Chapter 9: Desperate Measures
Realizing that Alejandro was actually calling the authorities, Esther snapped. With a speed surprising for a woman her age, she lunged not at Alejandro, but at the bedside table where a heavy, brass lamp sat.
She grabbed the lamp and swung it toward Valeria.
“No!” Alejandro shouted, dropping the phone and diving across the room. He tackled his mother, the brass lamp crashing to the floor, narrowly missing Valeria’s head and shattering the porcelain tiles.
Esther fought like a wild animal, scratching and clawing at Alejandro’s face. “I won’t let her ruin me! I won’t go to a cage because of a street rat!” she shrieked.
Alejandro pinned her arms to her sides, using his weight to hold her down on the floor. “Dad! Pick up the phone! Tell them to send the police to the Aranda estate immediately! Do it!”
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Arturo stood frozen in shock for a second before snapping out of it. He scrambled for the dropped phone, picking it up and speaking rapidly to the operator on the other end.
On the bed, Valeria curled into a tight ball, her hands protectively covering her stomach, shaking uncontrollably as she watched her husband wrestle with the woman who had terrorized her for months.
