Mr. Antonia, I have the full report on Eduardo’s debts. The situation is worse than I thought. How much worse? He owes more than 200,000 pesos to several banks and also has debts with private lenders. What’s more concerning is that he used forged documents with his daughter’s signature for some of these loans.
That means Angela is responsible. Legally, it’s complicated. If we can prove that she didn’t know, we could release her from some of the debts. But it’s going to be a long and expensive process. How expensive? For a good lawyer specializing in these types of cases, probably 50,000 pesos, and there’s no guarantee of success. I understand
What if she simply pays the debts? If she has the money, it would be the quickest solution. But I doubt she has access to that amount. Jorge, I want you to prepare all the necessary documents to free my daughter from these debts, but don’t tell her anything yet. You’re going to pay, Mrs. Antonia.
I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my daughter, but this has to be handled in a very specific way. When I hung up, I found Angela in the living room looking at the jewelry with a sad expression. She looked lost, like a child who had broken her favorite toy and didn’t know how to fix it. What are you thinking about, daughter? About Dad, about how disappointed he would be in me if he could see what I’ve done with my life. Your father loved you very much, Angela. He would understand.
No, Mom. He taught me to be responsible, to value family, to not be selfish. And I did the exact opposite. I abandoned my mother for a man who turned out to be a liar. I sold my family’s heirlooms for money. I ruined everything he built. For the first time since I’d returned, I heard genuine remorse in her voice.
It wasn’t just regret for the consequences of her actions, but a true acknowledgment that she had done something morally wrong. People make mistakes, honey. The important thing is to learn from them. But how do I learn from this, Mom? How do I repair the damage I’ve done? There was the question I’d been waiting for.
Angela was finally ready to face the truth about her actions and their consequences, but it wasn’t yet time to reveal my final card. First, I had to let her hit rock bottom completely. The next few days were crucial to my plan. Angela decided to sell most of the jewelry, keeping only the engagement ring Roberto had given me and a small necklace that had belonged to her grandmother.
I watched her prepare to go to jewelry stores, research prices, negotiate with buyers. It was painful to see her reduce decades of family history to business transactions, but necessary for her to understand the true weight of her decisions. “Mom, I got 180,000 pesos for the jewelry,” she told me one afternoon, counting the bills on the kitchen table. “
It’s less than I expected, but it’s enough to pay off the most urgent debts.” “Are you sure you want to do this?” “I have no choice. If I don’t pay something soon, they’re going to seize everything. Even this house could be at risk if they prove I have any kind of legal connection to the properties.” How ironic the situation was.
Ángela was worried about losing a house I owned, paying off the debts of a man who had abandoned her with money from jewelry that had belonged to the same man who had created the fortune that could save her. “And how are you going to decide which debts to pay first?” “I spoke with a free financial advisor at the bank.” She told me to prioritize debts with real guarantees, because those are the ones that can affect property or lead to immediate liens. Ángela had matured a lot in these few weeks.
The woman who had sold my things without consulting me was now carefully investigating every financial decision. The suffering had made her more responsible, but also more fragile. That night, while she was organizing the debt documents on the table, I received a call from Jorge.
Mrs. Antonia, I have important news. We managed to locate Eduardo. Where is he? In Paris, as your daughter suspected. But here’s the interesting part. He’s trying to get French residency through a sham marriage with that young woman your daughter mentioned. A sham marriage. Yes. Apparently, the girl needs papers, and he needs a way to stay in Europe without being deported.
But the most important thing is that we found evidence that he deliberately forged your daughter’s documents with the intention of fleeing the country. That means Ángela can be free of her debts. With this evidence, we can prove fraud and coercion. Your daughter wouldn’t have to pay for anything Eduardo did behind her back. It was perfect.
I had a way to legally save Ángela from all her debts without her suspecting that I had the money to do it. “Jorge, I want you to start the legal process immediately,” I tell your daughter. “No, I still want the process to be completely finished before I tell you anything. I don’t want to give you false hope.
” “Understood! This is going to take about three weeks, maybe a month. Perfect.” When I hung up, Angela looked at me curiously. Who was Mom? A woman who was asking for Doña Mercedes, the neighbor on the corner, had the wrong number. Lying had become easy.
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