The answer came when Pilar looked at old files.
The doctor’s name was Samuel Ortega.
He had worked as a medical assessment specialist and years later worked on cases involving ability and disability.
Ricardo had asked him for reports for several people linked to patrimonial transactions.
Some of these people then appeared in proceedings where third parties took over the management of certain assets.
The documents did not support the conclusion that all the reports were false.
But they warranted an investigation.
And above all, they explained why Ricardo insisted so much on presenting Don Ernesto as a man incapable of making his own decisions.
It was not a new idea.
It was a method he was trying to replicate.
Javier handed over to the investigators all the elements in his possession.
Pilar brought her copies.
Lucía appeared with her lawyer and provided messages, recordings and documents.
Don Ernesto handed over his old exchanges with Ricardo as well as the documents concerning the house.
Over the next few days, the investigation began to progress.
There were no spectacular arrests in the middle of the salon.
Nor spontaneous confessions in front of a camera.
There were requests for documents.
Bank checks.
Testimonies.
File scans.
And a series of contradictions that Ricardo and Arturo could no longer explain so easily.
The first contradiction concerned the signing of Javier.
The documents kept by Lucía in the red envelope had a reproduction that differed from her authentic signatures.
The analysis also identified the digital file used to prepare these documents.
The second contradiction appeared in Arturo’s communications.
Although he assured Lucía that he only wanted to help her pay off her debts, the recovered messages talked about pressuring Don Ernesto to temporarily leave his home.
The third contradiction was even more important.
The company Patrimonios del Centro had financial links with other companies linked to Ricardo.
Among them was one of the companies involved in the transfers that Elena had disputed years before.
It was therefore no longer a single suspicious transaction.
Investigators were now looking into the possibility of a pattern of repeated fraudulent practices.
Ricardo presented himself to be heard, accompanied by his lawyer.
He was wearing a dark suit.
He stood up straight.
And displayed the same confidence that Javier remembered from childhood.
For the first few minutes, he answered calmly.
He denied having falsified signatures.
He denied having appropriated money.
He denied knowing the details of Arturo’s plan to drive Don Ernesto out.
According to him, everything was the result of a misinterpretation of perfectly legitimate professional services.
But this version had a problem.
An email.
Pilar had kept a copy of it, sent a few months earlier from an account linked to the firm.
In this message, Ricardo asked Arturo if they had succeeded in convincing Lucía to convince Javier to support the real estate transaction concerning the house.
Arturo had replied:
Not yet. But we are working to ensure that Ernesto is removed from family decisions.
It was not a trivial sentence.
And it was not isolated.
Other messages referred to meetings, instructions and financial proposals that did not correspond to the explanations provided.
When the investigators added the recordings and other documents to the file, the situation of the two men became considerably more complicated.
Javier didn’t feel immediate satisfaction.
He had often imagined what it would be like to see Ricardo unmasked.
He expected to feel relief.
A feeling of victory.
Maybe even joy.
But when he got the call that the case was moving forward, the first thing he did was visit his father.
Don Ernesto was in the garden, watering plants.
Two weeks had passed since the attack.
The swelling in his jaw was almost completely gone.
But he still spoke of that day with a sadness that Javier understood perfectly.
“Pope.”
The old man looked up.
“Yes?”
“There is something new.”
They sat down together.
Javier explained to him what he knew.
Don Ernesto listened without interrupting him.
When he had finished, the old man stood to contemplate his hands.
“Your mother was right.”
“About what?”
“On the importance of preserving evidence.”
Javier smiled sadly.
“And on the importance of listening before judging.”
The old man looked at him.
For a few seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Javier asked:
“There’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“I’m listening to you.”
“Do you think that one day you will be able to forgive me?”
Don Ernesto lowered his eyes.
“I want to do it.”
Javier’s eyes filled with tears.
“But you can’t do it yet.”
“I’m still in pain.”
The sincerity of this answer was worth much more than a hasty forgiveness.
Javier acquiesça.
“I understand.”
His father took a deep breath.
“There’s a difference between forgiving and pretending nothing happened.”
