Chapter 12 - SOFIA'S BABY
Sofia saw my face and immediately shook her head.
“No. He’s not Daniel’s.”
I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath.
She adjusted the baby on her hip.
“This is my sister’s son. I’m watching him.”
Lena folded her arms.
“Why are you here?”
Sofia looked at me.
“Because Carmen called me last night.”
“Why?”
“She wanted me to say Daniel and I were still together.”
“Are you?”
“No.”
She looked ashamed.
“What happened between us was wrong. I’m not going to defend it.”
I appreciated the sentence more than I wanted to.
No excuses. Just wrong.
Sofia placed her phone on the table.
“Carmen paid for the hotel rooms.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“She encouraged it. She told Daniel you were never home. Told him you didn’t care about him.”
My jaw tightened.
Sofia continued.
“Then after we ended things, she said I owed her.”
“For what?”
“For keeping quiet.”
Lena leaned forward.
“What did she ask you to do?”
Sofia opened a message thread.
Carmen had sent her drafts.
Statements claiming I drank heavily.
Claims that I screamed at Camila.
Claims that I had threatened to leave the country with my daughter.
All lies.
“She wanted me to sign an affidavit,” Sofia said. “I refused.”
“Why come now?”
“Because last night she said she’d ruin me if I didn’t.”
I scrolled.
Then one message stopped me.
IF MARIANA LOSES CUSTODY, DANIEL GETS CONTROL OF THE COMPANY DISTRIBUTIONS THROUGH THE MARITAL TRUST.
I looked at Lena.
“What trust?”
She went still.
“Mariana… do you have equity compensation?”
“Yes.”
“How much?”
“About four million vested. More unvested.”
Lena closed her eyes.
“This was never just about Camila.”
Sofia nodded.
“Carmen wants control of your money.”
My phone buzzed.
A court notification.
Carmen had filed something before us.
An emergency petition claiming I had abducted Camila and was mentally unstable.
May you like
And a judge had scheduled a hearing for 9:00 a.m.
In ninety minutes.
