Thirty minutes later, Emiliano entered through a private hallway that almost no one used. Rubén opened a reinforced door in the basement.
Inside was a monitoring room.
Screens on.
Kitchen.
Living room.
Garden.
Upstairs hallway. Playroom.
Informal dining room.
Every corner of the house where he lived, paid for everything… and yet knew nothing.
“The cameras are live, sir,” Rubén said.
Emiliano sat down.
“I want to see what happens when they think I’ve left.”
At first, nothing strange happened.
Rosa cleared the plates.
The girls finished their milk.
A gardener crossed the patio.
The cook wrapped tortillas in a cloth.
Everything seemed so normal that Emiliano felt ashamed.
Maybe Patricia was exaggerating.
Maybe he was spying on an innocent woman because of his own fears.
Then the last employee of the morning left through the front door.
The house fell silent.
And Patricia appeared in the living room.
Her face changed in seconds.
The sweet smile was gone.
The refined, understanding, affectionate woman was gone.
She was someone else.
Cold.
Annoyed.
Cruel.
Daniela was sitting on the rug with a book. Martina was hugging a stuffed rabbit.
Patricia approached slowly.
"What did I tell you about being here when your dad isn't?"
The girls jumped.
But it wasn't a new shock.
It was routine.
That's what froze Emiliano.
Daniela closed her book immediately. Martina lowered her gaze.
Patricia snatched the rabbit and threw it onto the couch.
"I'm tired of telling you, brats. When Emiliano isn't here, you do what I say."
Martina started trembling.
Daniela took her sister's hand.
Then Rosa came in from the hallway.
She didn't yell.
She didn't scold.
She just stood between Patricia and the girls.
"Miss Patricia," she said gently, "they didn't do anything wrong."
Patricia turned around as if she'd been slapped.
"Did I ask for your opinion?" Rosa stood still.
"No, ma'am."
"Then get a grip. You clean floors. You don't raise my future daughters."
In the monitoring room, Emiliano stopped breathing.
Because his daughters weren't looking at Patricia like scolded children.
They were looking at her like children who already knew what was coming.
And when Patricia raised her hand in front of Martina, Rosa took another step forward.
"Don't touch the girl."
Emiliano stood up.
But the worst was yet to come on the screen.
