PART 1
Mariana’s black eye didn’t look like an accident.
It was big, dark, swollen, like a shadow stuck to his face. She had tried to cover him with makeup, powder and loose hair, but nothing could hide the fear she carried in her eyes.
She was sitting in the dining room of her house, in the Del Valle neighborhood, in Mexico City, pretending to check some electricity bills.
His coffee was already cold.
His hands were shaking.
In the living room, Óscar watched soccer with his feet on the table, a beer in his hand and that lazy laugh of a man who believes that his word is worth more than everyone’s life.
When they knocked on the door, Mariana froze.
“Open it,” Oscar said, without looking at her. And smile a little, don’t be ridiculous.
Mariana walked towards the door as if each step weighed 100 kilos.
Outside were his parents.
Don Ernesto and Doña Lidia arrived with sweet bread, a pot of mole and the illusion of living with their daughter as they do every Saturday.
But as soon as Mariana opened the door, Doña Lidia stopped smiling.
He did not see the mole.
He did not see the table.
He only saw his daughter’s eye.
“Mija… what happened to you?”
Mariana looked down.
“I hit the closet door, Mom.
From the living room, Óscar giggled.
“You see, mother-in-law. Her daughter is always on the moon. Neta, she looks like a little girl.
Don Ernesto said nothing.
He just squeezed the bag of bread until the plastic creaked.
He was a quiet man. He had worked 35 years as a mechanic, got up before dawn and had never been a fighter.
But when he saw Mariana’s face, something broke inside.
Doña Lidia wanted to get closer.
“Let me see you well, my love.
Oscar got up immediately.
He didn’t scream.
He did not push.
He only stood next to Mariana, too close, as if he were making a threat without saying it.
“You have already explained that it was an accident,” he said. Don’t start with family drama, please.
Mariana was not breathing well.
His parents saw it all.
The shoulder shrunken.
Fingers clenched.
The broken smile.
That way of asking for help without uttering a single word.
Doña Lidia opened her mouth, but Don Ernesto touched her arm.
“Let’s go,” he said, dryly.
Mariana raised her face.
—¿Ya?
Her voice came out small, like when she was a child.
Doña Lidia swallowed hard. His eyes were full of tears, but he didn’t hug her.
“Then we’ll talk, mija.
Oscar raised an eyebrow, amused.
Mariana felt her chest sink.
His parents had seen the blow.
They had understood.
And yet they left.
The door closed slowly, almost politely.
Óscar waited 3 seconds.
Then he laughed.
“Don’t stain, Mariana. What a decent family you have. They see their daughter with her face bursting and leave quietly. They even gave me tenderness.
Mariana stood by the door, unable to move.
He approached with the beer in his hand.
“Have you seen?” No one is going to get involved. Not your dad, not your mom, not your friends. No one.
He lifted her chin with 2 fingers.
“I’m in charge here.” And as long as you live with me, you’re going to learn to obey.
Mariana closed her eyes.
The blow from the night before was still burning.
It had all started because she found some strange messages on Óscar’s cell phone. A woman named Karla called him “love” and asked him if “the fool had already signed.”
When Mariana wanted to ask, he exploded.
First he insulted her.
Then he accused her of being crazy.
Then he crossed her face so hard that she fell against the wall.
And now his parents were gone.
Óscar took another drink.
“Next time, you’d better invent better. The closet thing sounded really bad.
Mariana wanted to talk, but she couldn’t.
Then there was a knock on the door again.
Oscar turned around in annoyance.
“Now what the fuck do you want?”
He walked to the entrance with the beer still in his hand.
He opened it with a bang.
And when he saw Don Ernesto, Doña Lidia, 2 policemen and a woman in a vest from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the smile faded from his face.
Mariana felt that the world stopped.
Because what their parents had in their hands was not just courage.
It was a test.
And Oscar couldn’t believe what was about to happen…
PART 2
Don Ernesto entered first.
He no longer looked like the quiet man who had come out with his head down. His eyes were red, his jaw was hard, and his hands were closed.
But he did not lose control.
Doña Lidia entered behind him, with her cell phone pressed to her chest as if she were carrying something capable of setting the whole house on fire.
Mariana didn’t understand anything.
An officer placed herself between her and Óscar.
“Mr. Óscar Rivas, we need to talk to you.
Oscar blinked.
Then he did what he always does.
He adjusted his shirt, straightened his back and put on a good husband’s face.
“Officer, this is a misunderstanding. My wife is nervous. She hit herself.
Doña Lidia let out a dry laugh.
It was not a joke.
It was courage.
“Enough is enough, Oscar.
He looked at her with contempt.
“Mother-in-law, with all due respect, don’t get into marriage trouble.
Don Ernesto took 1 step forward.
“My daughter is not a marriage problem. He is a person. And you hit her.
Oscar left the beer on the table with force.
Do you have proof or did you just come to do a show for the neighbors?
Doña Lidia picked up her cell phone.
“Yes, we do.”
Mariana felt that her legs were failing her.
His mother pressed play.
At first there was silence.
Then Oscar’s voice, clear, cold, arrogant.
“With that eye you will learn not to check my things. And if you say something to your parents, they also do worse.”
Mariana covered her mouth.
She didn’t know that her mother had recorded.
The audio continued.
“Your dad is a fearful old man. Your mom is a squeaky one. You teach them the punch and they leave like well-trained dogs.”
The room was silent.
Oscar turned pale.
—That has been edited.
The officer did not flinch.
“The audio will be attached. A medical evaluation of Mrs. Mariana will also be requested.
Óscar looked at Mariana.
She knew that look.
It was the look of “fix this or it’s worse”.
But for the first time, Mariana did not lower her head.
Doña Lidia approached and hugged her.
Mariana stiffened at first. It hurt her too much to think that her mother had left when she needed her most.
“Forgive me,” Doña Lidia whispered. I wanted to get you out at that moment, but your dad told me that if we reacted without help, he could lock you up, hit you again or deny everything. That’s why we went out. I recorded from the window before we got in the car. Then we called 911.
Mariana began to cry without a sound.
It wasn’t complete relief.
It was anger, love, shame and pain mixed in the same place.
Oscar slapped the table.
“You meticulous old woman!”
He tried to advance towards Doña Lidia, but Don Ernesto got in the way.
“You don’t talk to my wife like that again.
The police grabbed him by the arm.
“Sir, calm down.
“It’s my house!” Oscar shouted. And she’s my wife!
Then Don Ernesto took a yellow folder out of his jacket.
“The house is not yours.
Óscar stood still.
Mariana looked at him, confused.
Don Ernesto opened the folder and left several papers on the table.
“This house belonged to Grandma Carmen. He left it to Mariana before he died. It has been in my daughter’s name for 4 years.
Oscar gritted his teeth.
“That has nothing to do with it.
“Yes, he does,” Don Ernesto said. Because 2 weeks ago you went to my workshop to ask me for 80,000 pesos. You said Mariana needed urgent treatment. You said she was sick and didn’t want to worry us.
Mariana felt cold.
“What?”
Doña Lidia began to cry.
“He told us you had cysts, mija. That you needed studies. That you didn’t say anything to us so as not to scare us.
Mariana looked at Oscar.
He had used her name.
Your body.
Your health.
Their fear.
All to steal from their own parents.
“Is that true?” she asked.
Oscar let out a nervous laugh.
“Oh, Mariana, don’t be dramatic. It was a loan. I was going to return it.
Don Ernesto threw several printed captures on the table.
“You also said that she was going to sign some papers to protect the house.
The officer reviewed the documents.
His expression changed.
“What papers?”
Mariana remembered the night before.
Óscar had put in front of her an alleged bank authorization. He said it was a simple procedure.
But when Mariana read well, she found a phrase that ran cold in her blood: transfer of rights.
That is why he refused.
That’s why he exploded.
That’s why he ended up with the black eye.
Doña Lidia showed another audio.
It was shorter.
Óscar’s voice sounded talking on the phone, outside the house, without knowing that he was being recorded.
