Thoughts raced, images from the past returned: the rosy-cheeked boy who said, “Mom, I’ll always take care of you,” and then the young man who chose the darkest shortcut. She had carried her guilt, but now she understood: the sin never disappeared, it was only postponed. And the punishment had already caught up with her.

The next morning, with slow but determined steps, Isabel headed toward the city, to the lawyer’s office. The streets seemed strange to her, people hurried by, but a new strength beat in her heart.

Víctor Morales greeted her with respect. A voluminous file awaited her on the desk. She opened it, and the first pages took her breath away: forged contracts, enormous debts, testimonies about disappearances, her son’s name linked to dangerous people.