Chapter 4 - THE WITNESS IN THE CEILING
"What is the meaning of this?"
Renata demanded,
her voice rising to a shriek.
"Alejandro,
tell these people to leave!"
One of the investigators,
a man with graying temples,
stepped forward.
"Señora Renata,
we are here to serve a warrant."
"We have received evidence of elder abuse,
extortion,
and systemic fraud."
Renata laughed,
a hysterical,
high-pitched sound.
"Evidence?"
"What evidence?"
"This man is a weakling who can't prove what he had for breakfast!"
"It's his word against mine!"
"And the servants will testify that I am a saint!"
I walked over to the television in the living room.
I plugged in a small USB drive I had been carrying in my pocket.
"You're right, Renata,"
I said,
my voice echoing in the large room.
"It isn't just my word."
"I wanted to make sure the world saw the real you."
I turned on the screen.
The footage from the patio began to play.
It was high-definition.
The audio was crystal clear.
The room watched as Renata grabbed my mother's hair.
They heard her threaten to put her in a home where 'nobody visits.'
They saw her sneer at my mother's tears.
Renata’s face went white,
then a sickly,
mottled purple.
She looked up at the smoke detector,
her eyes wide with realization.
"You...
you recorded me?"
"For three weeks,"
I replied.
"In every room you thought was safe."
"In every corner where you thought you could be a monster in private."
The footage continued.
It showed her talking on the phone to her lover,
discussing how they were going to liquidate the company.
It showed her forging my signature on secondary contracts.
It showed her mocking me,
calling me a 'broken puppet.'
Licenciado Valdes took a step back from her,
disgust written all over his face.
"I will not be a part of this,"
he whispered,
gathering his papers.
The investigators moved in.
"Señora,
you are under arrest."
Renata tried to run,
but they were faster.
They caught her near the front door,
the very door she had used to humiliate my mother just yesterday.
As they clicked the handcuffs into place,
she turned to me,
her eyes full of a venomous,
feral rage.
"I will destroy you, Alejandro!"
"I will spend every cent to make sure you suffer!"
I walked up to her,
not with anger,
but with a profound sense of relief.
"You don't have any cents left, Renata."
"My lawyer filed for an immediate freeze on all your assets an hour ago."
"The company accounts,
the personal funds,
even your jewelry."
"It's all tied up in the investigation."
She looked like she wanted to spit on me.
"You're nothing without me!"
"You'll see!"
I turned my back on her.
"I was nothing with you, Renata."
"With my mother,
I am everything."
They led her out of the house,
her screams echoing down the street of the Colonia Del Valle.
Neighbors came out to watch.
The perfect wife was being taken away in the back of a police car.
The silence that followed was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.
My mother walked over to me,
taking my hand in hers.
"Is it over, son?"
"It's just beginning, mamá,"
I said.
May you like
"And this time,
you will never have to scrub a floor again."
