I glanced at the ticket.
Thirty-four. Forty-five. Additional number: five.
I checked again.
It felt like the ground shifted beneath me.
My hands trembled so badly I dropped my phone. I sat on the cold floor, gripping the ticket, struggling to breathe.
Fifty million pesos.
I didn’t think about luxury or travel. I thought about Emiliano going to the best schools, living in a spacious home filled with light, growing up without fear. I imagined Álvaro finally free from the burden of his supposed debts. I thought this fortune had come to save our family.
I cried with happiness.
I hugged Emiliano, who laughed, not understanding why I was crying and smiling at the same time. I tucked the ticket safely into my bag, picked him up, and rushed out. I wanted to see Álvaro’s reaction. I wanted to give him that moment. I wanted that day to mark the beginning of our new life.
I took a taxi to the company’s office in Polanco. I walked in smiling, my heart pounding. The receptionist greeted me, and I asked her not to announce me—I wanted to surprise him.
The door to Álvaro’s office was slightly open.
I raised my hand to knock… and then I heard a woman laugh.
Soft. Intimate.
Then came Álvaro’s voice—gentle, affectionate, unfamiliar.
—Almost there, my love. I just need that silly girl to sign the papers and she’ll be out of my life without a penny.
My blood froze.
I didn’t step inside. I stayed still, holding Emiliano, hidden by the doorway.
The woman spoke again, and I recognized her instantly—Renata, a supposed friend of his sister who had even been a guest in my home.
“What if she suspects something?” she asked.
Álvaro laughed with contempt.
“Jimena doesn’t understand anything. I’ll tell her the company is bankrupt, that there’s a huge debt, and that if she loves me, she has to sign the divorce papers to protect the child. She’ll believe it. She always does.”
Something inside me shattered.
Then he said the worst of all:
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