Chapter 4: The Message That Changed Everything
I stared at the photograph until the screen dimmed.
Our dining room. The yellow-cushioned chair pushed against the wall. My late wife's silver bracelet resting in the center of the table.
And beneath it, those eight words.
*YOUR WIFE ISN'T THE ONLY ONE LYING. ASK BIANCA.*
I read the message again, searching for some detail that might tell me who had sent it.
The number wasn't saved in my contacts. There was no name, no profile picture, nothing to identify the sender.
I called it.
The phone rang twice before a recorded voice informed me that the number was unavailable.
I tried sending a message.
Who is this?
No reply.
Beside me, Sofia had gone pale.
“Dad,” she whispered, “please don't make me go back there.””
I locked my phone and turned toward her.
“You're not going anywhere you don't feel safe. I promise.””
“But what if Bianca tells them where we are?””
“Then we'll take the steps necessary to protect you.””
She pulled her knees toward her chest.
“You don't understand how she works.””
I wanted to tell her that I understood enough. I wanted to assure her that whatever Bianca had done, I could handle it.
But Sofia had spent nine months living with the people I was only beginning to understand.
She deserved to be heard.
“Tell me about Bianca,” I said.
“Not what Patricia says about her. Tell me what you've seen yourself.””
Sofia hesitated.
“She's different when other people are around.””
“Different how?””
“When Patricia is watching, Bianca acts like she's scared of me. She says I'm mean to her. She says I don't want her living here.””
“Do you?””
“No.”” Sofia looked down.
“I used to like having her around. We watched movies together. She even helped me with a school project.””
“What changed?””
“After she got into trouble at school, Patricia started treating her like she could do no wrong. If Bianca broke something, it was because she was upset. If I got angry, it was because I was jealous.””
Sofia rubbed her wrist.
“Then Bianca started asking me for things. My clothes. My money.
My mother's jewelry. She said she deserved them because her life was harder than mine.””
“Did you give them to her?””
“Some things.””
“Why?””
“Because if I said no, Patricia punished me.””
I thought of the bracelet.
“Did you give Bianca your mother's bracelet?””
Sofia shook her head firmly.
“No. I would never do that.””
“I believe you.””
She looked at me.
“Even if she says she has proof?””
“Yes.””
Her eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them away.
“Bianca told me once that if I ever made Patricia choose between us, Patricia would choose her. She said it didn't matter that you were my dad. Patricia could make you stop loving me.””
I felt my jaw tighten.
“Did she say that before or after you saw her wearing the bracelet?””
“After.””
I opened my phone again and examined the photograph. The bracelet lay on the dining table, positioned almost perfectly in the center of the image.
Whoever had taken the picture wanted me to notice it.
Whoever had sent the message wanted me to question Bianca.
But why?
I called the lawyer and explained the anonymous message. He advised me to preserve the original image and the number, avoid confronting Bianca alone, and let the appropriate authorities handle any evidence involving Sofia's injuries.
Then he asked a question I hadn't considered.
“Gabriel, do you still have access to the security camera system?””
“I installed it myself.””
“Can you check whether the recordings are still available?””
“I can try.””
“Don't alter anything. If there is footage relevant to the allegations, preserve it and discuss how to obtain it properly.””
After the call, I opened the security app.
The login screen appeared.
I entered my password.
*ACCESS DENIED.*
I tried again.
The same message appeared.
My password had been changed.
I stared at the screen.
Patricia knew the original password, but she had never needed to change it. The system had worked perfectly for years.
I tried the account recovery option.
The recovery email had also been changed.
Someone had deliberately locked me out of my own security system.
“Dad?”” Sofia asked.
I turned the screen toward her.
She stared at it, then nodded slowly.
“Bianca did that.””
“How do you know?””
“She told me she knew how to make sure you never saw what happened in the house.””
“When did she say that?””
“Last month. After the blue plate.””
I put the phone down.
The pieces were beginning to form a picture, but I didn't yet know what the picture meant.
That afternoon, the lawyer arranged for me to speak with a specialist who could help preserve relevant digital evidence. I also contacted the bank's fraud department and made arrangements to obtain the loan application records through the proper process.
Meanwhile, Sofia and I stayed at the hotel.
I tried to make the day feel ordinary.
We ordered lunch. We watched a terrible comedy on television. I let Sofia choose the movie, and she complained that my taste in films hadn't improved since she was eight.
For almost twenty minutes, she sounded like the girl I remembered.
Then a notification appeared on her phone.
She had borrowed a spare device from me after telling me that Patricia had taken her own phone. I'd given her a new number and told her she could use it to contact me whenever she needed.
The message came from Bianca.
*Where are you? Patricia says you stole Mom's bracelet.*
Sofia's hands began to shake.
Another message appeared.
*You need to come home before Dad finds out what you did.*
Then a third.
*I know what you told him.*
Sofia turned the phone facedown.
“Don't answer,” I said gently.
“She won't stop.””
“Then we can save the messages and discuss them with the lawyer.””
“She'll tell Patricia I'm trying to get her in trouble.””
I sat beside her.
“Are you trying to get her in trouble?””
Sofia shook her head.
“I just want her to leave me alone.””
“That's reasonable.””
She looked at me as if she expected me to add a condition.
When I didn't, she leaned against my shoulder.
That evening, the unknown number sent another message.
This time, it was a voice recording.
I checked with the lawyer before playing it. He advised me to preserve it and avoid forwarding it or making assumptions about its origin.
Then I put the phone on the table.
A woman's voice emerged from the speaker.
Patricia.
“I'm telling you, Rosa, the girl needs to learn her place. Gabriel isn't going to be home for another three days. By then, Sofia will understand what happens when she embarrasses me.””
Another voice answered.
Rosa, Patricia's mother.
“And what about the bruises?””
“They're nothing. She bruises easily.””
“What if Gabriel notices?””
“He won't. I'll tell him she fell.””
The recording ended.
I felt as though someone had poured ice water down my spine.
Sofia stared at the phone.
Her lips moved, but no sound came out.
I turned off the screen.
“Do you recognize this conversation?”” I asked softly.
She nodded.
“When was it?””
“I don't know. Maybe two weeks ago.””
“Were you there?””
“No. I was in my room.””
I waited.
Then Sofia whispered, “That's what they say whenever I get hurt. They decide what happened before anyone asks me.””
I reached for her hand.
“I'm sorry.””
She looked at me.
“Why do you keep saying that?””
“Because I should have paid attention sooner.””
“You couldn't know everything.””
“I should have known enough to ask more questions.””
For a long time, neither of us spoke.
Then she said, “Dad, I don't want Patricia to go to prison.””
I studied her face.
“Is that what you're afraid of?””
“I don't know. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I just want it to stop.””
I nodded.
“We'll focus on keeping you safe and telling the truth. What happens next is for the proper authorities to determine.””
She leaned against me again.
At 9:18 p.m., my phone rang.
Patricia.
I answered without putting it on speaker.
“Where are you?”” she demanded.
“Somewhere Sofia feels safe.””
“You're hiding my niece's stolen property!””
“I'm preserving evidence of what happened in our home.””
“Evidence?”” Patricia laughed sharply.
“You sound ridiculous.””
“I heard the recording.””
Silence.
Then Patricia's voice dropped.
“What recording?””
“The one where you and Rosa discussed Sofia's bruises.””
For several seconds, I heard nothing but her breathing.
When she spoke again, the anger had disappeared.
“Gabriel, you don't understand the context.””
“Then explain it.””
“She was being difficult.””
“Is that why you discussed lying to me?””
“I never said I would lie.””
“You said you would tell me she fell.””
Patricia's voice rose.
“You're letting that girl destroy our marriage!””
“No, Patricia. I'm asking you to explain your own words.””
“You need to think carefully about what you're doing.””
“I am.””
“You don't know what Bianca has. You don't know what Sofia has done.””
“Then let the facts speak for themselves.””
Patricia went quiet.
Then she said something that made me sit upright.
“If you bring the police into this, you'll regret it. Because Sofia isn't the only person who could lose everything.””
The call ended.
I stared at my phone.
A few seconds later, another message arrived from the unknown number.
*Check the date on the loan application. Then ask Patricia why Bianca needed 180,000 pesos.*
I opened the photograph of the bank notice and enlarged the date.
The application had been submitted on the same day Patricia told me she needed extra money for Sofia's school fees.
I looked at the amount again.
One hundred and eighty thousand pesos.
And suddenly, I understood that the money might be connected to something far more serious than a forged signature.
Because Bianca hadn't simply been given a bracelet.
May you like
Someone had been preparing to give her a future funded by money that didn't belong to them.
And I was beginning to suspect my daughter had discovered it before I did.
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