PART 5: The Trap is Sprung
For the next two days, I played the part of the grieving, chaotic brother. I sent Roberto angry, unstructured text messages, demanding he meet me to discuss a settlement. As expected, Roberto fell right into the trap. Thinking I was acting out of pure emotion without a legal strategy, he ignored my messages and began contacting real estate agents to quickly sell the Zapopan mansion under the table.
He didn't know that Alejandro had already filed an emergency Amparo—a constitutional injunction—along with a criminal complaint for human trafficking and grand theft.
On Thursday morning, the financial trap snapped shut.
I was sitting in Alejandro’s office when his monitor flashed with updates from the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV).
"It's done," Alejandro said with a grim smile. "Every single bank account tied to Roberto, his wife Sofia, and his dummy corporations has been frozen. The registration for the Zapopan mansion and his luxury SUVs has a judicial lien placed on them. He cannot sell a single brick. He cannot withdraw a single peso."
Right on cue, my phone began vibrating violently. It was Roberto.
I picked up and put it on speaker.
"Gabriel! What the hell did you do?!" Roberto screamed, his voice cracking with sheer panic. "My cards are declined! The bank says my accounts are under criminal investigation! Are you insane? We are family!"
"Family?" I replied, my voice as cold as ice. "Family doesn't feed a toddler garbage, Roberto. Family doesn't force a mother to live in a concrete shed. You chose to stop being my brother the moment you signed that forged death certificate."
"Listen to me, you sailor piece of shit!" Roberto roared, dropping the act entirely. "You think you're smart? You think some lawyer can ruin me? I have friends in high places! If you don't drop this lawsuit by tonight, I will make sure Valeria and that bastard kid of yours disappear forever! I know which hotel you're staying at!"
The line went dead.
Alejandro looked at me, his face pale. "He's desperate. Desperate men do stupid things. Did he know about this hotel?"
"No," I said, standing up, my heart hammering against my ribs. "But he knows the city. We need to move Valeria and Mateo right now."
Before we could leave the office, my phone rang again. This time, it wasn't Roberto. It was the front desk of our hotel.
"Mr. Gabriel? There are two men here claiming to be police officers demanding access to your room for a welfare check on your wife. They look highly suspicious, and they don't have official badges. We are delaying them, but—"
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A loud crash echoed through the phone, followed by a scream from the receptionist.
Roberto wasn't waiting for tonight. He had sent thugs to kidnap my family
