Chapter 10
Chapter 10: The Breath of Freedom
The sound of battering rams smashing against the gates echoed from outside. Piercing sirens shredded the night air of the elite San Pedro neighborhood.
I turned my back on the De la Vega family. Bernardo had collapsed into a chair, holding his head. Mauricio was still curled on the rug. And Victoria stood frozen, staring at Elena's blood on the stone, as if crucified by her own crimes.
I opened the front doors and walked outside.
The red and blue strobes of the patrol cars washed over my face. Dozens of heavily armed officers swarmed the property. Press cameras flashed violently. I raised my hands in the air and walked calmly through the chaos.
"I am the witness. The evidence and the perpetrators are in the study," I said simply to the commanding officer. No one stopped me. Their fortress was burning, and my mission was complete.
I caught the last bus leaving San Pedro. The vehicle rattled and shook, but for the first time in three years, the air entering my lungs felt light. I left my driver's jacket discarded on a seat.
At three in the morning, I pushed open the rusted iron door of my home. The shabby room felt warm. Moonlight filtered through the cracks in the tin roof, illuminating Sofia's small face. She was fast asleep, her breathing noticeably softer than usual.
I knelt by the edge of her bed, took her tiny, cold hand, and pressed it against my cheek.
"It's over, my princess," I whispered, tears blurring my vision. "Papa got justice for Mom. She can finally rest in peace... and we will never have to be afraid again."
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I looked out the window, where the stars were shimmering over the peaks of the mountains. The De la Vega empire had fallen forever, brought down by their own supreme arrogance and by the ghost of a poor woman they thought they could discard like trash.
Justice had arrived late and painfully, but tonight, in the poorest slum of Monterrey, a father could finally close his eyes and sleep in peace.
