Chapter 2 - Camila Wakes Up Remembering Everything
The first thing I remembered was Alejandro’s voice.
Sign the divorce papers before they open up your skull.
Not my childhood.
Not my father.
Not even Claudia.
Him.
Seven hours of surgery had not erased a single word.
My neurosurgeon, Dr. Rebecca Harris, asked me my name.
“Camila Vance.”
The year.
I answered correctly.
The president.
Correct again.
Then she asked whether I knew where I was.
“Chicago. Northwestern Memorial. And my husband is probably spending
money that no longer belongs to him.”
Dr. Harris stared at me.
My sister Elena laughed for the first time in two days.
Before surgery, I had given Elena limited power of attorney and
instructed my estate lawyer, Sarah Mitchell, to review every account
Alejandro could access.
I had not secretly stolen marital money.
I had not emptied joint accounts.
Sarah was too good a lawyer for theatrics.
She froze only cards issued through my separate trust and revoked
Alejandro’s authorization to charge expenses to companies and accounts
he did not own.
The downtown condo was held by my father’s trust.
The luxury SUV Alejandro drove was leased through one of my companies.
The country-club membership was billed to my family office.
For years, I had mistaken generosity for partnership.
Alejandro had mistaken access for ownership.
At 8:14 the next morning, Elena placed my phone beside me.
Twenty-three missed calls.
Seventeen from Alejandro.
Six from Claudia.
I did not return any.
Then Sarah arrived carrying a folder.
“You need to see this when you’re strong enough.”
“What?”
She sat beside my hospital bed.
“The divorce papers Alejandro had you sign.”
My stomach tightened.
“Are they valid?”
“Maybe not.”
“Why?”
Sarah opened the folder.
“Because those weren’t the only papers in his portfolio.”
Behind the divorce petition had been a financial disclosure.
My signature appeared on it.
I had never signed it.
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And according to the document, I had supposedly agreed that Alejandro
owned half of a commercial building worth twenty-eight million dollars.
