The Flawless Scheme
Victoria turned back to Maria, almost smiling.
“It was disturbingly easy,” she said. “Beatriz lived alone. I suggested a family trip to Switzerland—said it would help us reconnect. Ricardo loved the idea.”
Her tone never wavered.
“In Switzerland, I paid the right people. People who know how to erase someone. Beatriz ‘collapsed’ during a hike. There were witnesses. A death certificate. Even an urn of ashes.”
“Fake ashes…” Maria whispered.
“Of course,” Victoria replied. “While Ricardo mourned, I returned early for a ‘work emergency.’ Beatriz came with me—sedated. No one questions a devoted daughter-in-law caring for an ill elderly woman.”
Beatriz sobbed. “She made me watch videos of him crying… grieving me.”
“Because you needed to understand,” Victoria snapped, “that actions have consequences.”
Maria felt sick. “What about me? What happens now?”
Victoria lifted her phone. “Everything you’ve heard is recorded. If you speak—to anyone—this goes public. And you’ll look like my accomplice.”
“I’m not your accomplice!”
“But the video will say otherwise,” she replied coolly. “Editing is a powerful thing.”
The trap was flawless.
“So here’s your role,” Victoria concluded. “You stay quiet. You do your job. You never come down here again. And when Beatriz finally dies, she disappears forever.”
