Then Mariana’s laughter filled the room.
Then Javier’s silence.
Teresa’s face turned pale.
“It was harmless hazing!”
Sofia opened the next file.
A screenshot of the family group chat filled the seventy-five-inch screen.
A message from Teresa, sent that morning, read:
**“Today we teach the city girl who’s in charge. I’m going to make her walk from the bus terminal just to knock her off her high horse.”**
The room erupted.
“You recorded that?!” Teresa screamed at Mariana.
“You told me to!” Mariana shouted back.
Relatives immediately started distancing themselves.
An aunt who had written “leave her outside” earlier was suddenly calling the behavior “an absolute disgrace.”
Javier reached for Sofia’s arm.
“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s talk privately.”
“No.”
“Sofia, I’m your husband!”
“An hour ago, I was a stranger.”
Teresa finally lost her temper.
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