Part 5

The video began after I entered the room. It captured the moment I slapped Victor, and then cut off before I apologized or asked him not to follow me. Watching it made me feel sick. I had no excuse for hitting him, even if his recording left out what happened afterward.

Victor came inside and slid the phone across the table. “Drop the accusations, Anna. Otherwise everyone sees this.”

Maya rose. “You recorded us?”

“I was protecting myself.”

Marisol stayed seated. “You may preserve the recording. But you should not threaten my client in exchange for her silence about a disputed signature.”

Victor's expression hardened. “No one will care about the paperwork when they see her attack me.”

“They can see it,” I said. My voice trembled, but I kept it steady enough for him to hear. “I'll take responsibility for what I did. I won't sign away my building.”

He stared at me as though I had broken a rule he had invented years ago. I had spent our marriage smoothing things over when he made mistakes. Now he expected my own mistake to keep me quiet.

Maya took her coat from the chair. “I won't hide for you either.”

Victor left without his coffee. Marisol made notes immediately, including his exact words and the time. She advised Maya to save her copy of the video and all related messages.

That afternoon the title officer called. Someone had submitted a new request to accelerate the closing. It carried my name.