When Mercedes left the office, she carried in her old purse the keys to a house and a secure future. The afternoon sun bathed Masaryk Avenue. People hurried by, shopping in luxury stores, but Mercedes walked at a different pace. She stopped at a bench, took out the keys, and pressed them to her chest. The metal was cold, but it burned in her heart with joy. "Thank you, Don Esteban," she said, looking up at the sky. "And thanks to You, my Lord, who straightens crooked paths."
She took a taxi to San Ángel. When she arrived at the address, she stood in front of the house. It was beautiful. Bougainvillea cascaded down the stone walls, and there was a wrought-iron gate. She opened the door. The interior smelled of confinement, but also of history. There were pieces of furniture covered with white sheets. Mercedes pulled back a sheet and saw a comfortable armchair. She sat down. "I have a house..." she said aloud, her voice echoing off the empty walls. "I have a house!"
She burst out laughing and crying at the same time, a laugh that seemed to rise from deep within her. She was no longer the freeloader. She was no longer a burden. She was the master of her own destiny.
But while she laughed, back at the house in Lomas, the silence was broken. Carolina was in the living room, phone in hand, trembling. Rodrigo had just walked in, disheveled, his shirt untucked, his eyes bloodshot. “Pack your bags!” he yelled, slamming the curtains shut like a madman. “We have to go! Now!” “Where to, Rodrigo? What’s wrong?” Carolina cried. “They just declined my card at the supermarket. How embarrassing!” “Forget about the damn card!” Rodrigo grabbed her shoulders and shook her. “They’re going to throw me in jail, Carolina! It’s over! It’s all over!”
At that moment, the doorbell of the mansion rang. It wasn't a social visit. It was a loud, authoritarian knock. "Open up! Attorney General's Office!" Carolina screamed in terror. Rodrigo ran toward the back door, but he knew it was useless. The house was surrounded. Divine justice had arrived, and it hadn't brought a defense attorney.
