The man smiled.
—Then we will explain that she voluntarily participated in fraud, embezzlement, and fake contracts.
Maria Luisa breathed with difficulty.
—They have my signature on everything.
“Because you signed it,” he said. “Nobody put a gun to your head.”
Teresa heard that word and felt an ancient chill. A weapon wasn’t necessary to lock someone up.
Sometimes all it took was a debt, a sick mother, a foreign country, and a well-crafted lie.
Maria Luisa sat down slowly in the armchair. It seemed as if her legs had stopped supporting her.
—Mom, go away. Please.
Teresa looked at her as if she didn’t understand.
—Twelve years waiting to find you and you want me to leave?
—Yes. Because if you stay, you’re going to hate me.
Teresa did not respond.
The woman with the folder placed several photographs on the table. In them, María Luisa appeared at dinners, hotels, and meetings.
She smiled next to elegant men. Kang Jun was always nearby, always impeccable, always commanding attention.
“The money you received every Christmas,” the man said, “came from those operations.”
Teresa felt the blood rush to her face.
—No.
Maria Luisa closed her eyes.
-Yeah.
The word was small, but it broke something inside the mother.
For years, Teresa had defended her daughter against gossip and ridicule. She had said that she was hardworking, successful, and good.
And it was. But it was also tied to a dirty truth.
“I didn’t know,” Teresa said, almost voiceless.
“That’s why I sent it to you in December,” María Luisa whispered. “So it would seem like a gift. So I wouldn’t have to think about where it came from.”
Teresa took a step back.
It wasn’t just deception. It was food, shelter, medicine, tiles, clothes, favors, pride.
Everything was tainted by a story that her daughter had endured alone.
The man looked at his watch.
—You have 10 minutes.
Maria Luisa picked up the pen. Teresa saw her fingers trembling.
—What happens if you sign?
“I’m left with nothing,” she replied. “But perhaps you can return to Mexico in peace.”
-And you?
Maria Luisa smiled with unbearable sadness.
—I’m used to it now.
Teresa felt something rising in her chest. Not anger. Not exactly.
It was a decision in the making.
—You’re not going to sign.
-Mother…
—You’re not going to sign to protect me from a truth that’s already come in through that door.
The man leaned towards Teresa.
—Madam, you don’t understand the magnitude of this.
“No,” Teresa said. “But I understand the size of a daughter.”
Maria Luisa burst into tears without making a sound. She covered her face with both hands.
The young man on the phone received a call, muttered something in Korean, and stiffened.
The man in the suit looked at him.
—What’s happening?
