Chapter 13 - The Price of Silence
By Thursday, the property buyers were asking why the deal hadn't closed. Teresa obtained emergency court protection against the disputed transfer while the signatures and authority were examined. She warned us that temporary protection was not a final judgment.
"Good," Sara said when I explained. "Then we keep telling the truth until someone makes it final."
Her voice was stronger. She wanted soup from the little restaurant near the market, and when I brought it she complained it had too much salt. I'd never been so grateful to hear a complaint.
Mateo was less fortunate. His bank froze the account Claudia had opened in his name pending investigation. His employer wanted an explanation for irregular deposits. He had to tell people he'd trusted his wife with documents he never read.
"I'll probably lose the promotion," he said.
"Maybe," I answered. "But you won't lose Abuela."
He stared at the floor. "I nearly did."
Teresa called us to hear Marta's full account. According to preserved correspondence, Andrés had drafted a plan to hurry Sara into distant care before the land transaction. Claudia would receive a commission from the buyer and control part of the proceeds through disputed authority.
"And why did Sara need to be in the facility?" I asked.
"They wanted no one available to challenge what she supposedly said at signing," Teresa answered. "That is the apparent plan. We still have to prove who agreed to it."
Marta had kept an audio memo after an argument with Andrés. In it a woman said, "If the old lady starts talking clearly, we lose Friday."
It sounded like Claudia, but Teresa insisted an investigator verify the source instead of asking us to decide by anger alone.
The last line of the memo came from a man.
May you like
"Then keep Hugo away from the hospital until the transfer is done."
He hadn't been speaking about a house.
