“I’ll file these with the court clerk before five o’clock,” Oscar said, standing and buttoning his suit jacket.

“You’ve made this very easy for my client.”

He walked out of the conference room without shaking hands with either of us.

Samuel folded his yellow notepad and tucked it into his suit pocket.

“Oscar thinks he just won his client a complete victory,” Samuel said softly.

“Let them believe they’ve won everything, right up until the moment they walk through the gate,” I said.

We drove back to Valle de Bravo before dusk, as the orange sun dropped behind the mountains and lit up the surface of the lake.