XXXIII. Unravelling what?

I didn't waste a single second this time. I immediately contacted Susanae and asked her to meet me. She gave me an address, saying it was her favorite place and that she felt more comfortable there. Without hesitation, I agreed and headed straight to the location.

When I arrived, someone greeted me right away and led me to a private room, where I found Susanae waiting, eating a slice of strawberry cake.

I greeted her with a tight smile, and she responded with a wide one. As soon as I sat down next to her, she placed something on the table before I could even speak.

"These are all the pieces of evidence that have been gathered. I've also included the ones I collected—it should be enough to prove my mom's innocence and punish Nadia."

I frowned. Evidence? But I didn't have any in my hands yet—wait!

"Who gave you all of this?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Susanae's face, but she didn't hesitate to answer.

"A man gave it to me. He was handsome, too," she said with a small smirk. "He told me it was from you, so I didn't ask what it was, why he was giving it to me, or even who he was. He left before I could ask anything. Right after that, you called and asked to meet."

Right. Antonio. It must have been him.

Something lodged itself in my throat at the realization, but I pushed the feeling down, regaining my composure.

I took a sip of the coffee in front of me and immediately coughed at the bitter taste.

"You obviously don't like coffee," Susanae teased, laughing. I cleared my throat and turned my attention to the documents on the table.

As I flipped through the papers, something caught my attention.

"The Director of Adair University and Nadia's father are allies," I muttered.

Susanae nodded. "Nadia's father is nothing more than the Director's puppet. But what's interesting is that they don't always act in sync. I'm sure they each have their own dirty secrets they don't want the other to uncover." She smirked, taking a sip of her coffee.

That intrigued me even more.

"Do you have any information about the Director's family?"

At my question, Susanae frowned, looking slightly troubled.

"As far as I know, that family was involved in an accident, but they covered it up as if nothing happened. If I remember correctly, a life was lost. It was never reported in the media to protect their family's image."

"If it wasn't released to the media, how do you know about it?"

"Nadia did something stupid to my mom, so I planned to report it," she explained. "But while I was there, I overheard a conversation between her and the Director. Since I was already listening, I figured I might as well stay and hear the rest." She grinned proudly.

I nodded slowly.

An accident. A life lost.

"What exactly happened? Who was involved?"

Susanae shook her head. "I don't know who died, but from what I heard… Lara was the one who caused the crash."

"L-Lara? Crashed?" My stomach twisted. How was Lara involved in this?

Wait.

No.

Don't tell me…

I couldn't stop shaking. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stay calm.

"Lara was driving the car. She hit someone. That's all I know," Susanae continued. "I didn't bother digging further. It wouldn't help my case in proving my mom's innocence, so I let it go."

I nodded, deciding to end the conversation there. I bid her goodbye and left as quickly as I could, trying to process everything I had just learned.

A car accident?

I couldn't shake my curiosity. Without wasting time, I called Uncle Luis.

He was the only one who might have the answers I needed.

Uncle Luis gave me an address, and I immediately headed there.

"How long has it been since we last saw each other?" he greeted with a warm smile, spreading his arms for a hug. I stepped forward, returning the embrace with a smile of my own.

He led me to a sofa in front of him and offered me coffee, but I declined.

"I didn't know you ran a coffee shop, Uncle," I started, trying to ease into the conversation.

"Oh, this was my wife's dream. I just made it come true."

"Where is she?" I asked curiously, realizing I had never met her before.

"She's my guardian angel now," he said with a bittersweet smile.

"I'm sorry to hear that," I murmured.

He chuckled softly. "Don't be. So, what brings you here?"

I took a deep breath before speaking.

"The moment I moved into my new place, someone followed me. I tried to catch him, but I couldn't. The only thing I have is this." I handed him the card I had found before.

Uncle Luis examined it carefully before sighing.

"Why? What is it?" I asked, feeling a shiver run down my spine.

"This is a professor's card," he explained. "It signifies that you're one of the 'precious people' of the Director."

My blood ran cold.

"Do you know which professors have this?"

"As far as I know, only two people have it. One is Vincent Salazar—"

"And the other?" I interrupted, unable to contain my urgency.

He hesitated. "As far as I know… he's dead."

"Why?"

"Killed."

A chill crawled up my spine.

I was sure now—this was part of the family's dirty game.

They weren't just covering up crimes.

They were burying people alive.

People who knew too much.

"Do you know who the Director is?" I asked carefully. "Can I see him?"

Uncle Luis handed me a photograph.

It took every ounce of courage to look at it.

And the moment my eyes landed on the image… my heart stopped.

I couldn't even blink.

Because now, everything was confirmed.

I clenched the photo in my trembling hands, my teeth grinding in frustration.

"You've done enough, Canim and Lara," I whispered.

"Now let me finish your game."