They left with Elvira and Patricia. Lorena went voluntarily to give a statement. A social worker from DIF took Bianca to stay with her father’s family while the case moved forward.
Then the house was quiet.
Sofia and I sat alone at the table, surrounded by cold mole and half-empty plates.
“Papá?”
“Yes, mija.”
“Can I still eat? I’m really hungry.”
I laughed, and then I cried, and then I heated up her plate.
Part Five: Learning to Listen
Nothing got fixed overnight.
The legal process took more than a year. Investigators connected Elvira and Patricia to at least four other victims across three states. Some money was recovered from accounts they hadn’t had time to empty. A lot of it wasn’t. The credit line on my house was voided once the forensic accountant proved the signature wasn’t mine. Patricia and I divorced, and the annulment of the fraudulent loans went through the courts alongside the criminal cases. Hortensia and I still talk every few months. She says knowing they were finally stopped gave her father’s memory a kind of peace.
