Chapter 10 - Victor Salazar
Victor wanted to meet alone.
Obviously, I refused.
He expected that.
So he changed the offer.
Midnight.
Abandoned Valdez marina outside Galveston.
No police.
No federal agents.
Bring Anton.
If anyone else came, Victor would destroy Schedule C.
Detective Price wanted to track the call.
Victor had masked it.
Federal investigators wanted us nowhere near him.
Rebecca agreed.
Anton did not.
“If Schedule C proves Clara’s claim—”
“It is not worth getting killed.”
“Neither is letting Victor disappear.”
I watched everyone argue.
Then I opened Lucia’s ledger.
That changed the discussion.
The ledger contained transactions.
Hundreds.
Shell corporations.
Wire transfers.
Property purchases.
One name appeared repeatedly.
V.S. Holdings.
Victor Salazar.
He had not merely advised the Valdez family.
He had siphoned money from them.
Lucia discovered it.
Alejandro discovered it.
And based on dates inside the ledger, Carmela may have discovered it too.
The interesting part was that Carmela did not appear as the thief.
At least not initially.
For years, I had assumed the obvious story.
Powerful mother-in-law.
Greedy.
Controlling.
Dangerous.
But Lucia’s letter warned me not to trust appearances.
Perhaps Carmela was guilty of drugging me.
That was undeniable.
But maybe she was not responsible for everything else.
Maybe Victor had been manipulating the Valdez family for decades.
Anton noticed something in the ledger.
“Look.”
A payment dated August 18, 2003.
One day before his father died.
Recipient:
C. Valdez.
Five million dollars.
My heart sank.
“So Carmela was paid.”
“Maybe.”
Anton kept reading.
Then he found another entry.
Refunded.
Same five million.
Returned three weeks later.
Why?
If the payment was a bribe, why return it?
Rebecca suggested another possibility.
Blackmail.
Victor paid Carmela.
Carmela refused.
Or Carmela paid Victor through a reversed accounting entry.
We needed context.
The cassette tape might provide it.
Finding a working cassette player in 2026 was surprisingly difficult.
The bank manager eventually produced one from storage.
We inserted the tape.
Static.
Then Lucia’s voice.
Young.
Nervous.
“If this recording is being heard, I have reason to believe Victor Salazar has discovered that Alejandro and I copied the offshore records.”
Anton closed his eyes.
The voice continued.
“Carmela knows Victor is stealing.”
We all looked at each other.
“She is protecting Anton.”
Anton whispered, “What?”
Lucia continued.
“Victor threatened the child.”
Anton’s hands tightened.
“He said if Carmela exposed him, Anton would not live to inherit anything.”
My anger toward Carmela became complicated.
She had drugged me.
Framed me.
Tried to destroy my marriage.
But twenty-three years earlier, she may have been a frightened mother trying to protect her son.
Lucia’s recording continued.
“Carmela agreed to remain silent temporarily.”
“However, Alejandro intends to go to federal authorities tomorrow morning.”
Date spoken on tape:
August 18, 2003.
Alejandro died August 19.
He never reached authorities.
Lucia disappeared the day before.
Victor had motive for both.
Then came the final sentence.
“If Alejandro dies, Carmela will be blamed.”
Anton stared ahead.
Lucia had predicted everything.
Carmela spent two decades looking guilty.
Victor spent two decades invisible.
And now he had returned because my marriage triggered the old trust.
Price immediately reopened Alejandro’s death investigation.
But one question remained.
Why had Carmela tried to drug me if Victor was the real enemy?
I got the answer two hours later.
Carmela called Anton.
Her voice sounded exhausted.
“Son.”
“Where are you?”
“With Victor.”
“Are you there willingly?”
Silence.
“Mom?”
“He has Marisol.”
My stomach tightened.
Carmela continued.
“He forced me to cooperate.”
Anton’s voice hardened.
“You put drugs in Clara’s glass.”
“Yes.”
“Did Victor force that?”
Another silence.
“No.”
I closed my eyes.
Carmela’s next words came quietly.
“I did that myself.”
“Why?”
“Because I knew Victor would take her.”
My eyes opened.
“What?”
“He wanted Clara unconscious.”
Anton looked at me.
Carmela began crying.
“He told me if I didn’t do it, he would take her awake.”
I felt sick.
“So you drugged me to help him?”
“No.”
May you like
Carmela whispered.
“I drugged you because I had arranged for someone else to remove you first.”
