The faint lights of dawn and the birds singing were the evident signs that the day she had feared so much had arrived. She got up with heaviness; she hadn't been able to sleep at all and felt lost now that Karen knew the whole truth. She never thought things would escalate to this point, but they had.

With some urgency, Ava got up, not wanting this to be her reality. She tried to process it in the shower, but it was impossible. She barely touched her breakfast, and Doña Rosaura couldn't contain her distress. But for the first time, she wanted to let her daughter be, so she didn't ask anything, even though she saw her leave with a backpack instead of her expensive bag. She only gave her blessing, and they said goodbye as she disappeared into that limousine.

Ava sighed the whole way; she felt watched every second, with every move. She was almost sure that Karen saw every step, even on her phone. It was evident that Karen knew how to handle technology and devices at her whim.

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