She’ll take it.”

“She turned down ten thousand dollars in court yesterday,” Oscar reminded him, tapping his brass fountain pen against his palm.

“She signed the asset waiver without taking a single peso.”

“She signed it because she was terrified,” Alejandro insisted.

“Offer her two thousand in cash outside the registry office before she can file a formal property audit.”

Doña Victoria reached into her crocodile handbag and took out a heavy brass fountain pen.

“If she turns that envelope down, Oscar, what’s our legal protection against immediate foreclosure?”