Chapter 7: The Mask Falls

Esteban appeared in the doorway minutes later, and what frightened me most was not his anger but how quickly his face arranged itself into innocence… Continue Reading ⬇️

“What’s going on?” he asked, too calmly.

Tomás stood. “You tell me.”

Esteban saw the phone in my hand and smiled with disgust. “An old work phone. I haven’t used it in years. Maybe it was hacked.”

My mother came into the hall, confused by the shouting. I showed her the images. She tried not to look, but truth has a way of forcing open the eyes that love kept closed too long.

“We’re calling the police,” Tomás said.

Esteban laughed and pointed at Lucía. “She’s the one sneaking into your bed every night.”

I stepped toward him.

“She slept there because she was safer there,” I said. “And you will not turn her survival into shame.”

For the first time, his confidence cracked. Continue Reading ⬇️