Part 10
Alexander arranged the visit to the detention center the following morning.
Because of his influence, we were given a private visitation room, away from the standard glass barriers.
Sofia sat at the metal table, her posture straight and proud.
Alexander and I stood quietly in the corner of the room, providing silent support.
The heavy iron door opened, and a guard led Javier inside.
He looked completely unrecognizable.
The expensive designer suit he wore at the wedding was replaced by a bright orange jumpsuit.
His hair was unwashed, his face pale, and his eyes were red from crying.
The moment he saw Sofia, he broke down, falling into the chair opposite her.
"Sofia... oh my god, Sofia, please," he begged, reaching across the table, but the guard quickly ordered him to keep his hands to himself.
"I am so sorry," Javier sobbed. "My mother forced me to do it. She threatened to disown me if I didn't help her get the condo."
"I love you, Sofia. You know I love you. Please tell your father to drop the charges."
Sofia listened to him, her expression completely blank.
There was no anger in her eyes.
There was no sadness.
There was only complete, utter indifference.
"You stood outside the door, Javier," Sofia said, her voice calm and steady.
"I screamed your name. I begged you to help me."
"And you told your mother just not to leave bruises on my face where people would notice."
Javier flinched as if he had been struck, his face turning an ash-gray color.
"I was scared, Sofia! You don't know what my mother is like!" he panicked.
"I know exactly what she is like," Sofia replied coldly. "And now, you are going to spend the next several years of your life learning what a prison is like."
"I didn't come here to hear your excuses, Javier."
"I came here to show you that I am still standing."
"You and your mother tried to destroy me to save yourselves."
"Instead, you destroyed yourselves, and I am stronger than ever."
She stood up slowly, turning her back on him without waiting for a reply.
"We can go now," she said to Alexander and me.
May you like
As we walked out of the room, Javier’s desperate screams and cries echoed behind us, but none of us looked back.
He was a ghost from a past that no longer had any power over our lives.
