Chapter 8 - The Verdict of the Heart
"Wait," Javier said.
His voice wasn't loud, but it had a strange, vibration-altering quality that made Mónica freeze with her phone halfway to her ear.
Javier walked slowly toward the bench. He picked up the necklace. He held it up to the light, turning it over in his hands. He felt the weight of the metal. He examined the clasp.
Then, he looked at Patricia, who was sobbing on the floor, her face buried in her hands, her whole body shaking with terror.
And then, he looked at Mónica. He noticed a tiny, almost imperceptible twitch in Mónica’s left eyebrow—a nervous tic she only had when she was arguing a weak case in court.
Javier looked back down at the necklace. "Mónica, do you remember when Valeria and I got married?"
Mónica blinked, caught off guard. "What? What does that have to do with this thief?"
"On our wedding day," Javier said softly, "Valeria accidentally chipped the center emerald of this necklace when she dropped it on the marble floor of the church. I had it repaired, but the jeweler had to replace the center stone with a slightly smaller emerald. I would know that flaw anywhere."
He held the necklace closer to Mónica's face. "This necklace has no chip. This emerald is perfectly symmetrical. In fact, this isn't even a real emerald. It's high-quality glass. It’s a replica."
Mónica's face drained of color. "That... that’s impossible. She must have bought a fake to hide her crime, or—"
"And there's one more thing," Javier continued, his voice dropping to a terrifying, quiet rumble. "The safe in my study isn't just a lockbox. It’s a smart safe. It requires a fingerprint and sends an alert to my phone every time it’s opened. I checked my log just now. The safe has not been opened since February of this year—when I put Valeria's tax documents in there. The real necklace is still inside. I just kept it in a secret inner compartment that you didn't know about because you only saw the main shelf."
Javier stepped closer to Mónica, his eyes burning with a cold, absolute fury. "You bought this replica. You planted it in Patricia's bag. You staged this entire thing to force her out and to prove that I was unfit to run this house."
"Javier, that’s absurd!" Mónica stammered, stepping back, her confidence crumbling. "I would never—"
"Get out," Javier said.
"Javier, listen to me—"
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"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Javier roared. The sound echoed through the entire mansion. "If I ever see your face near my children, near Patricia, or near this property again, I will use every legal resource, every ounce of my wealth, and every contact I have to ensure you are disbarred, ruined, and prosecuted for filing a false police report and attempted extortion. Do you understand me?"
Mónica looked at Javier’s face and realized she had pushed the tiger too far. Without another word, she grabbed her designer purse, turned, and practically ran out of the house.
