PART 2: THE YEARS THAT NEVER EXISTED
PART 2: THE YEARS THAT NEVER EXISTED
Vivian Moretti didn’t move.
Not at first.
The words “freeze every account” hung in the air like a gunshot that hadn’t finished echoing.
Then she laughed.
A soft, controlled sound.
As if Alejandro had made a dramatic mistake rather than issued a financial death sentence.
“You’re emotional,” Vivian said calmly. “She’s just a maid who looks like your wife.”
Elena flinched at the word maid.
Alejandro didn’t.
Because he was already looking at her wrists.
The bruises weren’t new.
They weren’t accidental either.
“Look at her,” Vivian continued, turning slightly toward the staff gathered in the hallway. “She’s confused. Exhausted. People see what they want to see in storms like this.”
But Alejandro wasn’t listening anymore.
He was walking.
Slowly.
Directly toward Elena.
Each step quieter than the last.
“Don’t touch her,” Vivian snapped.
He stopped.
Not because she told him to.
Because Elena had stepped back.
Instinctively.
May you like
Like she had learned that closeness meant punishment.
That was the moment something inside Alejandro went completely still.
