Chapter 6: The Confrontation She Did Not Expect
Renata came downstairs at half past eight dressed as though she were going somewhere — heels, a structured jacket, her bag over one shoulder.
She had the look of a person who had decided, sometime in the night, that the best move was forward motion.
Confidence as armor.
Arrival as statement.
She stopped when she saw the man seated at the kitchen table.
He was not Mateo.
He was older — mid-sixties, silver-haired, with the kind of unhurried stillness that comes from spending decades in rooms where other people were nervous.
He had a leather folder open on the table in front of him and a cup of coffee he hadn't touched.
Mateo stood near the window.
"Renata," he said.
"This is Dr.
Emilio Vargas.
He's a child psychologist.
He's also been a family friend for fifteen years." He paused.
"He's here to speak with Sofia."
Renata's grip on her bag tightened.
"You called a psychologist."
"I called someone who can determine, professionally and independently, what Sofia has experienced in this house over the last eight months."
"That is—" She stopped.
Reset.
"Mateo, this is an overreaction.
I understand you're upset.
I understand last night was difficult.
But bringing in an outside professional without discussing it with me first—"
"You're not her parent," he said.
Simply.
Without heat.
The sentence landed in the room like something dropped from a height.
Dr.
Vargas did not look up from his folder.
Renata set her bag on the counter.
"I am going to be her stepmother.
That gives me standing in this conversation."
"It gives you a role I haven't yet decided whether I still want you to have."
Her eyes went sharp.
"I see.
So one video — one moment that you have completely misread — and eight months of effort mean nothing."
"There are three videos, Renata."
She went very still.
"Sofia recorded three separate incidents.
On three separate days.
All of them while I was out of the house." He crossed his arms.
"Would you like to tell me what's on the other two?
Or would you like to watch them with Dr.
Vargas present?"
For the first time since she had come downstairs, Renata said nothing.
Dr.
Vargas closed his folder.
"Ms.
Renata, I'm not here to make accusations.
I'm here to speak with Sofia and understand her experience.
That's all." His voice was calm, professional, and somehow more damning than anger would have been.
"If there's nothing of concern, the conversation will reflect that."
"There is nothing of concern," Renata said.
Her voice had recovered its steadiness, but something underneath it had not.
"Sofia is a grieving child who has had a difficult year.
I have tried to support her through that.
Whatever she has told you, or whatever is on those recordings, I can explain."
"Then you'll have the opportunity to do that," Mateo said.
"After Dr.
Vargas has spoken with her.
Not before."
Renata looked at him for a long moment.
Then she picked up her bag from the counter.
"I'm going to step out for a while," she said.
"I need air."
"Your car keys are on the hook," Mateo said.
"But I'd ask you not to go far.
There are some additional questions I'll need answered this afternoon.
From both of us."
She paused at the hallway entrance.
"Additional questions from whom?"
Mateo held her gaze.
"I called the family's attorney this morning.
He'd like to understand the timeline of certain financial arrangements we discussed in the last few months.
Specifically the ones you suggested."
Renata's hand found the doorframe.
Her knuckles were white against the wood.
"Those arrangements were entirely standard," she said.
"Any attorney would tell you that."
"Then it'll be a short conversation." He turned back toward the window.
"Drive carefully."
She left.
The front door closed behind her — controlled, deliberate, the same careful click as the night before.
But this time, from the kitchen window, Mateo watched her sit in the car for four full minutes without starting the engine.
Dr.
Vargas looked up.
"She's not leaving."
"No," Mateo said.
"She's calling someone again."
He picked up his own phone and sent a single message to the family attorney: *She just found out about the financial review.
May you like
Watch for movement.*
Three seconds later, his phone buzzed with a reply: *Already on it.*
