The slap broke Rebecca's front tooth before she even realized she'd been hit.

Three weeks after Mateo's birth, the Violence Against Women Court concluded the investigation phase and ordered the opening of the oral trial.

Maya Chen drafted the indictment on behalf of Rebecca.

The sentencing requests were severe:

For Trevor Harlan:

Three years in prison for a crime of battery within the scope of domestic violence, with the aggravating circumstance of committing it in the presence of a minor.

Four years in prison for the continuous crime of discovery and revelation of secrets due to the installation of unauthorized wiretapping devices.

Five years in prison for attempted procedural fraud and document forgery regarding the manipulation of the credit line and the forgery of Rebecca's digital signature.

Special disqualification from exercising parental rights over Emma and Mateo for the duration of the sentence, and a restraining order prohibiting him from coming within one kilometer for ten years.

For Malcolm Harlan:

Six years in prison as a necessary co-conspirator in the socioeconomic crimes, extortion, and the attempted unlawful detention of Marianne Harlan.

The Public Prosecutor filed a very similar brief, requesting a total of nine years of imprisonment for Trevor.

At the safe house, daily life had begun to settle into a new routine.

Rebecca woke up at six in the morning to feed Mateo. Emma no longer wandered the rooms looking for her father; she played in the small park near the center under the watchful eye of their police escort.

One day before the formal notification of the trial opening, Maya visited Rebecca with a last-minute proposal conveyed by the Harlans' defense.

"They're offering a global settlement," Maya said, sitting at the living room table with a cup of tea. "Trevor pleads guilty to the battery and the wiretapping. He accepts a combined sentence of five years of actual prison time, permanently surrenders his parental rights to both children, and transfers full ownership of the marital home to you, free of liens, after paying off the mortgage debt with his family's offshore assets."

Rebecca listened in silence.

"In exchange for what?"

"In exchange for us dropping the socioeconomic charges against his father, Malcolm, and accepting a perpetual non-disclosure agreement regarding the 1994 safe deposit box file."

Rebecca walked over to the window. From there, she could see the skyline of downtown Madrid rooftops under the clear morning light.

"They want to buy the family archive again," Rebecca said.

"It's what they've always done," Maya admitted. "If you accept, the process ends here. You won't have to testify at trial. You won't have to subject Emma to new expert evaluations. Trevor will go to prison, and the house will belong to you and your children."

"And Marianne?" Rebecca asked. "What about what Malcolm did to his wife for thirty years?"

"If we sign the deal, the case against Malcolm would be dismissed for lack of a private prosecution."

Rebecca turned to Maya.

"Tell them no."

Maya looked her in the eye.

"Rebecca, going to trial means sitting on a bench in the Provincial Court facing Trevor and his father. It means their lawyers are going to dig into your postpartum depression, the clinic bills, and every text message you sent during your marriage."

"I know," Rebecca said, her voice calm. "But if I take their money to stay quiet, I'd be turning into the exact person his father trained Trevor to look for: someone who accepts silence in exchange for comfort. My daughter and my son are going to grow up knowing the complete truth, not some version paid for in installments."