My son-in-law humiliated me at 3 AM because I "smelled old", but at dawn I gave him the cruellest and richest lesson of his life.
— Sit down and shut up, my boy — replied Carmen with terrifying calm, slowly opening her fan and looking at him with total contempt from her elegant leather armchair.
Mr. Garrido placed a thick folder on the desk. It contained the property titles, property tax receipts, and invoices for all the furniture, appliances, and decorations.
— Legally, everything is in Doña Carmen's name. There is no valid lease agreement. Before the law, you are simply temporary occupants, legal parasites — the lawyer dictated in an icy voice.
Sofía collapsed into her chair and burst into uncontrollable sobs. Her hands trembled violently as she saw the million-dollar figures her mother had subsidized to maintain their fake lifestyle.
— Mom… please, we don't have a penny. The fortnight's worth has already gone to pay off debts. We have nowhere to sleep tonight.
“Family support is a two-way street, my daughter,” Carmen replied, looking her straight in the tearful eyes. “I provided the house, I provided shelter, I provided daily sustenance, and I gave you my entire life. You gave me nothing but disgust, humiliation, and sickening contempt.”
Carmen took out a thick white envelope and slid it gently across the large glass desk. Inside, there were exactly 2,000 pesos in 100-peso bills.
— That's enough for three nights in a cheap roadside motel. After that, you'll be on your own. Like working adults do.
Mauricio grabbed the envelope with a wild rage, red-faced and humiliated to the core. Discovering at once that the ground he walked on and the social status he boasted about so much on his social media belonged to the old good-for-nothing, finally destroyed his ego completely.
— You will die completely alone and rotten in your money — Mauricio spat venomically at her as he walked defeated towards the exit door.
— I would much rather die alone and drunk on a luxury cruise in Europe than accompanied by a kept parasite like you — concluded Carmen with a deadly smile that left him silent forever.
Exactly six months had passed since that cathartic morning. Carmen had her apartment completely renovated. She painted it in bright colors, yellows and oranges, bought heavy rustic furniture, and started doing what she loved most again: cooking with passion.
She launched a new, exclusive business called “Doña Carmen’s Trays.” She prepared just 50 executive meals a day for local businesses and earned more money than ever before in her life. The house, finally, smelled of cinnamon, rosemary, and overwhelming success.
Neighborhood gossip spread fast. Mauricio, seeing that there were no more unlimited credit cards, luxury items, or free amenities, showed his true cowardly nature and abandoned Sofía in the street. He ditched the rental car he could no longer afford and fled to another state to avoid his creditors.
Sofía, suddenly plunged into the brutal reality of the working class, had to rent a small, damp room on a roof in a dangerous neighborhood and start working as a saleswoman on the floor in a noisy shoe store in the center, enduring mistreatment and miserable wages.
One cold and cloudy October afternoon, Carmen found a worn yellow envelope slipped under her front door. It said “Mama” in Sofía’s round and recognizable handwriting.
Carmen opened the envelope in the kitchen. Inside, there was a crumpled 500 peso note and a small letter hastily torn from a notebook.
