Chapter 4 - The Funeral Teresa Tried to Control
Teresa Vargas had arranged everything too quickly.
The funeral home.
The flowers.
The dress.
The guest list.
Even the priest.
She called it mercy.
Julián now understood it was speed.
Speed protected lies.
She had chosen a funeral room with private exits, no press access, and staff already instructed to “avoid disturbing the family.”
She had told guests Camila died tragically but naturally.
She had told Julián the baby needed him, not questions.
She had told Rodrigo to stay near the door.
That was the detail Julián noticed now.
Rodrigo was not grieving.
He was guarding.
Julián slipped the button deeper into his coat and looked toward the side hallway.
The funeral director stood near it.
Teresa followed his gaze.
“Where are you going?”
“To make a call.”
“You can call from here.”
Julián looked at her.
“My wife is lying in a coffin with a piece of Rodrigo’s jacket under her nails.”
The room froze.
Rodrigo stepped forward.
“That’s disgusting.”
Julián turned.
“Then show me your cuff.”
Rodrigo’s eyes narrowed.
Teresa moved between them.
“This is grief speaking.”
“No,” Julián said. “Grief was when I believed you.”
Her face tightened.
“Julián.”
He took one step toward Rodrigo.
“Why is your button in Camila’s hand?”
Rodrigo laughed harshly.
“You think I killed her?”
Several guests gasped.
Julián’s voice was quiet.
“I think she fought you.”
Teresa slapped him.
The sound cracked through the funeral room.
Everyone went still.
Julián’s face turned slightly from the impact.
Then he looked back at his mother.
For the first time in his life, he did not look like her son.
He looked like a man finally seeing a stranger.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
Teresa blinked.
“For what?”
“For forgetting we’re in a room full of witnesses.”
Her mouth opened.
The guests shifted.
A cousin pulled out a phone.
Rodrigo cursed under his breath.
Julián stepped backward toward the side exit.
Teresa’s voice sharpened.
“If you leave now, you dishonor your wife.”
Julián stopped at the door.
Then he looked back at Camila.
At her still face.
At the hand that had refused to open until he touched it.
“No,” he said. “I dishonor her if I stay quiet.”
He walked out.
Behind him, Teresa ordered Rodrigo to follow.
But two men from Camila’s family stepped into Rodrigo’s path.
Her brother Mateo spoke first.
“Stay where you are.”
Rodrigo’s face darkened.
Mateo looked at the missing button on his jacket.
Then at the scratch on his neck.
“Please,” he said coldly. “Give me a reason.”
Julián slipped down the service corridor and out the rear entrance.
His phone vibrated again.
Dr. Méndez.
He answered while running toward his car.
“I’m coming.”
Her voice was tight.
May you like
“Come fast. The hospital is trying to bury the file too.”
👉 Julián left the funeral before the burial, but Teresa immediately called someone at the hospital to destroy the evidence before he arrived.
