Chapter 7 - THE FINAL CONFRONTATION
Six months later.
The state trial was set to begin. Because of the overwhelming federal evidence provided by Rubén and the FBI, Gabriela’s defense team had completely collapsed. Richard Sterling had resigned from her case, leaving her with a public defender.
However, two days before the trial was scheduled to commence, I received an unexpected phone call from the County District Attorney’s office.
"Mr. Vance," Prosecutor Marcus said over the line. "Your sister has requested a private meeting with you and your father under the Rule of Allocution. She claims she wants to give a full confession regarding your mother's case in exchange for avoiding the maximum security prison facility."
Daniela immediately advised against it. "Don't go, Javier. She’s manipulating you. She’s still trying to play games!"
"I have to go, Daniela," I said firmly, looking at my wife. "For my mother. For Emiliano. I need to look her in the eyes one last time and let her know she failed."
An hour later, Don Arturo and I walked into the high-security visitor room at the state penitentiary.
Gabriela sat behind a thick sheet of bulletproof glass, wearing a rough grey prison jumpsuit. Her skin was sallow, her hair graying at the roots, and her dark eyes were hollowed out by months of isolation.
She picked up the plastic telephone receiver. I sat down on the chair across from her and picked up mine. My father stood stoically behind me, his arms crossed over his chest, refusing to even touch the phone.
"Javier," Gabriela’s voice cracked over the speaker, sounding small and frail. "You came."
"I’m here for Mom," I said coldly. "Say what you have to say."
Gabriela let out a dry, chilling laugh that sent shivers down my spine. The frail act vanished instantly.
"You really think you’re so righteous, don't you?" she sneered, leaning closer to the glass. "You sit there with Dad, acting like the perfect victim family. You think I’m the monster? I did what had to be done to survive in this family!"
"You poisoned our mother, Gabriela!" I barked into the phone. "You locked an eight-year-old child in a freezing basement and left him to choke on his own vomit! You are a monster!"
"Mom was going to give you everything!" she hissed, her eyes wide and bloodshot. "She was going to leave me with nothing! I spent my whole life cleaning up her messes, looking after this family, and she chose YOU! Just like Dad chose YOU!"
"I loved you, Gabriela!" Don Arturo suddenly spoke up, his voice echoing loudly in the visitor room, though he didn't pick up the receiver. He spoke directly through the glass mesh. "I would have given you half of everything! You had my heart! But you traded your soul for greed!"
Gabriela glared at our father, her lip curling in bitter hatred.
"I don't regret a single thing," she whispered into the phone, leaning close so only I could hear. "My only regret... is that I didn't leave Emiliano in that basement for another four hours."
A cold, blinding rage surged through my veins. I wanted to smash through the glass and rip her apart with my bare hands. But as I looked at her—looking at the pathetic, bitter creature sitting alone in a concrete room, stripped of her wealth, her status, her family, and her freedom—the rage slowly dissolved into profound, cold pity.
"You think that hurts me, Gabriela?" I said softly into the receiver. "It doesn't. Because while you spend the next forty years rotting in a dark six-by-eight cell, Emiliano is playing in the sun. He’s healthy. He’s safe. And he’s going to grow up surrounded by people who truly love him."
I took a deep breath and smiled—a calm, genuine smile.
"And the best part?" I added quietly. "He doesn't even remember your face anymore. You are completely erased."
Gabriela’s eyes widened in sheer shock. The bitter defiance drained from her face, replaced by a sudden, terrifying realization of her absolute solitude.
May you like
I slammed the heavy plastic receiver back onto its hook. I stood up, put my arm around my father's shoulders, and turned my back on her.
Behind the glass, Gabriela began to beat her fists against the partition, screaming soundlessly as the guards stepped in, grabbed her arms, and dragged her away into the dark hallways of the prison.
