That debt was old, shameful, and burdensome. She never wanted her daughter to carry that burden.
—I told you I would solve it.
—You weren’t solving it, Mom. You were selling food, cleaning houses, borrowing money. You were burning yourself out.
Teresa felt tears, but they didn’t fall.
The man in the suit interrupted.
—Very emotional. But irrelevant.
He took out another sheet of paper and pushed it towards Maria Luisa.
—Sign the transfer. You hand over the accounts, legally disappear from the group, and nobody bothers your mother.
Teresa looked at the sheet of paper. She didn’t understand the language, but she recognized the poison in that proposal.
—And what if he doesn’t sign?
The man smiled.
—Then we will explain that she voluntarily participated in fraud, embezzlement, and fake contracts.
Maria Luisa breathed with difficulty.
—They have my signature on everything.
“Because you signed it,” he said. “Nobody put a gun to your head.”
Teresa heard that word and felt an ancient chill. A weapon wasn’t necessary to lock someone up.
Sometimes all it took was a debt, a sick mother, a foreign country, and a well-crafted lie.
Maria Luisa sat down slowly in the armchair. It seemed as if her legs had stopped supporting her.
—Mom, go away. Please.
Teresa looked at her as if she didn’t understand.
—Twelve years waiting to find you and you want me to leave?
—Yes. Because if you stay, you’re going to hate me.
Teresa did not respond.
The woman with the folder placed several photographs on the table. In them, María Luisa appeared at dinners, hotels, and meetings.
She smiled next to elegant men. Kang Jun was always nearby, always impeccable, always commanding attention.
“The money you received every Christmas,” the man said, “came from those operations.”
Teresa felt the blood rush to her face.
—No.
Maria Luisa closed her eyes.
-Yeah.
The word was small, but it broke something inside the mother.
For years, Teresa had defended her daughter against gossip and ridicule. She had said that she was hardworking, successful, and good.
And it was. But it was also tied to a dirty truth.
“I didn’t know,” Teresa said, almost voiceless.
“That’s why I sent it to you in December,” María Luisa whispered. “So it would seem like a gift. So I wouldn’t have to think about where it came from.”
Teresa took a step back.
