SCENE: TIA ROSA'S APARTMENT - NIGHT
The only light in the living room came from the TV, flashing with the bright, happy colors of Cocomelon.
One-year-old Juliet sat on the floor, her face red and tear-streaked. Her little body shook with sobs that the cheerful songs couldn't drown out.
Tia Rosa wrung her hands, her heart breaking. "Por favor, mi amor, deja de llorar. Please, my love, stop crying." she whispered, feeling completely helpless.
Just then, the doorbell rang, a welcome sound in the stressful room.
Rosa rushed to open it and sighed in relief. It was Sofia, holding a small container of fresh mango puree and a warm, friendly smile.
"Oh, the poor angel!" Sofia said, sweeping inside.
She went straight to Juliet, her voice soft and soothing. "Hey, sweet girl, what's all this sadness? Look, it's me. And I brought your favorite snack."
Juliet's cries softened into hiccups.
She recognized Sofia's voice and face. Seeing the mango puree, she reached a tiny hand out.
Sofia sat down and gently fed her a spoonful. "There we go. See? Everything's okay."
Juliet calmed down instantly, soothed by the sweet food and the familiar presence. She even gave a small, wobbly smile.
Tia Rosa sank into a chair, the weight of the last two hours finally lifting from her shoulders. She could finally breathe. "Thank you, Sofia. You're a miracle worker. I just don't know how to calm her like you do."
"It's nothing," Sofia said sweetly, brushing a curl from Juliet's forehead. "She just knows she's safe with me."
After Juliet was full and had fallen asleep on the couch, a firm knock came at the door.
"Oh, that must be Lawyer Rodríguez," Sofia mentioned casually. "I told him you might have some paperwork questions. He offered to stop by to help."
Grateful, Rosa opened the door and let the well-dressed man in.
"Señora Flores," he said with a smooth smile.
He placed a sleek, expensive-looking leather folio on her cozy kitchen table with a soft, heavy thud. It looked profoundly out of place.
"Sofia said you might need a hand. It's just some final forms to make your guardianship official."
He flipped past dozens of pages filled with dense, confusing legal language, pointing directly to the flagged signature lines at the back.
"Very standard stuff—just gives you the legal power to take care of her school, her doctor visits, and her little trust fund for clothes and toys. You know, the everyday things."
Tired, relieved, and trusting the woman who had just comforted Juliet, Rosa didn't read the complicated papers.
She saw Juliet's name and the word "guardian." It made sense.
"Thank you both for helping me with all this," she said, picking up a pen.
It felt heavy in her hand for a second. But one look at Juliet, sleeping peacefully now, erased all her doubts.
"Of course. That's what we're here for," Rodríguez said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes.
And with the quick scratch of a pen, Tia Rosa, without knowing it, signed away control of Juliet's entire billion-dollar fortune.