Chapter 6 - SHADOWS OF THE PAST
Two weeks after the eviction, the Aranda estate was transformed.
Mariana had hired a team of specialized cleaners to scrub every inch of the house, removing every trace of Ricardo and Elvira. The blue bedroom upstairs was fully restored—the wooden airplane mobile carved by Mariana's father was dusted and hung above a brand-new, comfortable bed filled with soft plush toys.
Mateo sat on the living room rug, holding a red wooden toy car.
He was still silent, but the hollow look in his eyes was slowly beginning to fade. He no longer flinched when the front door opened, and he had learned that food was always available on the low table beside his bed.
Dr. Ramos sat on the sofa beside Mariana, watching Mateo push the car across the floor.
"He's making incredible emotional progress, Mariana," Dr. Ramos said quietly. "His physical weight is up by three kilos, and his skin infection is completely healed. But he still associates the outdoors with punishment."
"Whenever I open the patio door, he runs under the dining table," Mariana nodded sadly. "He thinks the garden means the chain."
"It will take time," Dr. Ramos assured her. "He needs a powerful, positive anchor to re-associate outdoor spaces with safety."
Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the front door.
Mariana opened it to find Commander Vega holding a thick, manila envelope marked CLASSIFIED FINANCIAL AUDIT.
"We finished tracking the rest of Aranda Construction's offshore accounts, Mariana," Vega said, stepping into the foyer. "It's worse than we thought."
"What did Ricardo do?"
"He didn't just steal money for himself," Vega explained, opening the file on the dining table. "Three years ago, Ricardo took out a massive mortgage against this house using forged bank seals, borrowing thirty million pesos from a private finance firm controlled by local criminal networks."
Mariana gasped. "He put my parents' home up as collateral to shady lenders?"
"Yes," Vega nodded gravely. "And because the accounts were frozen when we evicted him, the loan went into default yesterday. The firm—a front organization called Inversiones Coyoacán—has hired private enforcement agents to seize the property."
Before Mariana could process the news, the quiet street outside was disrupted by the loud roar of engines.
Mariana walked to the window. Three heavy black pickup trucks with dark tinted windows had parked directly in front of her iron gates. Four burly men in leather jackets stepped out, holding legal repossession notices and heavy bolt cutters.
"They aren't waiting for a court date," Vega said, pulling his service weapon from his shoulder holster. "They came to take the house by force."
Mateo, hearing the loud shouting outside the gate, immediately dropped his toy car and scrambled under the dining room table, curling into a tight ball.
Mariana looked at her son under the table, then at the men outside her gate. A fierce, unstoppable maternal fury surged through her veins.
"Arturo," Mariana said, her voice dripping with ice. "Do not shoot them."
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Vega paused, looking at her in surprise. "Mariana, those men are armed enforcers."
"I know," Mariana said, walking to a hidden wall safe near her father's desk. "And they are about to find out what kind of work I did for the government for five years."
