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."

" I don't know, honey. Property matters are very complicated. The problem is that now the banks are chasing me for his debts. They say that since we were married, I'm also responsible. And on top of that, this eviction notice. Mom, I don't know what to do. I have no money, no job, nowhere to live."
She started to cry. Real tears of genuine despair. And for a moment, my mother's heart softened I wanted to hug her, comfort her, tell her everything was going to be alright, but then I remembered the coldness in her voice when she called me from the doctor's office, how easily she'd dismissed me, the way she'd spoken to me as if I were a burden.
"Did you talk to a lawyer about the letter?" "I don't have money for a lawyer, Mom. We spent all our money in Europe. Eduardo took what little was left when he left with that woman." "So what are you going to do?" "I don't know. I thought maybe, just maybe, I could stay with you for a while, just until I find a job and can get a small place to live."
There was the question I'd been waiting for. After throwing me out of my own house, after selling my things, after treating me like garbage, now she wanted me to rescue her. She wanted the poor widow she'd created to save her from the consequences of her own actions. "
Of course, daughter, this will always be your home." Angela looked at me in surprise, as if she hadn't expected it to be so easy. "Really, Mom, after everything that happened." You're my daughter, Angela. That's never going to change. She stood up and this time she did hug me. It was a desperate hug from someone drowning and clinging to the only thing they can find.I hugged her back, but not with the unconditional love of before. Now there was calculation in my hug. Strategy. Thank you, Mom. I promise I'll find a job soon. I won't be a burden. Don't worry about it now. Rest, get better, and then we'll see what your options are.
Angela left that afternoon to get some things from her apartment. I stayed in the kitchen thinking about how easy it had been. She had come to me exactly as I had planned, broken, desperate, with no options. And the best part was that she suspected nothing. To her, I was still the poor, abandoned mother who needed her pity. But this was only the first part of my plan

Having her live with me would give me the perfect opportunity for the next phase. I was going to let her settle in, let her feel safe, let her believe she had found refuge in my home, and then, when she least expected it, I was going to show her the difference between being poor by choice and being poor by consequence.
That night I called Jorge. “Jorge, I need you to do something else for me.” “Tell me, Mrs. Antonia, I want you to investigate Eduardo’s debts. I want to know exactly how much he owes, to whom, and what legal options I have to separate them from my daughter. That’s going to take time, but it’s doable.” “Perfect.” “And Jorge, I want you to keep this absolutely secret.
No one can know I’m behind this investigation.” “Of course, Mrs. Antonia, may I ask what your final plan is?” “My plan, Jorge, is very simple. I’m going to save my daughter, but first she has to understand what it truly means to hit rock bottom.” When I hung up, I poured myself a glass of the wine Roberto kept for special occasions.
It had been a long time since I’d had an occasion as special as this. The game had begun, and for the first time in months, I held all the good cards. Angela moved into my house the next day. She arrived with two suitcases and a cardboard box, all that remained of her previous life.

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