“Nothing,” I said too quickly.
That was my mistake.
Because suddenly the atmosphere changed.
Ernesto stepped closer.
“Tatay gave it to you before he died, didn’t he?”
I stayed silent.
Joel’s wife crossed her arms.
“I knew it,” she snapped. “The old man hid money!”
Within seconds, everybody started talking at once.
“You manipulated him!”
“You took advantage of an old man!”
“You’re only the daughter-in-law!”
The noise grew louder and uglier.
My six-year-old son woke up crying inside the bedroom.
I stood immediately.
“Enough.”
But Ernesto suddenly grabbed the pillow hard enough to nearly rip it from my hands.
“We’re opening that now.”
“No!”
The word exploded out of me louder than I intended.
And the moment I said it…
everybody knew there really was something inside.
Joel lunged forward.
The pillow tore open between us.
And suddenly—
bundles of cash spilled across the terrace floor.
The entire family froze.
Nobody breathed.
Then chaos erupted.
“Oh my God—”
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