Chapter
38: Accusation and Revelation
Once
again, just the facts tonight.
Mia
was eavesdropping at the door as Federico entered the corridor. She
told him that their father was going to leave. He leaned in and
listened as Damián told Raquel that this is better for him. Mia was
smug in her “I told you the truth” statement.
Carolina
was trying to leave the house on the pretext of getting supplies for
her business when Santiago stopped her, reminding her that the doctor
had wanted her to be on bed rest. She finally gave in to his reasons
although she clearly didn't want to.
Raquel
was upset at Damián saying he was unhappy. She started to cry, took
his bag and put it on the floor, telling him he was confused. She
asked whether there was another woman and he evaded this question for
the nth time. He kept talking about needing his space while saying
that his children were the most important things in his life or the
boilerplate speech of every errant husband. Finally he picked up the
bag, gave a bland apology, and walked out of the bedroom. Raquel
fell to her knees on the floor and cried.
Downstairs,
Mia yelled to Federico that their father had left.
“What
about Mother?”
“It's
Mother's fault,” she said.
“How
can Mother be at fault!”
“She
doesn't take care of him!”
“You
always defend our father.”
“You're
always defending our Mother!”
“I'm
not defending anyone –”
Mia
turned away and left the room, ignoring Federico's urgent requeset to
listen.
Raquel
called Carolina to tell her about this. Carolina told her to calm
down. Santiago appeared behind her, overhearing her end of the
conversation. She offered to come over.
“No;
you need your rest. But you are my best friend and I needed to talk
to somebody.”
All
Raquel wanted was for Damián to come home. The call ended there.
Santiago asked what happened.
“Damián
has left home.”
“Why?”
“I
don't know.” She started to leave the room, saying she was going
to the bathroom. Once inside behind the closed door she called
Damián but got his voicemail. She left the message that Raquel
called and that he was not to contact her or do anything crazy. She
ended the call just as Santiago knocked on the door. She told him
she was alright, then flushed the toilet, which she had not used.
She was anything but alright.
Federico
went into Raquel's room to find her crying and hugging a pillow. He
told her he had overheard and he hugged her as she cried.
Damián
had drinks with Christian, who had also left his marital home. He
told him that he could no longer stand his way of living. At
Christian's questions he also told him that his “other woman”
also thinks he is deceiving her. He said he still felt love for
Raquel. Christian said he understood.... and yet didn't understand.
Carolina
arrived at the Becker house, Santiago having driven her there.
Federico went downstairs to join him, leaving the women alone.
Raquel wondered whether Damián had confided in Santiago and whether
Carolina knew about this. “Do you know who it was?” she asked,
taking Carolina's hands. Carolina looked as though she wished she
were anywhere else.
Federico
and Santiago talked. When Santiago said that he didn't know what
Damián's problem was Federico said “Another woman. That's my
father's problem.”
Carolina
tried to convince Raquel that there was something else behind this,
like business problems. Raquel could not see how that would
precipitate the end of her marriage. Carolina – who was by then
sporting crocodile tears – told her that this had to be an impulse.
Raquel told her she had been trying to talk to Damián about Mia's
problems and she didn't want Mia to feel guilty about any of this.
She went on about not knowing how to live with Damián. Both sets of
tears continued; Raquel tried to get Carolina to stop crying for her
baby's sake. Carolina at least seemed to have enough decency left to
feel guilty about this as she embraced Raquel, looking as thought she
wished this all over.
Damián
tried to call Mia but got only her voicemail. He told her he wanted
to talk to her and explain things. He said to call him. As soon as
he ended the call he called Federico, who said he felt very deceived
by him.
During
their conversation Mia was upstairs on the floor in her room, cutting
herself. She made several cuts on her left inner thigh, longer cuts
than she had made previously. Her face was almost blank and there
were no tears.
The
following morning as she was brushing her hair, Carolina and Santiago
talked about the night before. She wondered whether Raquel had
gotten any sleep. Santiago said he couldn't stop thinking about what
Federico told him.
“He
said there was another woman.”
Carolina
stopped dead still for about two seconds. She stared into the mirror
into her own eyes.
“How
did anything like that occur to him?” she asked.
“He
discovered it. He answered his father's phone.”
Carolina
had no reply.
Raquel
looked as though she had not slept the night before. When she told
Federico to get Mia so she could drive them to school he told her she
should not be driving on no sleep. She asked whether his father had
called and Federico told her that he had called him because Mia
didn't answer. “What was I going to tell him?” he asked. “That
she was hurting? That we're hurting?”
Mia
came downstairs. She must have overheard some of this because she
was in her usual accusatory mood, demanding to know why her mother
didn't ask her directly about this. “Are you saying that all this
is my fault?” Mia asked.
“No,
love, no,” Raquel said. “Here the guilty one is –”
“You,”
said Mia.
“Mia,
what's going on with you?” asked Federico. “Are you sick?” He
pointed to his head.
Raquel
started to reproach him but Mia got hers in first.
“Yes.
I'm sick, and I'm crazy. If my father left it's because of you,
Mother!”
She
was out the door before either Raquel or Federico could react.
Federico stopped his mother following her, saying he would take care
of this. He kissed her and left. Raquel was uneasy.
Christian
knocked on Damián's hotel room; they were staying in the same place.
After a weak joke about that Damián prepared some coffee and asked
what the time was. Christian didn't care but Damián did, saying he
had work to do.
“The
only important thing you have to do is get your life resolved,”
Christian said.
“I
don't know what to do.”
“For
the moment you need to be alone, take your time, think calmly. What
do you want to do?”
“That's
the problem, Christian. I don't know.”
“Do
you want to continue with both of them, so to speak or.... you will
have to make a decision.”
“Raquel,
you have to be strong,” Jovita said. “You can't drop now. Your
children need you.”
Raquel
put something medicinal in her coffee.
“What
did I do wrong?”
“What?”
“What
did I say that was wrong?”
“Raquel,
relationships are hard, marriage is hard, but you're young and –”
“I
must have done something; I saw nothing. I don't know. Help me
understand what I did wrong –”
“Don't
fill yourself up with guilt. You have to fix this together.”
A
minute later Santiago arrived, saying he was in the neighborhood and
thought he would stop by. Raquel thanked him. She hugged him and he
told her he would always be there for her.
Damián
called Carolina, telling her he needed to see her, could not stop
thinking about her, can't look at Raquel, and all the rest. She told
him that this was crazy and that he needed to go back to his house.
He insisted that she come to see him.
Raquel
told Santiago she concluded that Damián was seeing another woman.
She could think of no other explanation for how distant she and
Damián had become. Santiago became increasingly ill at ease,
thinking about the past few months when Carolina became more distant
from him. Raquel was becoming increasingly afraid of what else there
was to know.
At
the hospital Federico asked Mia if she remembered the night Damián
left the house. When she answered yes he said that it seemed now
that he was leaving forever. Mia reminded him that the operation was
not yet over. He talked about how their father had promised they
would spend more time together and this ended up in an argument
during which Mia called him a coward. Raquel reproached her for
starting this fight in a public place. Nicolás escorted Mia away to
get coffee and Raquel tried to assure her son that his father would
survive this.
Andres
and Rueda were in Miriam's room. The lawyer did not have good news
for her.
“What
you did is very serious. The doctor is required to report this to
the authorities.”
“Can
you offer this doctor enough money?” asked the old battleax.
“Listen
to Rueda, Aunt,” Andres said.
“Miriam,
this refutation was serious. Your son is in surgery. There is a
risk of death and in this situation the way out will not please you.
You will have to say that you had taken leave of your senses.”
“No
way will I do that. I'm not crazy.”
“Everyone
knows that, but there are only two ways out of this situation.
Either you stay in this hospital and receive treatment or face
charges of attempting homicide.”
“I'm
not a killer either.”
“Rueda
is right, Aunt. You can't ignore it.”
“Señora
--”
“Very
well. I'll stay in the hospital and take any treatment the doctor
says.”
“Good.”
“Is
that all?”
“No,
there is something else. You must step down from the presidency of
the company for a few months.”
“Of
course not! Never.”
“Aunt,
it's for your good. I'll be here to help you. Calm down.”
Miriam
could only huff and puff in frustration.
Santiago
was outside the gate at his home, getting some fresh air as he
thought about Damián's situation. Lola and Bebo came outside; she
asked her father if he would like to go to Raquel to be of help. He
told her he shouldn't and that he didn't want to leave Benjamin.
Bebo offered to help. Santiago thanked him and went for his car
keys.
Rafael
arrived at Raquel's door wanting to talk to her, but Jovita said she
was not available. Cinthia came in to deal with it, telling Rafael
she needed to get out because things were not going well between her
and her sister so she would have to look for an apartment. He picked
up her bag and asked about Godoy. She told him he could trust her
and they left. Jovita was nearby and obviously heard something.
When
Santiago came back out Alina arrived before he reached his car. She
was wearing a black dress that looked more like a negligee under a
red jacket, the same dress she had worn when she had last used
Nicolás sexually. She came to invite him to dinner to discuss his
case. He told her he had to go to the hospital to check up on Damián
and just in case Raquel needed help. She advised him that this would
be looked at with jaundiced eyes. People – and the police –
might think that suspicious. He conceded the possibility, especially
since Raquel had told him they needed to separate from her children,
then decided to go back inside the house. She pressed her invitation
so they could discuss her defense of him. Her facial expression,
however, said something very different.
The
doctor came out of the operating room, saying that the surgery was
successful but they need to determine how much bleeding there was on
the brain. They would need to keep Damián under observation in
Intensive Care until he wakes up because only they would they be able
to determine the degree of brain damage. Raquel asked about visiting
him and the doctor said that would not be possible as Damián needed
a chance to recover first. He then walked away. Andres then arrived
and asked what the latest information was. Raquel turned away from
him.
There
were wineglasses and candles on the table as Alina looked over the
menu. Santiago was checking his cell phone for any messages about
Damián. She asked him whether he was going to call Nicolás.
“If
my son knew anything, he would call,” Santiago said.
“Therefore
you are going out with Raquel.”
“No,
I'm not.”
“But
you are.”
“Alina,
we were going to talk about the case, weren't we? First of all, I'm
very grateful.”
“That's
what we're supposed to be doing. You've made your declaration and we
need to look at the suspects.”
“But
things aren't clear; there is nothing else to declare.”
They
went through the suspects. The first names he thought of were Andres
and Vicente, although he could not imagine him killing his own
sister. Or why anyone would think he would kill his own wife. Alina
raised Nacho's name and they argued a little about this. Santiago
would not accept the idea that Nacho had done it. Alina pointed out
that the Becker family is against him and asked whether he knew
anything about them that could be useful.
Santiago
mentioned the thefts, but didn't have all the details. He wasn't
sure what else to say since he and Damián hadn't been friends after
all. She was not pleased.
Cinthia
was making coffee when Fernando came in. She told him that Rafael
tried to find out about his cases, but that was all. He decided to
go home but their conversation caused her to conclude that he didn't
really want to go home. She knew there was trouble there. He
commented that she knew about married people and she replied that she
knew only about the men. He asked her to tell him about herself and
her sister.
“Our
story is one of terror,” she said, as she poured him coffee. “In
that story I was the monster and if I tell you I lied to her you
can't suppose that she was the perfect sister, the successful one.
And because of that I ruined her life.”
“What
did you say to her?”
“That
I boinked Damián. It was a lie.”
“But
that was not too much –”
“But,
yes. In the beginning I enjoyed doing that. Then I was confessing a
fantasy. But when I wanted to tell her it was a lie I didn't know
how so I didn't. You want to know more about me?”
“Yes.
I want to know everything about you.” This was in a proper
detective's tone of voice.
“That
will take more time. Then why don't you sleep over?”
Alina
went back to Santiago's house with him and the conversation
continued. She asked where the bathroom was and he gave her
directions. She was out of the room when Raquel arrived and put down
her purse. However, when Alina returned Raquel decided to leave.
Santiago asked her not to, asking about Damián. She told him that
the operation was over and Damián was alright; he was not to worry.
In a low voice she told him they should not be meeting like this.
The
following morning Federico saw Mia standing alone staring into the
athletic field. She told him that they needed to find out who the
other woman was. “We have to know if it's Gabriela or Carolina.”
“Lola
saw him with Gabriela.”
“Don't
be an idiot. She'd lie to cover up for her mother. If you won't
help me I'll do this alone.”
The
argument ended with Mia throwing her backpack on the floor and walking away.
Nicolás arrived and asked what was wrong.
Gabriela
went into her kitchen as Nacho and Augustin were putting on the
finishing touches. She insisted that they talk about what had
happened the previous day between her husband and Santiago. Nacho
was not eager to talk about this, only mentioning that there was a
difference of opinion and that he can't work under these conditions.
He then excused himself to finish what he was doing. She insisted
that they would talk afterward and her demeanor told Nacho that this
would be a hellish finish to his day. He and Augustin looked at each
other for a moment, each wishing that they were anywhere else.
Azucena
was on the phone with Damián, telling him that she had cancelled all
his appointments for the day. Mia entered from behind her so she
didn't see her. Another employee came in from the other side and
called for Azucena to accompany her. Mia looked at her father's
appointment book.
Carolina
went to Damián's hotel room to tell him that the madness had to end.
They were surrounded by people who could discover them. He told her
he was madly in love with her, went on about how they needed to start
fresh. She tried to get away but he caught her against the closed
door and kissed her.
Neither
knew that Mia was downstairs in the lobby asking for his room number
and telling the desk clerk who she was.
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