I was sitting in the doctor's waiting room when my phone rang. It was Angela, my only daughter. Her voice sounded strange, almost cold, when she said, "Mom, we're going to Europe tomorrow. I already sold your beach house and your car."

In any case, my daughter was back, and very soon I would receive my little welcome-home gift. Jorge called me that same afternoon. "Mr. Antonia, the letter was delivered an hour ago. The doorman confirmed that your daughter received it personally." "Perfect. How much time did we give her?" "30 days to vacate the apartment, as the legal regulations stipulate."
"But, Mrs. Antonia, are you sure you want to do this? She's your daughter, after all." "Jorge. My daughter kicked me out of my own house with a two-minute phone call. She sold my things without asking me. She treated me like garbage. Now she's going to learn that actions have consequences." "I understand." I just wanted to make sure I'd considered all the implications.
I have, Jorge, all of them. That night I couldn't sleep. I lay awake imagining Angela's face when she read the letter. The initial confusion, then disbelief, then panic. She'd probably think it was a mistake, that someone was trying to scam her, but when she called to verify, she'd find out it was all perfectly legal.
The next day, as if she'd been waiting for my call, the phone rang at 8 a.m. It was Angela, and her voice sounded desperate. "Mom, Mom, I need to talk to you urgently." "Good morning, honey. How was Europe?" "Mom, I don't have time for that right now. I got a really strange letter yesterday. It says I have to vacate my apartment in 30 days.
It must be a mistake, right?" "Do you know anything about this?" "An eviction notice. How odd." "From whom?" "From a company I've never heard of. It's called Wait, let me find the letter. Investments. Roberto SA." Do you know this company? Roberto had used his own name for the company. How poetic. No, honey, I've never heard of that name. Are you sure the letter is legitimate? That's what I want to find out.
Mom, I need your help. I don't know what to do. Eduardo left me in Europe, went off with another woman, and now I'm back to this. I don't understand what's going on. There it was, confirmation. Eduardo had probably abandoned her when the money ran out or when he realized the legal problems at home were more serious than he thought.Poor Angela, she had sacrificed her family for a worthless man. I'm so sorry, honey. Where are you now? I'm at the apartment, but I don't know for how long. Mom, can I come see you? I need to talk to someone. I have no one else. The irony was perfect.
Now that she was without the man she had left me for, she remembered she had a mother. Of course, honey. Come anytime. I'm on my way right now. I hung up the phone and looked at myself in the mirror. I had to look perfect for this performance. I put on my most conservative gray dress, pulled my hair back into a simple bun, and practiced my worried-but-resigned mother expression.

When Angela arrived, I would see exactly what I expected to see: a poor, vulnerable widow who had been abandoned by her own daughter. Angela arrived an hour later. When I opened the door, I was shocked at how bad she looked. She had lost weight, had deep dark circles under her eyes, and her expensive clothes looked wrinkled and shabby. Her eyes were red from crying
“Mom,” she said, and for a moment I thought she was going to hug me, but she stopped as if she suddenly remembered how things had ended between us. “Come in, honey. Would you like some coffee?” “Yes, please.” We sat in the kitchen, at the same table where I had read Roberto’s documents weeks before. Angela looked small in that chair, lost, like when she was a child, and she came to tell me about her school problems. “
Mom, I’m so sorry for how I left. I know I didn’t treat you well.” “It’s over, honey.” “No, it’s not over. I treated you badly, I said horrible things to you.” And now her voice broke. “Now I have no one. What happened to Eduardo? He left with a waitress from a hotel in Paris, a 25-year-old girl. It turns out there was never any business in Europe. It was all a lie.”

He just wanted to escape the debts he had here and used the money from the sale of your house to finance his adventure. All the debts. Yes, Mom, lots of debt. It seems he'd been taking out loans for years, using the apartment we lived in as collateral, but now I find out he wasn't the owner of the apartment. How is that possible? Here was my chance.

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