—I’m going to call Alejandro.
Natalia stopped me holding my arm.
—No. If he bought the dress by chance, you’re going to create a problem for him for no reason. And if it wasn’t a coincidence… then first we have to know which side he is on.
That phrase left me cold. Alejandro had always been methodical, serious, incapable —according to me— of betrayal.
But what we discovered next not only changed the image I had of my husband… but dragged us into a much more dangerous game than we ever imagined.
However, the box had arrived at our house through his hands. He had repeated word for word what the seller told him: “unique piece from a client’s private collection”.
Too precise. Too clean.
I left the cell phone on the table.
—Then let’s find out before he comes home.
Natalia wiped away her tears with the back of her hand and, for the first time since the disaster began, seemed to focus.
—Copies are on a USB stick. In my apartment.
—Let’s go for her.
—And the dress?
I folded it carefully, avoiding touching the seam where the initials were more than necessary.
—He’s coming with us.
Because at that moment it was already clear to me: that garment was not a gift. It was the thread of a plot that had been hidden for too long, and someone had just pulled it.
We left the house without eating, with the dress stored in an opaque cover and a tension so thick that we could barely breathe inside the car. Natalia drove too fast along the Periférico, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel every time she stopped at a traffic light. I was looking at my cell phone, waiting for a message from Alejandro, but I only found two work emails and a supermarket promotion. Nothing of yours. That worried me even more.
Natalia’s apartment was in Santa Fe, in a modern complex with cameras at the entrance and a guard who barely looked up. We went up by elevator to the fourth floor. As soon as he opened the door, he went straight to the master bedroom and moved a shoe box out of the back of the closet. Inside were receipts, an old watch, two expired passports, and a black USB stick.
—Here is.
—Good. Now we need to know what role Alejandro plays.
—And if Nuria is still alive —she said.
