She helped a lost child, unaware that his father was a multimillionaire.

« Sometimes that changes everything, » he said.

Then he reached inside his coat and pulled out a thick envelope. He placed it on the table.

—Please. Accept this.

Doña Marta didn’t even look at him.

-No.

Alejandro blinked, perhaps because he wasn’t used to hearing that word.

—It’s not charity.

—I didn’t say it was. I said it wasn’t.

The man remained silent.

« We don’t charge for helping a hungry child, » continued Doña Marta. « If I do it for money, it stops being help. »

Alejandro watched her with a strange mixture of respect and bewilderment. Emilio looked at his father, then at Doña Marta, as if he were only just beginning to understand that there were people for whom money couldn’t solve everything.

Ana intervened in a low voice:

—Grandma… he was very scared.

Doña Marta softened her expression, but did not give in completely.

Alejandro took a breath.

—Then don’t see it as payment. See it as a way to correct something. Because if you hadn’t opened that door…

He didn’t finish the sentence. It wasn’t necessary.

For the first time, the old woman looked at the envelope.

He didn’t take it.

But he didn’t push him away either.

—Money doesn’t fix everything, Mr. Villaseñor.

« No, » he admitted. « But it can fix some things that shouldn’t stay broken. »

The old woman’s gaze wavered for barely an instant. He had noticed the leaks in the roof, the cracked plaster, Ana’s inhaler on the shelf, the old stove, the cold that seeped in through the poorly sealed windows.

Before anyone could continue speaking, Emilio gently tugged on his father’s sleeve.

—Can Ana come to my house one day?

The question eased the tension.

Ana’s mouth fell open in surprise. Doña Marta narrowed her eyes. Alejandro, for the first time since he came in, smiled genuinely.

—That… we can talk about it.