In the living room, Mariana leaned her back against the wall, closed her eyes, and forced herself to breathe slowly. Her baby stirred again, as if reminding her of the only thing that mattered. She walked to the table, picked up the phone, and with cold calm, dialed a number.
—Ms. Salgado? It’s Mariana… Yes. Today. Right now. I need you to prepare everything for me.
The voice on the other end took a second to respond, surprised by the firmness.
—Understood. I’ll see you in my office in an hour. Are you okay?
Mariana looked at her reflection in the window glass: her face sweaty, her eyes blazing, her belly enormous.
« I’m awake, » she said. « That’s what I am. »
He hung up. Then he called someone else.
—Mom… come home. Don’t come alone. Bring my brother.
On the other side, the silence turned into alarm.
—What happened, daughter?
—I’ll tell you later. Just come. And quickly.
When she hung up, Mariana went to the front door. She didn’t open it. She stayed there, listening to the world on the other side: the voices, the footsteps, the sound of a motorcycle turning off.
Javier played once, softly.
—Mari… please… open up.
There was no response.
He played again, more desperate.
—Mariana… I swear, I didn’t know she was coming. I… I didn’t—
Mariana opened her eyes just a crack, enough for him to see them.
—I don’t care about what you « didn’t know. » I care about what you did to get to this point.
Javier was speechless. Even so, he tried:
—It was a mistake… it got out of control… I’m going to fix it.
Mariana let out a brief, joyless laugh.
—Fix? Javier… she came with clippers to shave your pregnant wife’s head. Your son’s. And you think this can be fixed?
Javier lowered his gaze. For the first time, he didn’t have a script.
—Just… let me in… talk to you…
Mariana reached for the doorknob… and locked it again.
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