Chapter 4 - The Grandmother Beatriz ErasedAlejandro put Lucía on speaker.
“Four months?”
“Yes.”
Lucía sounded close to tears.
“Every time I call, Beatriz tells me Isabella is unavailable. Then last month she said Isabella didn't want to speak to me anymore.”
Isabella cried out.
“I never said that!”
Lucía went silent.
“Isabella?”
“Grandma!”
The child grabbed the phone.
“Grandma, I tried!”
“I know, mi amor.”
“Beatriz said you stopped calling.”
Alejandro looked at his wife.
Beatriz turned away.
Lucía continued.
“I sent letters.”
“I didn't get them.”
“Birthday package?”
“No.”
“Christmas photographs?”
Isabella shook her head even though Lucía couldn't see.
“No.”
Lucía's breathing changed.
Alejandro took the phone.
“Where did you send them?”
“To the villa. Alejandro, what is happening?”
He looked at Beatriz.
“I’m finding out.”
Beatriz finally exploded.
“This is insane!”
Isabella flinched.
“Everyone is behaving as if I tortured her because I gave her chores and limited screen time!”
Alejandro stared.
“You forced an eight-year-old to drag garbage bags through mud until her hands blistered.”
“She refused gloves!”
Isabella whispered:
“They were locked.”
Beatriz looked at her.
Alejandro caught the look.
“Stop.”
Lucía heard enough.
“I am coming.”
“No,” Beatriz said immediately.
Alejandro looked at her.
“You don't decide that.”
“This is our home.”
“It is Isabella's home.”
Beatriz laughed.
“Technically, it's yours.”
Lucía spoke through the phone.
“No.”
Everyone stopped.
Alejandro frowned.
“What?”
Lucía's voice became careful.
“The Marbella villa was part of Camila's inheritance.”
“I know.”
“No. You know Camila owned it.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know what happened to it when she died?”
Alejandro looked at Isabella.
He had handled Camila's estate while grieving. Lawyers managed most technical details.
“It transferred into the family trust.”
“For Isabella.”
Beatriz went very still.
Alejandro noticed.
Lucía continued.
“You have lifetime residency rights while you remain Isabella's primary guardian. But Isabella is the beneficial owner.”
Alejandro stared at the nursery.
Then at Beatriz.
“Did you know this?”
Beatriz said nothing.
“Did you know?”
“Yes.”
The answer was almost inaudible.
Alejandro's skin went cold.
Lucía continued.
“Camila was very specific. The villa cannot be sold before Isabella turns eighteen except under strict circumstances.”
“What circumstances?”
“If maintaining the property becomes demonstrably against Isabella's welfare.”
Alejandro frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“A court could authorize a sale if Isabella permanently relocates and the property is no longer appropriate for her needs.”
Beatriz spoke quickly.
“That has nothing to do with anything.”
Alejandro looked at her.
“Doesn't it?”
“No.”
He thought about the nursery.
The discussions Beatriz had recently started about relocating permanently to Madrid.
And one more thing.
A brochure he had seen in her office.
A residential school in Switzerland.
At the time, Beatriz said it belonged to a friend's daughter.
Now his stomach turned.
“Isabella.”
She looked at him.
“Did Beatriz talk to you about boarding school?”
Terror.
Immediate.
Unmistakable.
“No.”
The answer came too quickly.
Beatriz stepped in.
“See? No.”
Alejandro knelt.
“You are not in trouble.”
Isabella looked at Beatriz.
Alejandro gently turned his daughter's face toward him.
“Did she?”
Tears filled Isabella's eyes.
“She said you already signed.”
Alejandro went still.
“Signed what?”
“School.”
“What school?”
“The one with snow.”
Switzerland.
Beatriz walked away.
Alejandro followed.
“Where are the papers?”
“I don't know what she's talking about.”
“Don't do that again.”
“What?”
“Make me choose between your version and my daughter's.”
Beatriz laughed bitterly.
“You've decided I'm guilty of everything.”
“I watched you from behind a hedge.”
Silence.
“You told someone you had Isabella working like a maid.”
“I was joking.”
“You said I had no idea.”
“I was frustrated.”
“Then she dropped a bag and looked like she expected to be beaten.”
Beatriz's face hardened.
“I have never hit her.”
Alejandro looked toward Isabella.
The child said nothing.
His stomach dropped.
“Isabella?”
She lowered her eyes.
Alejandro's voice softened.
“Has she hit you?”
“No.”
He exhaled.
Then Isabella added:
“She doesn't have to.”
Alejandro looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
“She knows other ways.”
Beatriz shouted:
“Enough!”
Isabella recoiled.
Alejandro turned so sharply Beatriz stepped backward.
“No. Not enough.”
Lucía was still on the phone.
She spoke quietly.
“Alejandro, Camila's attorney needs to talk to you.”
“Why?”
“Because six months ago someone contacted her asking what would happen to the villa if Isabella entered permanent residential care.”
Alejandro stared at Beatriz.
Lucía continued.
“They claimed they were calling on your behalf.”
“I never authorized that.”
“I know.”
“How?”
“Because the attorney recorded the call.”
Beatriz's hand tightened around her phone.
Alejandro noticed.
Lucía said:
“And Alejandro?”
“Yes?”
“The caller wasn't Beatriz.”
May you like
A chill moved through him.
“It was a man.”
Related Stories
