Chapter 3
Valeria stared at the sleek, unfamiliar smartphone resting in Julian’s open palm. The screen illuminated the dim foyer with a harsh blue light, displaying an incoming text message from an unknown number. Her pulse roared in her ears, drowning out the faint sound of jazz music drifting from the dining room. She had never seen this phone before in her life, yet it had been sitting quietly inside her cream handbag the entire evening.
"That’s not mine," Valeria breathed, stepping back as if the device might detonate. "I didn't put that in my bag. Someone must have—"
"Who had access to your bag tonight?" Julian interrupted, his voice tight with sudden paranoia. He tapped the screen, and the notification expanded, revealing a preview of the text message. It wasn't a random spam message; it was an address located in an industrial district across town, accompanied by a single, chilling instruction: Bring the green folder, or she pays the price.
Valeria’s breath hitched. "The green folder. My mother’s legal documents. The ones she left on the dining table at her apartment this morning."
Julian locked eyes with her, all pretense of professional detachment completely vanishing. "Your mother didn't just happen to be at that restaurant tonight, Valeria. And neither did that man in the blue suit. We walked right into a trap."
Without another word, Julian grabbed Valeria’s arm, guiding her quickly toward the exit. The valet brought his grey sedan around in record time, the tires crunching softly against the gravel. They climbed inside, the heavy silence of the car amplifying the racing thoughts in Valeria’s head. She clutched her handbag, her fingers digging into the leather. The revelation that her mother was somehow orchestrating a dangerous game turned her previous anger into a sickening spiral of anxiety.
As Julian navigated the chaotic Manhattan traffic, Valeria unlocked the strange phone using a basic swipe motion. To her horror, the photo gallery opened automatically. The screen displayed a series of candid, high-resolution photographs taken earlier that day—not of her, but of her mother meeting secretly with the older man in the blue suit in a secluded park. But what made Valeria gasp aloud was the final image in the reel.
It was a picture of her ex-husband, smiling warmly, handing a thick envelope of cash to Julian.
May you like
Valeria slowly turned her head, staring at the man driving her car with eyes wide with absolute betrayal.
"Explain this," Valeria whispered, holding the phone directly in front of Julian’s face.
