Daniela obtained information about Mauricio: two previous relationships with women who had married wealthy men and then ended in advantageous divorces. An old shared post office box. Suspicious transfers. A business entity created by Adriana and Mauricio eight months before that “casual” gala. An ex-girlfriend of Mauricio’s testified that Adriana had inquired about Julián long before meeting him: how much he earned, how many properties he owned, whether he had close family, whether he was distrustful.
Julian also visited a family lawyer, Patricia Ocampo, famous for being as elegant as she is ruthless.
“Don’t act out of anger,” she told him after listening to everything. “Act with precision. Anger leaves scars. Strategy brings freedom.”
In less than a week, they legally corrected the administrative error in the apartment’s deeds and returned it to Julián’s sole ownership. Then they drafted the loan agreement for Adriana’s family as a flawless document: dates, moderate interest rates, guarantees, and a clause for full acceleration in case of marital dissolution.
Just as Patricia had predicted, Adriana’s parents signed without reading.
Adriana too.
I believed that Julián was still the noble, generous, and absent-minded man they could calmly drain.
A month passed.
One Sunday night, in Julián’s kitchen, Adriana was serving baked salmon and talking about redecorating the living room. He looked at her with a tranquility that was no longer love, but rather a sense of conclusion.
When they finished dinner, he placed his phone on the table, screen facing up.
One of the messages between Adriana and Mauricio shone brightly on it.
The phrase “safe money” was underlined.
Adriana remained motionless.
For a few seconds he tried to act: he frowned, feigned confusion, looked up in indignation.
—Did you check my phone?
Julian opened his briefcase and began taking out documents one by one. The company’s articles of incorporation. His father’s bank transfers. Mauricio’s ex-girlfriend’s statement. Recent photographs of Adriana entering a restaurant with him. The loan agreement. The corrected deeds. The already signed divorce petition.
Adriana’s mask fell off like broken glass.
