Chapter 31 - The Final Visit
The next morning, Diego awoke in a freezing, concrete holding cell at the municipal police station.
His head was pounding, his clothes were still damp, and his wrists were bruised from the zip-ties. The heavy steel door of the cell block clanged open, and the warden walked down the corridor, followed closely by a woman in a flawless gray trench coat.
It was Elena Villalobos.
She stood outside the bars of his cell, looking at him with the exact same expression one uses to look at a dead rat in a trap.
"You look terrible, Diego,"
Elena said smoothly, her voice echoing in the damp cell.
Diego scrambled to the bars, his hands shaking.
"Elena, please. I just wanted to see my son. I was drunk. Tell them to drop the charges."
"You don't have a son,"
Elena corrected him, her voice dropping to a terrifying whisper.
"And I am not here to help you. I am here to deliver a message."
She stepped closer to the bars.
"Because of your little stunt last night, the judge has revoked your bail entirely. You are going to be transferred to the state penitentiary to await trial for the fraud charges and the violation of the restraining order. You are looking at ten years, minimum."
Diego collapsed to his knees, openly weeping.
"If you ever, in your miserable, pathetic life, attempt to contact my daughter or my grandson again,"
Elena whispered, her eyes burning with lethal intent,
May you like
"I will not call the police. I will simply have you erased. Do you understand me?"
Diego nodded frantically, unable to speak through his violent sobbing. Elena turned on her heel and walked away, the sound of her expensive stilettos clicking rhythmically against the concrete floor, leaving him to rot in the dark.
