.
Dates.
Most from before my father died.
Then newer entries.
After Sofia died.
After Helena entered my house.
After she married me.
The last page listed Leo’s trust.
Beside it, in red ink, was written: Transfer on guardian removal.
My stomach turned.
Camila read it over my shoulder.
“Guardian removal?”
I knew what it meant.
If I was declared unfit, Helena could petition to control Leo’s inheritance.
If Leo was declared unstable or unsafe, she could control it too.
That was why she was starving him.
Humiliating him.
Making him afraid.
Creating a record.
I plugged the drive into the secure laptop in the office.
Folders appeared.
Videos.
Audio files.
Documents.
One file was labeled: Sofia balcony.
My finger hovered over it.
Camila touched my arm.
“You don’t have to watch it alone.”
I pressed play.
The garage disappeared.
The screen showed the balcony in the storm.
Sofia stood near the railing.
Helena stepped into frame.
Alive in my past.
Smiling.
They argued without sound.
Then Helena reached out.
The video froze before the fall.
Corrupted.
I slammed my fist on the desk.
Leo cried out from the doorway.
May you like
I turned.
He had seen enough.
