Chapter 13 - Sofia's DoorSofia Valdés was Sergio's daughter, thirty-one, and a translator by profession. I looked at the rental ledger and felt a familiar ugly suspicion rise. Was Javier having an affair? Had I been paying for it?

Lucía warned me not to trespass, accuse strangers, or confuse a bank record with an explanation. We sent a formal request for documentation to the company managing the apartment.

Sofia contacted me first.

“I heard you were asking about the rent,” she said. “Can we talk somewhere public?”

We met at a bakery near her workplace. She wore plain black jeans and a green scarf. There was no glamorous villain across from me, just a tired woman twisting a paper cup between her hands.

“Javier isn't my boyfriend,” she said before I could ask.

I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

“He and my father used my name because my credit history was clean,” she continued. “The apartment was for meetings. I believed it was a temporary office.”

“Why was my household account paying for it?”

She looked down. “I didn't know. My father told me he'd cover everything.”

“What happened there?”

“People came and went. Investors. A man with a printer. Mercedes, several times. They kept boxes in the spare bedroom.”

My father's letters could have been in one of those boxes. The thought made me grip the edge of the table.

Sofia slid a small receipt toward me. “I had the locks changed when I realized my name was being used. The storage company collected some boxes. I kept the receipt because I didn't know what else to do.”

“Why are you helping me?”

“Because my father says everyone can be bought. I want to prove at least one of us can't.”

The receipt listed a storage unit number and a collection date. Lucía would need to handle any attempt to recover property through the proper process. Still, Sofia's honesty gave us a direction.

As we stood, Sofia touched my sleeve.

“There's one more thing. I heard Javier arguing with Mercedes in the apartment. He said he wouldn't let her hurt you again.”

I swallowed. “Again?”

Sofia nodded. “And Mercedes said, ‘Then tell Clara what really happened the night Andrés went to the hospital.’”

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