Chapter 18 - The Voices of the CapitalThe phone calls on Sundays became the anchor of my week.
Sofia’s voice would crackle through the speaker, full of exhaustion but vibrating with excitement.
"Papa, you wouldn't believe these kids," she said one evening during her second semester. "Some of them show up to class in sports cars. They talk about corporate mergers and offshore tax havens like it's a game. Today, a professor asked about a case involving eminent domain, and a student actually said, 'If the poor can't afford the land, they shouldn't live there.'"
I gripped the phone tightly. "And what did you do?"
"I raised my hand," Sofia replied, a fierce pride in her voice. "I quoted Article 27 of the Constitution and reminded him that the law was designed to protect human dignity, not real estate portfolios. The whole lecture hall went dead silent. The professor gave me a nod."
I laughed out loud, leaning back in my porch chair.
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"They are going to try to intimidate you, Sofia," I warned her gently. "They will use big words and expensive suits to make you feel small. Don't let their armor fool you. Underneath it, they are fragile."
"I know, Papa," she said softly. "I see right through them. I see the De la Vegas in all of them. And I am not afraid."
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