Working in the estate was Ana Morales, a woman whose quiet resilience had become part of the house’s rhythm. She had been employed there for nearly five years and moved through her duties with calm focus. The wages supported her aging father and her teenage twins. Though life pressed heavily upon her, she carried herself with dignity and a warmth that most people rarely stopped to notice. Callum regarded her with polite distance, never imagining she might hold any insight into the loneliness he refused to acknowledge.
One evening, after a meeting that left him frustrated with the duplicity of his business rivals, a peculiar idea formed in his mind. He wanted proof that human integrity still existed, yet beneath the desire for reassurance was a darker impulse. He needed to test someone. He withdrew fifty thousand dollars in cash, all in crisp bills, stored the stack in a leather case, and brought it home.