"I kissed my wife’s cold forehead inside her coffin… and when I opened her clenched hand, I found a navy-blue button torn off with force. I recognized it immediately. It belonged to my brother Rodrigo’s jacket. My mother went pale and whispered,

Panic makes rats turn on each other. The moment I left the crematorium, Valeria and Diego rushed to the family bank to expedite the sale of the olive estates. They needed the Swiss conglomerate's money to flee the country before the Madrid autopsy results came back.

They sat in the grand office of the bank president, slamming their hands on the desk.

"Wire the funds immediately!" Valeria shrieked, her perfect composure completely shattered. "We are the signatories!"

The bank president, a man who had known my father, looked at his computer screen, sweating profusely. "Doña Valeria... I cannot. The accounts... they are empty. The deeds to the estates have been transferred to an irrevocable blind trust."

Diego grabbed the man by the collar. "What are you talking about?! Who authorized that?!"

"I did," I said, stepping into the office.

Diego dropped the banker and spun around. I stood in the doorway, holding a leather briefcase.

"You see, Mother," I said calmly, walking into the room. "Elena and I knew you were stealing. We signed a sweeping power of attorney months ago. The second you declared her dead, every asset, every euro, and every acre of land legally defaulted to my absolute control. You don't have the estates. You don't have the offshore funds. You don't even have the mansion you slept in last night. You are completely, utterly broke."

Valeria collapsed into a leather armchair, clutching her chest, hyperventilating.

"I'll kill you!" Diego roared, pulling a pocket knife and lunging at me.