On the other end of the line, his personal banker, who had once treated him like royalty, now spoke in a dry, distant tone. “I’m sorry, Mr. Salazar. The order comes directly from the Financial Intelligence Unit. There are reported irregularities, suspected money laundering, and tax fraud. Your credit cards, your investment accounts, the company’s accounts… everything is frozen until further notice. And I recommend you get a criminal lawyer, not a corporate one.”
Rodrigo threw his cell phone against the desk. The screen shattered. "Damn it!" he yelled, kicking his leather chair. His secretary came in, pale. "Sir... there are some agents outside. They say they're from the District Attorney's office. They have a search warrant."
Rodrigo's world stopped. The untouchable man, the one who yesterday had pushed an old woman into the rain because she "smelled bad," now smelled his own fear. It was a pungent, acidic smell. He thought about calling Carolina, but what would he say? That the life of luxury he'd promised her was a lie built on fraud and pyramid schemes? He looked out the window. Below, the police cars. Above, the gray sky. And in his mind, like a cursed echo, the words of old Mercedes resonated: "God sees every tear ." "It can't be..." Rodrigo stammered. "Coincidences. They're all just coincidences."
Far from there, in an elegant but austere office in Polanco, with the scent of antique wood and law books, Mercedes sat across from Attorney Esquivel. She felt small in that large armchair, nervously smoothing her wrinkled skirt.
“Mrs. Mercedes,” said the lawyer, a man in his fifties with a kind gaze, taking off his glasses to see her better. “Don Esteban Romero was a very peculiar man. As you know, he had no children. His wife passed away twenty years ago. He amassed a considerable fortune in the real estate business, but he died very lonely.” The lawyer opened a thick leather folder. “However, he left a handwritten letter attached to his will. He asked me to read it to you before proceeding with the legal formalities.”
