Chapter 26 - The Humble Apartment
The new reality for the Cabrales family was a suffocating two-bedroom apartment in a noisy, working-class neighborhood on the outskirts of the city.
The walls were thin, the plumbing groaned loudly every time a faucet was turned on, and the air smelled faintly of fried food from the street vendors below.
Élida sat on a cheap, secondhand sofa, staring blankly at the peeling wallpaper. She was wearing a faded sweater, entirely stripped of her diamonds, her silk, and her arrogant pride.
"This is a nightmare,"
Élida whispered, tears of profound humiliation streaming down her face.
"I cannot live like this. The neighbors play terrible music all night. The water is cold."
Bernardo, looking ten years older and completely broken, walked out of the tiny kitchen holding two mugs of instant coffee.
"You will have to get used to it, Élida,"
Bernardo said harshly, handing her a chipped mug.
"The court seized your passport. We have no offshore accounts. My pension was dissolved in the bankruptcy. This is our life now."
Rodrigo emerged from the small hallway, wearing a wrinkled dress shirt and holding a worn leather briefcase.
"Where are you going?"
Élida asked, looking at her son with a desperate, pleading expression.
"I have three job interviews today,"
Rodrigo muttered, avoiding his mother's eyes.
May you like
"For junior analyst positions. I have to find a way to pay the rent next month."
He walked out of the apartment without another word, the heavy metal door slamming shut behind him, trapping his parents in the miserable cage they had built for themselves.
