Page 17 of His Gilded Cage

“How long have you known that something was wrong here,” I asked Veronica, my voice steeling. I felt sadness but it quickly turned to rage. Anger seeped into my bones. If I were honest with myself, it had been there all along.

“I suspected when we were kids.”

“You never said anything . . .”

“My mother talked about you coming to live in New York,” she said. “But I knew for some reason it was a secret. And as the years passed, it was hard for me to know if I had just dreamed that or if it had been a real possibility. And then before Mom died she started talking about your mother a lot. I thought it was just rambling until she brought up the letter.”

I stretched my legs out, my toes reaching towards the water.

“How much of this trip to Sayulita is about my mother and how much is about your work with the DEA?”

“This trip is about you, Marco,” Veronica said. “I can tell you now that your father is at the center of a multi-national investigation. If Amador Industries is tied to the cartel, then his legitimate business holdings are being used as shell corporations to hide drug money in plain sight. Your mother’s letter confirms her suspicions and validates intelligence that goes back for years.”

“How long has the DEA been investigating him?”

“Three years,” Veronica said. She sighed and rocked her head back. “I became aware of the investigation last year, but I didn’t want to alarm you. I wanted to make sure it was real before I asked for your help. Are you surprised by any of this?” Veronica asked me.

“No,” I said, remembering the way Luis had described his hand in the drug trade. He had told me hoping to impress, thinking I would want to join his team. He has been so very wrong.

“I have to ask you if you know anything about your father’s business that may help us.”

“You want me to help put my father behind bars,” I said, turning to look at my friend.

“I want you to do what is right for you,” Veronica said.

“Do you believe that he killed my mother?”

Veronica inhaled and turned away. “I believe that your mother had a plan and she didn’t want to die. Do I believe that your father did the dirty work himself? No. He had a crew of people that provided him with an alibi. We may never know what happened in those hours on the sailboat, but we know that Amalia wanted to come here to hide. She wanted a better life for you Marco. The question is what does your heart tell you?”

“My heart tells me that my father is too smart to get his hands dirty,” I said. “Even if what he told me about smuggling drugs in toys is true, it won’t be easy to catch him.”

Veronica watched me as the wheels turned in my head. I felt as though I were seeing my life for the first time through clear lenses. My memories had been tainted until this moment, including my sense of self.

“I think my father lives in fear of this day,” I said, standing and facing the ocean. “I think a part of him knows that I was there the day Mama died. I have an understanding of her that contradicts their narrative.”

“What do you want to do?” Veronica asked.

“I have seen the men and women who dobusinesswith my father. I have seen the guns in their belts and the knives in their back pockets. They wear their money like armor and my father’s security team treats everyone who walks through our door as an assassin.” I took a breath. “I feel like a fool for deluding myself for so long. I don’t think I wanted to see the truth.”

“You are his son, Marco. You can’t underestimate the power of that bond.”

“I am his son, but she was my mother and I loved her,” I said, my heart pounding in my chest. “I will do whatever it takes to build a case against my father.”

“You’re sure,” Veronica said, standing. “You know that you have a choice. You don’t need to get involved.”

“I’m already involved.”

“All right then,” Veronica said, smiling. The crashing waves seemed louder, the spray from the water tickled my skin. “Next step, we put together an infiltration strategy and a method for sharing information. You are going to need to pull bank statements, take photos.”

“I’ll do whatever you need.”

“Your father will need to believe that you respect him, that you’ve come to understand his point of view.”

“Please don’t call him that.”

“Call him what?”

“My father. His name is Luis. Luis Amador. He is the man who brought me into this world, but he has never been my father.”

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