Chapter 2: The Evaluation
The psychiatric clinic was located in a quiet building on the north side of Mexico City.
At 9:00 a.m., Mariana arrived holding Doña Teresa’s arm as if she were escorting a helpless patient.
Alejandro walked beside them carrying a thick black file.
Mariana noticed it immediately.
“What’s that?” she asked casually.
“Military paperwork,” Alejandro replied.
She smiled.
The lie satisfied her.
Inside the evaluation room, Dr. Gómez greeted everyone warmly and invited Doña Teresa to sit.
Mariana immediately began speaking.
“She forgets names. She wanders. Sometimes she becomes aggressive. Last week she thought I was a stranger.”
Dr. Gómez nodded while taking notes.
Doña Teresa stared blankly at the wall.
Perfectly blank.
At one point she looked at a potted plant and asked, “Is that a dog?”
Mariana almost smiled.
The performance was working.
For thirty minutes, Dr. Gómez asked questions.
Doña Teresa answered incorrectly.
She forgot the date.
Forgot the president's name.
Forgot where she lived.
Mariana's confidence grew with every answer.
Then Dr. Gómez closed his notebook.
“I believe we have enough information for a preliminary assessment.”
Mariana straightened in her chair.
But before the doctor could continue, Alejandro stood.
“Actually, Doctor, I have additional information you should review first.”
He placed the black file on the desk.
Mariana’s smile disappeared.
Inside were photographs of the locked bedroom.
Photographs of bruises around Doña Teresa’s wrists.
Bank records.
Cloud-access logs.
Property-transfer requests.
And printed screenshots showing Mariana attempting to access investment accounts.
The room became silent.
Dr. Gómez slowly turned each page.
“What exactly am I looking at?” he asked.
Alejandro answered calmly.
“Evidence that my mother was being isolated, financially exploited, and intentionally presented as mentally incompetent.”
Mariana's face turned white.
“That’s ridiculous.”
Alejandro slid a small digital recorder across the desk.
“Then perhaps we should listen to this.”
The recording began.
Mariana’s voice filled the room.
If she’s declared incompetent, the house becomes easy.
Then another voice.
Once the transfer is complete, she can stay wherever.
Mariana lunged toward the recorder.
“Turn that off!”
But it was already too late.
Dr. Gómez looked up slowly.
May you like
For the first time, he was no longer evaluating Doña Teresa.
He was evaluating Mariana.
