The file was still there, seemingly untouched, but on top of it was something new: a photograph. It was an old photo of Sara Fuentes, smiling, young, full of life. Someone had drawn a red X over her face with a permanent marker. Underneath it was a handwritten note. Some truths must remain buried. Stop investigating or you’ll end up like her. Dolores’s hands trembled, not from fear, but from rage. Whoever sent this message didn’t know Dolores Medina.
They didn’t know she had survived a heart attack, a failed marriage, 40 years of facing criminals in court. They didn’t know that threatening her was the worst possible strategy. She picked up her phone and called Carlos. “Someone broke into my house. Do they know I’m investigating? That means there’s something they don’t want me to find out. Double your efforts. I want to know everything about Gonzalo Fuentes, about Judge Aurelio Sánchez, and about any connection between them. And I want to know what Sara discovered before she died.”
Outside, a black car was parked at the end of the street. Inside, someone watched Dolores’s house with the patience of a predator. The hunt had begun. Ticarlos worked all night and delivered his findings to Dolores at a discreet café far from the city center. What he brought was explosive. Gonzalo Fuentes went from being an office worker to a real estate developer in less than two years, he explained, spreading documents on the table. Right after his brother was convicted, he started buying properties.
Many properties. With what money? That’s the point. He inherited his parents’ land. Land that supposedly belonged to Ramiro as well. But according to this will, Carlos pointed to a document. The parents left everything to Gonzalo.
Dolores examined the will. Something didn’t add up. Ramiro’s parents died six months before the crime. And this will surfaced after the conviction. Exactly. And the lawyer who validated it was Aurelio Sánchez. Before becoming a prosecutor, he practiced as a private attorney. This was one of her last cases before joining the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Dolores felt the pieces were starting to fall into place. Then Aurelio validated a suspicious will that benefited Gonzalo. Later, he became a prosecutor and took the case against Ramiro. And now they’re both partners in real estate.
There’s more, Carlos said, lowering his voice. Sara Fuentes worked as an accountant before she got married. Five years ago, weeks before she died, she requested copies of several legal documents belonging to the Fuentes family, including her in-laws’ original will. The original will, different from the one Aurelio validated.
In the original, the land was divided between the two brothers. Dolores understood everything. Sara discovered the will was fraudulent, she was going to report it, and someone silenced her before she could.
That night, Carmela called Dolores, her voice trembling. “You have to come. It’s about Salomé. There’s something you need to see.” Dolores arrived home an hour later.
Carmela was waiting for her in her office, her expression grave. “The girl has nightmares every night,” Carmela said. “But there’s something I haven’t told her before, something I was afraid to mention.” What is it?
She screams a name. Every night the same name. But it’s not her father’s or her mother’s name, it’s another name. Which one? Martín. Martín cries out, “Help me!” over and over again. Dolores frowned.
That name didn’t appear on any Inosinot documents. Case. Who is Martín? I didn’t know until I checked the Fuentes family’s employment records. Martín Reyes was the gardener. He worked for them for three years and disappeared a week after Sara died.
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