Chapter 1 - THE BALCONY
The first thing I noticed was the food.
Not my daughter.
Not my husband.
Food.
King crab legs cracked open across my dining table. Jumbo shrimp in silver bowls. Roasted oysters dripping garlic butter onto the linen runner I had bought in Oaxaca. Three bottles of wine stood open like somebody had decided my apartment was a private resort.
Then I heard Carmen laugh.
“She works hard so somebody can enjoy the money.”
My mother-in-law lifted her glass while Daniel poured more wine.
Valeria was filming the table for Instagram.
“Mom, this is insane,” she said. “Mariana really does make bank.”
Then she saw me.
Her phone lowered.
Daniel’s smile died.
“Mariana,” he said. “You’re home early.”
I left my suitcase by the door.
“Where’s Camila?”
Nobody answered fast enough.
Daniel cleared his throat. “She already ate. She’s asleep.”
I knew he was lying before he finished the sentence.
I checked her room.
Empty.
The playroom.
Empty.
Then I saw the balcony curtain move.
Cold air slipped into the hallway.
I opened the glass door.
Camila sat on a cracked plastic chair wearing one thin cotton sweater. Her knees were pulled to her chest. A hard piece of bread rested in her lap.
Her lips looked pale.
Her fingers were blue.
“Mommy?” she whispered.
I dropped to my knees.
She reached for me with shaking arms.
“Can I come inside now?”
My throat closed.
“Baby, why are you out here?”
She started crying.
“I was bad.”
Behind me, Daniel said, “Mariana, don’t make this into something it’s not.”
I lifted my daughter.
Her body was ice-cold against mine.
May you like
Then Camila buried her face in my neck and whispered the sentence that changed my life.
“Grandma said I don’t get dinner when you’re gone.”
