PART 2
I stood by the bed, trying to piece together fragments that didn’t fit. Clara Salgado, my Clara, the one who made enchiladas at three in the morning, the one who sang Juan Gabriel off-key in the university hallways, the one who swore to me she would never let a man extinguish her light… had sent her son with me.
“Diego,” I said carefully. “Where’s your mother?”
He looked down.
“I don’t know. She put me in an Uber and told me not to get out until I got to you.”
“Was she with you?”
He shook his head.
“She stayed in a corner. She was crying, but said it was because of the air.”
Maribel explained what little they knew. The car Diego was in had been hit by a pickup truck driven by a drunk man. The driver survived. Diego didn’t have his cell phone. In his backpack, they found clothes, a notebook, the card with my information, and a sealed envelope with my name written in handwriting.
I recognized Clara’s handwriting before I even touched the paper.
Valeria.
“I’m not related to him,” I said, though my voice sounded weaker than I intended.
“We know,” Maribel replied. “But he doesn’t let anyone near him unless you’re there.”
Diego took the envelope out of his backpack.
“My mom said I should only open it if I was scared. I’ve been scared ever since we crashed.”
I sat down next to him and opened the letter.
Valeria:
If Diego came to you, it means I finally did what I should have done years ago. Forgive me for disappearing. Forgive me for calling you dramatic when you were the only one who had the courage to tell the truth.
Rodrigo found us again. I thought I could handle it, but I can’t put my son at risk anymore. Diego doesn’t know everything. Please, don’t let him take him. Call Commander Adrián Rivas. He knows some of it.
You don’t owe me anything. I know. But one
