--------------------------------Fake Smiles & Billion-Dollar Lies------------------
Inside the cabin, Sofia picked up the single, smudged glasses lens Leo had dropped in his frantic escape. She held it to the light, a slow, cold smile spreading across her face.
She put her phone on speaker. "He was here," she said, her voice flat. "Leo. He found the diary and got away."
On the other end, Abogado Rodríguez was silent for a beat. "He has it? Sofia, this is a problem. If they have proof Isabella just wanted to run—"
"It's not a problem, Miguel, it's a gift," she interrupted, her voice sharp. "Let them have their tragic little story. It only makes our case stronger. A desperate mother, a dangerous life... it all points to Tia Rosa." She paused, her tone shifting. "Which means we are one step closer to the fortune."
"The fortune," Rodríguez breathed, and his voice was different. The polished lawyer was gone, replaced by something raw and hungry.
"Do you have any idea what that kind of money means? My father died a beggar because of Ricardo Fernandez. With that money, I can buy back my family's legacy."
"And my mother died for Isabella Fernandez," Sofia snarled, the polished veneer cracking. "She invested our family's safety, our name, our entire lives into that woman's pathetic escape plan. That billion dollars has my mother's blood in it, Miguel. It's my inheritance. I'm just finally collecting."
"Then we understand each other," he said, his voice cooling into a steely resolve. "Partners. Fifty-fifty."
"Partners," Sofia echoed.
She ended the call. The line went dead. A moment of pure silence hung in the dusty cabin, and then Sofia let out a soft, chilling laugh.
"Fifty-fifty," she whispered to the empty room. "You poor, stupid man."
Suddenly, her phone buzzed in her hand, lighting up with Tia Rosa's name. Sofia's entire posture changed.
The cold predator vanished, replaced by a picture of warm concern. She took a deep, calming breath and answered, her voice transforming into a sweet, melodic tone.
"Hola, Tia! Everything okay?"
"Sofia, mija, I'm sorry to bother you," Rosa's worried voice came through the speaker. "It's Juliet... she's so fussy, I think she's hungry but she won't eat what I have. I don't know what to do..."
"Oh, you poor thing! Don't you worry about a thing," Sofia cooed, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. " I'll be right over. I'll bring my famous mango puree... Yes, a special treat for our little cutie pumpkin! See you soon. She'll love it."
She hung up, the sickly-sweet smile still plastered on her face. It didn't reach her eyes, which remained as cold and dead as the silence in the cabin.
"...and the fool," she finished her earlier thought, her voice now a ghostly whisper, "who gets eaten alive."