Chapter 3: The Secret They Wanted Was Never Theirs
Three weeks later, Valeria finally returned to her apartment.
It felt strangely peaceful.
No shouting.
No insults.
No fear.
While organizing paperwork requested by detectives, she received an unexpected phone call from her attorney.
"I think you should come to the office."
"There are documents you need to see."
An hour later, Valeria sat across the conference table.
Her attorney slid several property records toward her.
"You told me your husband's family wanted your apartment."
"Yes."
"They'd already started trying."
Valeria frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Her attorney pointed to several unsigned documents.
"They prepared a power of attorney."
"A property transfer agreement."
"And even paperwork requesting access to your mortgage account."
"They couldn't complete any of it because they needed your signature."
Valeria stared silently.
"They planned this long before dinner."
The attorney nodded.
"The dinner wasn't about convincing you."
"It was about intimidating you."
Then he handed her another document.
"This came from the prosecutor."
"Because the assault occurred while they were attempting to pressure you into surrendering valuable property, investigators are also examining possible financial coercion and attempted fraud."
Valeria slowly closed the folder.
The apartment had never been their goal.
Control had.
May you like
And now...
They had lost both.
