Chapter 20 - Shadows of Madrid
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A year after that fateful night at Restaurante Aurelia, I held an intimate housewarming party at my new penthouse.
Lucía was there, along with my colleagues from work and a few close friends who had stood by me during the darkest months of my life. The apartment was filled with laughter, warm jazz music, and the delicious aroma of home-cooked tapas.
Around nine o'clock, as I stood near the kitchen island pouring white wine for my guests, my phone vibrated on the counter.
It was an incoming call from an unknown, unlisted number.
I hesitated for a second, then picked it up and stepped into the quiet hallway near the front entrance.
"Hello?" I said.
Silence hung on the line for three long seconds. Then, a voice spoke—deep, raspy, and unmistakably cold.
It wasn't Rafael.
"You played a very impressive game, Elena Morales," the voice said with a heavy foreign accent. "You broke Rafael. You broke his mother. But you forgot one tiny detail."
My grip tightened around the phone. "Who is this?"
"Rafael wasn't laundering money for himself," the stranger whispered smoothly, the sound of a ship's horn echoing faintly in the background. "He was laundering money for us. And now that his accounts are seized, your bank account owes us seven million euros."
A sharp chill ran down my spine, but my heart remained steady.
"If you think I'm intimidated by threats from a blocked caller," I said, my voice razor-sharp, "you haven't been paying attention."
"Check your email, Elena," the voice replied with a soft, chilling laugh. "Welcome to the real table."
The call disconnected.
My phone chimed with a new email notification. I opened my inbox to find an encrypted file containing a high-resolution photograph taken just ten minutes ago—showing me standing right here on my balcony, holding a glass of white wine.
I looked toward the dark glass of my living room window, staring out into the glittering night skyline of Madrid.
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A new storm was gathering in the dark, but this time, I wasn't just surviving it.
I was ready for war.
