“Much more than you can imagine. And he also left me instructions. About you.”
The silence was oppressive.
Tomás tried to regain his composure.
“Alex… you talk like I’m your enemy. I just want to help you.”
“My father left evidence,” I interrupted, “of all your hidden debts, of the businesses you created in my name without informing me, of your alliances with people I don’t want anywhere near my life.”
He tensed up.
“You don’t know what you’re saying.”
“I know exactly what I mean.”
At that moment, Gabriel Knox entered. Tomás recoiled when he saw him.
“Mrs. Hall,” said Gabriel, “your father also left some photos. He wants you to listen to them before deciding on your next action.”
Tomás was desperately seeking my gaze.
I had already made my decision.
“From today onward,” I said softly, “nothing you decide will affect my life.”
Tomás collapsed onto the sofa, unable to comprehend that I held power in my hands for the first time since we met.
And he had lost everything.
The following weeks were a whirlwind of discoveries. My father’s recordings included conversations with lawyers, private investigators, and financial advisors. Richard had suspected Tomás from the start, and rightly so: my husband had used me as an intermediary in shady dealings for years, taking advantage of my signature, my dual nationality, and my naiveté.
The night I heard the last recording, I cried – not for Tomás, but for my father. For the clarity with which he had seen what I didn’t want to see.
With Gabriel’s help and a team of experts, I got my finances in order. I canceled the loans Tomás had taken out in my name. I closed businesses I had never agreed to. I reallocated properties. And in accordance with my father’s wishes, I donated part of the inheritance to a local foundation that works to help women who are victims of financial fraud.
Tomás lost his temper.
