“If it’s impossible to open,” the boy repeated, “then you’ll never pay the hundred million. So it’s not an offer. It’s just a trick to laugh at us.”
Silence.
The businessmen shifted uncomfortably. The kid had just exposed Mateo’s cruelty with one simple observation.
“The kid’s got brains,” Rodrigo said, forcing a laugh.
“Brains are useless without schooling,” Mateo snapped. “And school costs money. Money people like you don’t have.”
“My dad said the opposite,” the boy replied.
“Your dad?” Gabriel mocked. “Where is he? Too busy to take care of his own kid?”
“He’s dead.”
Elena choked out a sob.
The word hung in the air like an explosion. Even the most cynical among them felt something twist.
“I’m sorry,” Mateo muttered. The apology sounded hollow.
The boy stared at him with such intensity that Mateo stepped back.
“If you were sorry, you wouldn’t be doing this.”
“Watch your tone, kid,” Mateo warned. “Or—”
“Or what?” The boy was perfectly calm. “You’ll fire my mom? Take away the job that barely lets us eat? Make us poorer than we already are?”
Each question landed like a slap.
Mateo realized he’d misjudged the boy completely.