Chapter 6 - The Man Who Called Me Sweetheart
Isabel Torres remembered Carmen immediately.
“She asked for discretion,” she told us. “She was concerned about her brother.”
Her office overlooked a busy street in Coral Gables. Ordinary traffic moved beyond the glass while my family history rearranged itself across her desk.
Carmen’s final estate plan had included a specific bequest to Sara and instructions for an independent search.
There was also a memorandum requesting that both daughters receive access to relevant personal records.
The version Esteban supplied after her death contained neither.
Naomi did not announce that we had solved everything.
She requested certified copies.
She documented dates.
She began the process of seeking records and an accounting through the proper court.
I was grateful for her patience, although mine had nearly vanished.
“Did my mother know where Sara was?” I asked Isabel.
“She had a possible lead. She died before we confirmed it.”
“Why didn’t you contact me?”
“I attempted to through the contact information provided. I was then told you were represented by the estate’s counsel.”
Esteban.
Again.
A person could stand between you and the truth without ever locking a door.
That afternoon, I agreed to meet my uncle in Naomi’s conference room.
He arrived carrying white lilies.
My favorite flowers.
I left them on the table.
“Lucia,” he said, opening his arms.
“I’d rather sit.”
His smile tightened.
We discussed the documents.
At first, he dismissed them.
Then he blamed clerical errors.
Then he questioned Sara’s motives.
“She saw your life and wanted part of it.”
“My sister was dead before I knew her name.”
“That doesn’t change what she wanted.”
Naomi intervened before I answered.
“Please direct your responses to the records.”
Esteban leaned back.
“You have no idea how complicated this was.”
“Then explain it,” I said.
“Your mother couldn’t have children. Elena had no support. I helped everyone.”
“Did Elena know I was alive?”
His eyes moved toward Naomi.
“That was handled by the agency.”
“Did she know?”
“I was trying to prevent disruption.”
I felt my fingers go cold.
There it was again.
Protection.
Disruption.
Words that made somebody else’s pain sound like a household problem.
“What about Sara?”
“She had a placement.”
“And when that failed?”
“I couldn’t monitor everyone forever.”
I stood.
He looked up, startled.
“I’m not everyone.”
His expression softened automatically.
“Sweetheart—”
“Neither was she.”
For a moment, the affectionate mask slipped.
“You think these people love you? They know what you’re worth.”
Naomi rose.
“This meeting is over.”
Esteban gathered his coat.
At the door, he turned.
“You’ll regret turning your family into a public spectacle.”
I looked at the flowers.
“You did that when you decided we were yours to arrange.”
After he left, my body began shaking.
Naomi brought water.
“We have enough to pursue the civil remedies. Questions about falsified documents and financial conduct can be referred with supporting evidence.”
“Will he go to prison?”
“I can’t promise an outcome. I can promise we won’t confuse suspicion with proof.”
That evening, Alex came for his scheduled time caring for Leo.
I almost stayed upstairs.
Instead, I sat across from him while he prepared a bottle.
“Did Esteban threaten you?”
Alex nodded.
“He said your mother had obtained you illegally. That you’d spend the rest of your life wondering whether she’d stolen you.”
“So you believed him.”
“I believed enough to keep postponing the conversation.”
“Did Sara?”
“No. She kept pushing.”
“Then why didn’t you help her?”
His face changed.
“I told myself waiting was neutral.”
He looked down at the bottle.
“It wasn’t.”
For the first time, his remorse contained no request for me to relieve it.
I told him what Carmen’s letter said.
He cried quietly.
I did not comfort him.
May you like
But when Leo woke, we both went to him.
There were responsibilities that could continue even while everything else remained uncertain.
