SANTIAGO
“I’ll look into it and call you back,” Enrico said, his voice firm and clipped, then the line cut.
I stared at my phone, the screen going dark in my hand, the weight of silence pressing down on my chest like a goddamn anvil. My jaw clenched. I didn’t like the way he’d said that. Too rushed. Too vague.
I paced the room once, twice, debating whether to call him back and demand more, anything. A time. A confirmation. Something to tell me that Esmeralda wasn’t lying face down in some dark, cold place. But just as I reached for the phone again, a knock sounded at the door.
Sharp. Light. Deliberate.
I froze.
Then her voice came, muffled by the door but unmistakable. Sweet and casual, dressed up in concern.
“Honey? Are you already getting ready for the event? I noticed your lights
