PART 2
The following morning I was transferred to a private clinic while the Prosecutor’s Office expanded on my statement. Teresa, Arturo, and Mauricio arrived at the previous hospital with a bag of fruit and their usual intention: they weren’t there to apologize, they were there to pressure me.
They couldn’t find me anymore.
The staff simply informed them that protective measures were in place and that any contact with me had to be through legal channels. For the first time in ten years, they couldn’t just close a door and make decisions for me.
Daniel continued reviewing the documents.
The home loan started as a real loan. Arturo mortgaged the property to finance a business that failed, and I paid it off for years to prevent the family from losing their home.
The strange part came later.
Mauricio always said that his parents also contributed money, but the bank statements showed deposits from a marketing company called Grupo Alborada del Centro.
That company was also listed as a provider of events and consulting services for Mauricio’s company.
The invoices were round, repetitive, and some exceeded 400,000 pesos for vaguely described services.
Then I remembered an old computer that Mauricio had left at my sister’s house during some renovations. It was still linked to a shared family folder. I asked my sister not to open anything and to give the computer to Daniel so that an expert could properly preserve the information.
Two days later, the discovery changed everything.
There were emails between Mauricio and an external administrator discussing inflated budgets, paying commissions to related companies, and returning some of the money in cash. Messages with Arturo also surfaced regarding a truck registered to a cousin and a down payment on an apartment in Santa Fe through a third party.
But the worst part was a chat from the night of the attack.
Teresa: “This woman doesn’t want to let go of what happened to her grandmother.”
Mauricio: “Put pressure on her. That money will get us out of this mess.”
Minutes later:
Teresa: “Arturo hit her.”
Mauricio: “Well, let him learn.”
I felt nauseous.
He wasn’t a cowardly husband who reacted badly afterward. He knew they were pressuring me, and even after learning of the coup, he decided to support them.
Daniel handed over the relevant evidence to the Prosecutor’s Office and, separately, requested a formal meeting with the company’s legal department. There he discovered that the company had already been investigating irregularities for weeks.
The internal auditor confirmed that several suppliers had inconsistent tax addresses and that some of the payments authorized by Mauricio lacked supporting documentation.
Mauricio was suspended.
Arturo and Teresa tried to sell the truck and cancel the apartment lease to recoup some cash. The company and the Prosecutor’s Office requested precautionary measures on assets linked to the transactions, and a judge authorized the seizure of some while their origin was investigated.
That afternoon, Mauricio’s lawyer called.
“You withdraw the complaint for violence, you waive your right to claim what you paid for the house, and they accept the divorce without a fight,” Daniel explained to me.
—Are you offering to let me go in exchange for me saving you?
-Exactly.
—Tell them no.
Daniel then showed me the preliminary audit report: more than twelve million pesos had passed through suppliers related to Mauricio over three years, and a portion ended up in accounts controlled by Arturo.
But it remained to be seen who had actually built the scheme.
The answer was in a notebook that Teresa had hidden for years and that very night decided to use it to betray her own husband.
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