“What do I do?”
“You sit in the discomfort. You tell the truth. You do not ask him to comfort you.”
So you sit.
You read beside his bed.
You bring water.
You step out when he asks.
One afternoon, Diego wakes and sees you sitting near the window.
He looks at you for a long moment.
Then whispers, “Did you send her away?”
“Yes.”
“Forever?”
You swallow.
“I’m trying.”
His eyes fill.
“She smiled when it started.”
Your hands go cold.
“What do you mean?”
He looks toward Elvira.
She nods gently.
Diego’s voice trembles.
“The day after the cast. She came into my room when you were at work. She said if I kept being rude to her, I would learn what patience means. Then she put something in the top.”
You stop breathing.
“What did she put?”
“I don’t know. It was sticky. She said it was medicine because the cast smelled bad. Then the ants came that night.”
Your vision darkens at the edges.
You grip the chair until your knuckles whiten.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Diego’s face twists.
“I did.”
That destroys you.
He did.
He told you with every scream.
You were the one who demanded he say it in a way your poisoned mind would accept.
You get up and walk into the hallway before you break in front of him.
Elvira follows.
The moment the door closes, you put your hand against the wall and bend forward like someone punched you in the stomach.
Elvira’s voice is quiet.
“Now you know.”
You look at her through tears.
“I tied him down.”
“Yes.”
“I threatened to send him away.”
“Yes.”
“I believed her.”
“Yes.”
You almost wish she would soften it.
She does not.
Then she adds, “And now you will fix what can be fixed.”
You laugh bitterly. “How?”
“First, stop crying where he can hear you.”
You straighten.
She hands you a tissue.
“Second, find out why that woman hated a child enough to do this.”
The investigation begins in your own house.
You do not return alone.
Police execute a search warrant after the hospital report, Diego’s statement, and Elvira’s testimony. They search Valeria’s dressing room, bathroom, private office, and the small locked cabinet she said contained skincare samples.
Inside, they find syringes.
Small bottles of honey-thick liquid.
Insect bait.
A fine metal awl.
A printed article about fire ant reactions under medical dressings.
Your stomach turns when the officer shows you.
But the worst item is a notebook.
Valeria’s handwriting.
Pages of dates.
Complaints about Diego.
Plans.
Not openly criminal at first.
Just resentment dressed as strategy.
Diego interrupts dinners.
Diego manipulates Alejandro with grief.
Alejandro still keeps Mariana’s portrait in the study.
Diego must be removed before pregnancy.
You stop reading.
“Pregnancy?” you ask.
The officer looks uncomfortable.
“There are several references to wanting a child with you.”
Your throat tightens.
