Chapter 5 - THE FAMILY MEMBER VERONICA TRIED TO ERASE
Teresa confronted Veronica inside Manuel’s study.
“You knew about my mother.”
Veronica poured herself a drink.
“I knew there had been a sister.”
“You knew her name.”
“I saw the old records.”
“When?”
“Years ago.”
“Why didn’t you tell Manuel?”
Veronica laughed.
“Because my father had spent decades building stability.”
“Finding a forgotten branch of the family would have created legal problems.”
“My mother was not a legal problem.”
“She was gone.”
“She had a daughter.”
“You were an employee.”
Teresa felt the cruelty beneath the words.
Veronica had seen her every day.
She had known there was a chance the woman cooking her meals was Manuel’s niece.
She had chosen silence because acknowledging Teresa might reduce her inheritance.
“What did you do with the records?”
“I burned them.”
Lucy stood near the doorway.
Veronica had not seen her.
“You burned my grandmother’s life?” Lucy asked.
Veronica turned.
“You should not listen to private conversations.”
“You should not erase dead women.”
Teresa stepped between them before Veronica could respond.
Arthur later confirmed that a section of the family archive had been destroyed seven years earlier.
Veronica authorized the disposal.
She claimed the papers had water damage.
Manuel discovered the missing records only months before his death.
That discovery led him to question Teresa about her mother.
He had not recognized her before because Isabel changed her surname and rarely allowed photographs.
When Teresa answered October 18, Manuel understood.
He spent the final weeks of his life proving the connection.
Arthur had arranged DNA testing using a preserved sample from Isabel’s medical file and a sample Manuel provided.
The result confirmed that Teresa was his biological niece.
The trust was not based on sentiment.
It was built on evidence.
That night, Teresa entered the kitchen.
Fifteen years of muscle memory guided her toward the apron hooks.
The hooks were empty.
Her folded apron remained in the dining room where she had left it.
Lucy joined her.
“Do you want to cook?”
“I don’t know.”
“This was your kitchen before it became your house.”
Teresa shook her head.
“No.”
“It was never my kitchen.”
“I was allowed to use it for other people.”
Lucy opened a drawer.
Inside was Manuel’s handwritten recipe for mole.
May you like
Numbers had been written beside several ingredients.
They did not belong to any recipe Teresa recognized.
