That’s when I saw it clearly.
He wasn’t afraid of the truth. He was afraid of her.
I took a step forward.
“He didn’t fall.”
Valeria looked at me for the first time with that coldness some people hide beneath a pretty smile.
“I think you’re forgetting your place.”
“My place,” I replied, “is next to the boy you hit with a belt.”
The office froze.
Alejandro put his glass down on the table.
“What did you just say?”
Valeria let out a short, incredulous laugh.
“This is absurd.”
But I wasn’t talking to her anymore.
“Sir, your son’s back is covered in marks. Old and new. They’re not from a fall. He told me so in the car.”
Alejandro looked at Mateo again. This time for real.
Not like a distracted father.
Like a man who suddenly understands that something terrible has been happening inside his own home.
“Mateo,” he said, his voice breaking, “look at me.”
The boy couldn’t.
Valeria took a step closer.
“Honey, tell your dad you’re confused.”
Mateo shuddered all over.
That gesture was enough.
Alejandro saw it. Claudia, who had already positioned herself near the door, saw it too.
