Chapter 4 - The Man Behind My Son
The next morning, we set a trap.
The sheriff's department monitored the ranch.
My attorney froze every property transaction.
The bank froze the suspicious accounts.
And I made one decision.
I would confront my son.
Rodrigo returned around noon.
He walked into the ranch like nothing had happened.
Then he saw me.
His face changed.
“Where's Mariana?”
“Safe.”
“Sofia?”
“Safe.”
His jaw tightened.
“You had no right.”
I stared at him.
“You locked your wife in a chicken coop.”
“She deserved discipline.”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
“She was eating dirt.”
“She was manipulating you.”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You were starving her.”
He laughed.
“You've been gone too long, Mom.”
“Maybe.”
“But I came back.”
He stared.
“For what?”
“To see what you did with everything your father built.”
His expression hardened.
“I built this ranch.”
“No.”
“You abandoned us.”
“I left because I was grieving.”
“You left me.”
His voice cracked.
For one second, I saw my son again.
The little boy who had cried at his father's funeral.
Then the moment passed.
“You left me with nothing,” he said.
“I left you millions.”
“You gave me property.”
“And you turned it into debt.”
He looked away.
“Who is Cortez?”
His head snapped toward me.
That reaction told me everything.
“What does he want?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why did he pay you?”
Silence.
“Why did he help forge my signature?”
Rodrigo stepped closer.
“You don't understand business.”
“I understand fraud.”
His face darkened.
“Mom, you should leave.”
“No.”
“I'm warning you.”
“I've already heard your threats.”
He froze.
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
“Hello?”
The voice on the other end was loud enough for me to hear.
Cortez.
“You told me the mother would leave.”
Rodrigo glanced at me.
“She won't.”
“Then make her.”
The call ended.
Rodrigo stared at me.
I smiled.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For confirming everything.”
The deputies stepped into the room.
Rodrigo's face went white.
He reached for the door.
They arrested him.
But before they took him away, he looked at me.
“Mom.”
I stopped.
“Please.”
I looked at my son.
For a moment, I wanted to save him.
Because mothers are strange creatures.
Even when their children hurt them, some tiny part still wants to protect them.
But then I remembered Mariana eating dry corn.
I remembered Sofia hiding in a stranger's farmhouse.
And I remembered my husband's dream.
I shook my head.
“You need to face what you've done.”
Rodrigo lowered his eyes.
As they led him away, he whispered:
“Cortez will kill me.”
I froze.
The deputy looked at me.
Then at Rodrigo.
“Why?”
May you like
Rodrigo stared at the floor.
“Because I know where the bodies are.”
