Chapter 18 - The Boundary of Iron
Valeria walked out to the massive, steel-reinforced security gates of the foundation.
Standing on the other side of the iron bars was Patricia Morales. The older woman looked haggard, entirely stripped of the arrogant, wealthy glow she had once flaunted. Adrián's imprisonment and the massive civil lawsuits had completely bankrupted the Morales family.
"Valeria, please,"
Patricia begged, gripping the iron bars with trembling hands.
"I have absolutely nothing to say to you, Patricia,"
Valeria stated coldly, standing a safe, powerful distance away, flanked by her massive security personnel.
"I am begging you. I just want to see Isabel. She is my granddaughter. I have a right to know her!"
Patricia wept, tears of pathetic desperation spilling over her wrinkled cheeks.
"You have no rights,"
Valeria replied, her voice cutting through the air like a finely sharpened blade.
"You sat in the parlor and turned up the classical music so you wouldn't have to hear your son breaking my ribs. You are complicit."
"I was afraid of him too!"
Patricia sobbed, trying to reach her hand through the bars.
"Your fear does not excuse your silence,"
Valeria said smoothly, devoid of any pity or forgiveness.
May you like
"Isabel does not have a grandmother on that side of the gate. If you ever come near this facility or my home again, I will have you arrested for criminal harassment. Turn around and walk away."
Valeria turned her back on the weeping woman and walked back into her fortress, leaving the ghost of the past locked securely on the outside.
