Valentina lowered her gaze.
Maricela answered from the door:
“Mrs. Renata.”
Alejandro felt something dark rising in his chest.
He picked up the letter from the bed.
“Can I read it?”
Valentina nodded.
The shaky text read:
Dad, I’m sorry I left like this. I’ve tried to talk to you many times, but Mom says you won’t believe me. She says I’m dramatic, unstable, and ungrateful. She says if I talk, everyone will think I’m a rich girl who makes up trouble. Don’t blame Maricela. She was the only one who fed me when Mom closed the kitchen to punish me.
Alexander had to stop.
He continued reading.
Today they’re sending me to a place in Cuernavaca. Mom says they correct girls there who shame their families. She also wants me to sign some papers. He says if I don’t sign, they’ll make it look like I’m sick.
“What documents?” Alejandro asked.
Valentina hugged herself.
“The ones I trust.”
Alejandro looked up.
The trust her father had left Valentina at birth contained shares, land, and voting rights within the hotel group. It was untouchable until she came of age.
Or so she thought.
Maricela took an old cell phone from her apron.
“I have some recordings, sir. I didn’t know what to do. I was scared. But when I heard they were taking her away tonight, I recorded everything.”
“What’s going on down there?” Alejandro asked.
