Chapter 11 - THE ADVISER
His name was Victor Salazar.
I had smiled.
Now Nadia ran his name through public records.
Victor was not merely a financial adviser.
He was a loan broker whose license had once been suspended after a complaint involving falsified borrower information.
Suddenly, the six-hundred-thousand-dollar application looked less like desperation and more like a plan.
I told the truth about everything, including the soup.
I was done editing myself to look innocent.
That afternoon, Diego showed up at my mother’s house.
I was there.
He stood outside the gate holding flowers.
“Elena, please.”
My mother moved toward the door.
I stopped her. “I’ll handle it.”
I stepped outside but stayed behind the locked gate.
Diego looked terrible. No expensive watch. No confident smile.
“My mother went too far,” he said.
“You hit me.”
“I know.”
“You forged access to my company.”
“I didn’t sign your name.”
“But you knew.”
His eyes filled.
“I thought I could fix it after.”
“After stealing six hundred thousand dollars?”
“We were going to pay it back.”
“With what?”
He had no answer.
Then he looked toward my mother’s windows.
“Victor is dangerous.”
That was new.
“What does that mean?”
Diego stepped closer to the gate.
“He has copies of everything. Your passport. Your tax returns. The land records. He says if Mom backs out, he’ll destroy us.”
“Why are you telling me?”
“Because this stopped being about money.”
I stared at him.
He whispered, “Victor told Mateo to get into your office tonight.”
Before I could respond, my phone rang.
It was Tasha.
May you like
She was whispering.
“Elena, someone just broke the back window.”
