The mansion was silent.
For the first time since I had arrived, I could hear my own thoughts.
I opened my laptop and began going through five years of financial records.
At first, I expected to find careless spending.
Then I found something much worse.
There were luxury hotel bills.
Designer clothing.
Private dinners.
First-class flights.
Jewelry.
Expensive cars.
Payments to accounts I didn’t recognize.
Month after month, my mother had been spending money I had sent home for Elena and Julian.
But then I noticed something that made me sit upright.
There were transfers made under Elena’s name.
I opened one.
Then another.
Then another.
The accounts were not hers.
Someone had been using her identity.
I immediately called my financial manager.
“I need every transaction connected to these accounts.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
He promised to send everything to me by morning.
I closed the laptop.
Then I heard a quiet knock.
Elena stood at the door.
“You’re still awake.”
“So are you.”
She gave me a faint smile.
“I couldn’t sleep.”
I stood.
“Come here.”
She walked into the room.
I looked at her carefully.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I tried.”
“When?”
“Many times.”
She sat down.
“Your mother would listen to our calls.”
I froze.
“What?”
“She always insisted that she needed to be nearby when we spoke.”
I remembered those calls.
Every time I asked Elena how she was doing, my mother was somehow there.
Elena continued.
“Once, I tried to tell you that Julian hadn’t eaten properly for two days.”
My heart stopped.
“What happened?”
“Your mother took the phone from me.”
She wiped her cheek.
“She told you I was sick and confused.”
I closed my eyes.
I remembered that conversation.
My mother had told me Elena was under stress.
I believed her.
Elena’s voice became quieter.
“After that, I stopped trying.”
“Why?”
“Because they threatened to make things worse for Julian.”
I looked at her.
“What did they say?”
She hesitated.
“They said if I caused trouble, they would send him away.”
I felt my hands curl into fists.
“Elena…”
“I was afraid.”
I sat beside her.
“You don’t have to be afraid anymore.”
She looked at me.
“I know.”
Then she whispered:
“But there’s something else.”
I waited.
“When you left, your mother made me sign something.”
