Chapter 8 - The Last Debt
The message was a bluff.
At least, Gabriel thought so.
He had investigators check the prison.
Helena was there.
Alive.
Under maximum security.
Nobody had visited.
Nobody had sent anything.
But the photograph had been real.
Taken three days earlier.
That meant somebody inside the prison had access to her.
For the first time since our wedding, I saw fear return to Gabriel's face.
Not fear for himself.
For Maya.
We increased security.
I hated it.
Maya hated it more.
She wanted to walk to school like before.
She wanted normal.
I wanted normal too.
But normal had never been our specialty.
One evening, Maya didn't come home.
My heart stopped.
Her teacher said someone had picked her up.
Someone claiming to be Gabriel's assistant.
We hadn't sent anyone.
Gabriel disappeared for twenty minutes.
When he returned, his face was terrifyingly calm.
“We found her.”
“Where?”
“An abandoned theater.”
“Is she okay?”
“Yes.”
I ran to her.
She was crying.
But unharmed.
She clung to me.
“He asked me about Daddy.”
“Who?”
“A man named Victor.”
I looked at Gabriel.
Victor.
The same name from the ledger.
The man everyone thought was dead.
Gabriel's jaw tightened.
“He's alive.”
We searched.
Victor had disappeared after the warehouse fire.
He had been living under another name.
And he had been planning one final move.
He wanted the evidence.
The money.
And revenge.
But he made one mistake.
He underestimated Maya.
She remembered his face.
She remembered the scar on his hand.
She remembered the red car.
Her memory led police to a warehouse.
Inside were documents proving Victor had orchestrated the original scheme.
He had manipulated Helena.
Manipulated Albert.
Manipulated my husband.
Manipulated Gabriel's father.
Every crime had led back to him.
The final confrontation took place at the waterfront.
Victor was waiting.
He had a gun.
Gabriel went alone.
I stayed with police.
I watched from a distance as they faced each other.
Victor laughed.
“You became soft.”
Gabriel answered:
“No.”
He looked toward me.
“I became better.”
Victor fired.
Gabriel moved.
Police rushed.
Victor was arrested.
This time, there was nowhere left to hide.
The case ended.
For good.
Afterward, Gabriel stood by the water.
I approached.
“It's over.”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
“You're shaking.”
“I know.”
I took his hand.
He squeezed mine.
“I thought I'd never have a life like this.”
“Like what?”
“Quiet.”
I smiled.
“It isn't quiet.”
Maya was yelling somewhere behind us.
Michael was arguing with an employee about cake.
The bakery delivery truck was honking.
The city was loud.
But Gabriel smiled.
“Okay.”
“Then peaceful.”
I leaned against him.
“Yes.”
A year passed.
Second Chances became a success.
We opened three more locations.
Every bakery had the same rule.
No one turned away hungry.
Maya became involved in the foundation.
She helped choose birthday cakes for children who couldn't afford them.
One evening, she came to me.
“Mama?”
“Yes?”
“I want to do something.”
“What?”
She pointed toward the kitchen.
“I want every kid who comes here on their birthday to get a cake.”
I smiled.
“That's a lot of cake.”
“We can make more.”
Gabriel overheard.
“We can.”
Maya grinned.
“See?”
I laughed.
“Fine.”
The program became Maya's Birthday Box.
Every child received a cake.
A candle.
A card.
And, when needed, groceries or medicine.
The first year, we gave away over a thousand.
Sometimes people asked why we did it.
I always gave the same answer.
“Because I once had seven dollars and forty-three cents.”
May you like
Then I would smile.
“And someone decided that should be enough to start again.”
