PART 3
The pounding on the front door echoed through the small house like a judge's gavel.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Police! Open the door!"
For three long seconds, nobody moved.
Then Ramón spun toward the back hallway.
"Run!" he hissed at Emiliano.
But before either man could take another step, Daniel Ortega calmly spoke.
"I wouldn't."
Ramón stopped.
"The backyard is already surrounded."
His face turned pale.
"You..."
"You set us up."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
"You did."
Teresa burst into tears.
"This is all a misunderstanding!"
"My daughter would never send her own parents to prison!"
Abril looked at the woman who had once kissed her forehead every night before bed.
"I didn't."
"You sent yourselves."
The words landed harder than a slap.
For the first time since Abril walked through the front door, Teresa couldn't meet her daughter's eyes.
The front door swung open.
Four police officers entered, followed by two investigators from the state prosecutor's office.
The lead detective removed a folded document.
"Ramón Salgado?"
"Yes..."
"You are being detained for questioning regarding suspected fraud, document forgery, obstruction of justice, and conspiracy related to a fatal traffic accident."
Ramón forced a laugh.
"You can't arrest me because my daughter is angry."
The detective calmly handed him the warrant.
"We're not here because of your daughter."
"We're here because someone gave us evidence that predates today's events."
Ramón's smile disappeared.
While officers secured the living room, another investigator walked directly toward the old smoke detector mounted near the ceiling.
He reached up.
Twisted it.
And removed something hidden inside.
A tiny wireless camera.
Paola gasped.
"What... what is that?"
Daniel answered.
"The reason I knew exactly what was happening inside this house."
Everyone turned toward him.
"I installed it four months ago."
Ramón exploded.
"That's illegal!"
Daniel smiled faintly.
"It would be..."
"If it had been inside your private property."
He held up a blueprint.
"The camera belongs to your next-door neighbor."
"It only captured what happened through the open living-room window."
The officers nodded.
The installation had already been approved as part of an ongoing investigation.
Ramón realized his anger had accomplished nothing.
Emiliano suddenly dropped to his knees in front of Abril.
His voice broke.
"I'm sorry."
"I never wanted any of this."
"You have to believe me."
"You were the only person who ever protected me."
Abril stared at him.
Memories flooded back.
The little boy who used to hide behind her during thunderstorms.
The teenager she worked overtime to put through college.
The brother whose prison visits slowly became shorter...
Until they stopped completely.
"You watched me lose two years of my life."
She spoke quietly.
"And every night..."
"You went to sleep in the house I paid for."
Emiliano couldn't answer.
One of the detectives approached Daniel.
"We found something."
He handed over a sealed evidence bag.
Inside...
A small metal cash box taken from Ramón's bedroom closet.
The detective opened it.
Everyone leaned closer.
Stacks of cash.
Several property documents.
Three passports.
And a black notebook.
Daniel slowly flipped through the pages.
Then his expression changed.
"This..."
He whispered.
"...is much bigger than I expected."
"What is it?" Abril asked.
Daniel looked at her.
"Your father didn't steal only your house."
The notebook contained dozens of names.
Addresses.
Property values.
Dates.
Each page described elderly homeowners living alone.
Widows.
Retired couples.
People with no close relatives.
Beside several names was the same handwritten note.
Transfer completed.
Daniel's voice became serious.
"This isn't an isolated crime."
"It's a business."
Teresa covered her mouth.
"Ramón..."
"What is this?"
Her husband refused to answer.
The detective turned another page.
There were copies of forged signatures.
Fake powers of attorney.
Even contact information for the same notary who had transferred Abril's house.
One officer immediately radioed headquarters.
"We're going to need additional warrants."
Just then...
An elderly woman pushed through the crowd gathered outside the house.
She looked directly at Ramón.
Then slapped him across the face.
The sound echoed through the room.
"You stole my home!"
she screamed.
"I thought I had signed paperwork for a government renovation grant!"
Another elderly man stepped forward.
"So did I."
Then another.
"And me."
Within minutes, five strangers stood outside the Salgado house.
Each carried copies of suspicious property documents.
Daniel quietly said,
"I've been looking for these victims for months."
"They finally know who took everything from them."
Ramón looked around in horror.
His secret had collapsed in a single afternoon.
Paola slowly backed away toward the hallway.
Nobody noticed.
Not even Emiliano.
She slipped into the nursery that had once been Abril's bedroom.
Closed the door.
Locked it.
Her hands shook violently as she pulled a small silver laptop from beneath a box of baby clothes.
She turned it on.
Entered a password.
The screen lit up.
Hundreds of scanned contracts appeared.
Bank transfers.
Audio recordings.
Photos.
Then she whispered to herself,
"I knew this day would come."
Outside...
Abril noticed the bedroom door had quietly closed.
Something felt wrong.
Very wrong.
She walked toward it.
Knocked once.
"Paola?"
No answer.
She tried the handle.
Locked.
Then she heard the unmistakable sound of a hard drive connecting to a computer.
Daniel looked up instantly.
His face changed.
"Stop her!"
But they were already too late.
Inside the room...
Paola pressed one blue button.
A progress bar appeared on the screen.
Uploading files... 3%
Whatever was inside that laptop...
Could either save the entire family...
May you like
Or destroy people far more dangerous than Ramón Salgado.
To Be Continued...
