The man spun around.
-Be quiet!
The scream made the babies cry even louder.
Alejandro stepped forward.
He didn’t raise his voice.
But something in her gaze changed.
He became curt.
Lethal.
—Don’t yell at him again.
The other one clenched his jaw.
He possessed the kind of violence that doesn’t always erupt with blows. Sometimes it begins with a look. With the way he invades someone’s space. With the certainty that others have already learned to fear him.
—It’s my house. My wife. My children. A stranger isn’t going to tell me what to do.
Alejandro did not respond immediately.
He bent down slightly and took hold of the edge of the sheet.
He revealed more of the woman’s leg.
There was more dried blood.
Bruises.
And an inflammation that did not correspond to a simple fever.
The man took a sudden step.
—Don’t touch that.
Too late.
Alejandro had already seen it.
And I had also seen Lucia’s expression.
The expression of a girl who had been living with secrets that no one should mention.
Outside, the siren sounded closer.
The man tensed up.Generated image
—I had no right to call anyone.
“She could have died,” replied Alejandro.
—He’s not dead yet.
Lucia let out a stifled sob.
That phrase landed like a stone in the middle of the room.
Alejandro understood everything a little better.
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