Her own aunt—the woman she had always liked—had just hidden something in her mother’s coat to send her to prison.
For two days the news had been reporting about a spectacular robbery at El Resplandor Jewelry Store, located in the same mall where Carmen worked. Millions of dollars in diamonds had been stolen, and the police were searching desperately for the culprits.
Valeria glanced at the clock.
1:15 p.m.
If the police arrived that evening and found whatever Leticia had hidden… her mother would be blamed.
Fear made her tremble beneath the blanket. But when she looked at the coat hanging on the wall, something stronger rose inside her—anger, fierce and protective.
She wasn’t going to let it happen.
The game had just begun.
Valeria leapt off the sofa, adrenaline instantly clearing the last traces of sleep. She hurried to the coat rack and slipped her hand into the pocket.
Inside was the velvet pouch.
When she opened it, the sparkle nearly blinded her.
It was a diamond necklace—large, brilliant, and clearly worth a fortune.
She immediately remembered the news report. This must be the centerpiece of the robbery, a one-of-a-kind design created by Don Alejandro Ríos, the jewelry store’s owner.
And his daughter Julieta… was Valeria’s classmate.
Everything suddenly made sense.
Leticia must have been involved in the robbery. To protect herself, she planned to frame Carmen—someone who worked at the same mall where the crime happened.
“Think, Valeria. Think,” she whispered, pacing nervously.
If she simply called her mother and explained, Carmen might not believe her. Leticia was her sister. Blood.
She needed undeniable proof.
Valeria grabbed her phone and photographed the necklace from every angle. Then she carefully placed it back in the pouch.
Throwing it away wasn’t an option—the police would come looking for it.
But it couldn’t stay in her mother’s belongings.
Then she remembered something.
A week earlier, Leticia had come for dinner and accidentally left a large black leather handbag in the hallway closet. She hadn’t come back for it yet.
Valeria ran to the closet, pulled out the bag, and hid the necklace deep inside one of its hidden compartments.
If the police found the jewel, they would discover it among the real criminal’s belongings.
Still, she needed proof that Leticia had been inside the apartment.
Suddenly, she remembered the small hidden security camera installed in the door’s peephole after a robbery in the building months earlier.
Valeria dragged a stool into the hallway, climbed up, and removed the tiny SD card. She inserted it into her mother’s laptop and searched through the recordings.
Her heart leapt.
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