Chapter 4 - The Accusation Came Back
Everyone looked at me.
My heart pounded.
“I don't know what that means.”
Julián said nothing.
Verónica immediately seized the moment.
“You see?”
“No,” Julián said.
She stopped.
“You heard it yourself.”
“I heard an unknown man's voice.”
“And he named her.”
Julián looked at me.
I felt sick.
“I swear I don't know anything about money.”
The administrator entered carrying a tablet.
“Sir, we found something.”
Julián turned.
“The hallway camera didn't stop working yesterday.”
“What?”
“It was disconnected manually.”
“By whom?”
The administrator hesitated.
“We're checking.”
Verónica stepped forward.
“Maybe Mariana did it.”
I stared at her.
“You accused me of stealing your fiancé's watch.”
“And the watch was in your bag.”
“You put it there.”
“You can't prove that.”
Julián raised his hand.
Both women fell silent.
“Enough.”
He looked at the administrator.
“Pull every access record from the last six months.”
The administrator nodded.
Then his face changed.
“Sir…”
“What?”
“There was an access entry from Mariana's room at 2:14 a.m. last Thursday.”
I stared at him.
“I was asleep.”
Julián looked at me.
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
The administrator zoomed in.
“The door was opened using a master key.”
Julián frowned.
“Who had one?”
“Three people.”
He listed them.
The butler.
The head of security.
And Verónica.
Verónica's face tightened.
“That doesn't mean I entered her room.”
Julián turned to the administrator.
“Keep digging.”
I looked at the children.
They were watching Verónica.
Tomás whispered:
“She went into your room that night.”
I looked at him.
“How do you know?”
“We saw her.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“We were scared.”
Julián crouched.
“What else did you see?”
Tomás pointed at Verónica.
“She had Daddy's watch.”
Verónica went pale.
Julián stood.
“Where?”
“In her hand.”
“When?”
“Before Mari got fired.”
The room became silent.
I remembered the watch being found in my bag.
Julián remembered too.
His expression changed.
“You planted it.”
Verónica shook her head.
“No.”
“You had my watch.”
“I found it.”
“Where?”
She couldn't answer.
Julián stepped closer.
“Where did you find it?”
“In…”
She stopped.
“Say it.”
“In Mariana's room.”
The administrator suddenly interrupted.
“Sir, we found the footage.”
Julián turned.
“What footage?”
“The night the watch disappeared.”
The tablet screen showed the hallway.
At 2:11 a.m., Verónica appeared.
She entered my room.
At 2:17, she came out.
In her hand was something small.
The watch.
Julián stared at the screen.
Verónica whispered:
“There's more.”
The administrator nodded.
“There is.”
He changed the footage.
The next recording showed Verónica entering Adriana's room.
Then someone else appeared behind her.
A man.
Julián leaned toward the screen.
The man's face remained hidden.
But he was carrying a red folder.
Then he turned slightly toward the camera.
May you like
Julián suddenly stepped backward.
“I know him.”
