THE PERSON IN THE RAIN
The footage came from a gas station several kilometers from the crash.
The camera wasn’t very clear.
Rain covered most of the image.
But the police could identify the car.
Ana’s car.
She had stopped at 9:18 p.m.
A second vehicle stopped behind her.
A dark SUV.
The driver got out.
I watched the footage twice.
Then three times.
Finally, I recognized him.
Gustavo.
I stood up.
“He followed her.”
Detective Helena nodded.
“Apparently.”
“Why?”
“We don’t know yet.”
The footage continued.
Gustavo approached Ana’s driver’s window.
They argued.
Ana pointed toward the road.
Gustavo walked away.
Then something happened that made the room silent.
Ana opened her glove compartment.
She removed something.
A small object.
She placed it inside her purse.
Then she drove away.
Gustavo remained at the station for another two minutes.
Then he followed.
“What was she taking from the car?” I asked.
“We don’t know.”
“Find out.”
“We’re trying.”
The police searched the wreck again.
This time they found a hidden compartment beneath the passenger seat.
Inside was a small USB drive.
It contained several files.
Bank transfers.
Medical documents.
Photographs.
And one recording.
Ana’s voice.
I heard her speak.
She sounded frightened.
“If you’re listening to this, something happened.”
I stopped breathing.
“I found out that someone has been using my name.”
The recording continued.
“Loans. Transfers. Documents.”
My hands became cold.
“Gustavo.”
Ana said his name.
“He used my identity to borrow money.”
Then came the part that changed everything.
“I confronted him.”
A pause.
“He said he would fix it.”
Another pause.
“But I don’t believe him.”
The recording ended.
I looked at Detective Helena.
“So that’s why he was following her?”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe?”
She shook her head.
“The financial records show something bigger.”
“What?”
“Gustavo wasn’t the only person involved.”
She turned the laptop toward me.
There were several transfers.
Large amounts.
Money had been moving through accounts connected to a company.
A company I recognized.
My employer.
I stared at the screen.
“No.”
Detective Helena nodded.
“Someone at your company knew your wife.”
I felt dizzy.
“Who?”
She opened another document.
The name appeared.
Ricardo Menezes.
My supervisor.
I couldn’t understand it.
Ricardo had known Ana for years.
He had attended our wedding.
He had held Miguel’s ultrasound photographs.
Why would he be involved?
Then Detective Helena said something that changed everything.
“There’s one more problem.”
“What?”
“The person who supplied the substance found in Ana’s blood…”
She stopped.
“…wasn’t Gustavo.”
I stared at her.
“Then who?”
She looked at me.
“We’re still trying to identify him.”
Before I could answer, my phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
Unknown number.
You should have stopped asking questions.
Then another.
Your son survived once. Don’t make us test his luck again.
My blood went cold.
I immediately called the hospital.
Miguel was safe.
But someone had just threatened my baby.
And suddenly, I understood.
This wasn’t about money anymore.
Someone was trying to make sure Ana’s secret died with her.
