The next afternoon, Maliya and I drove to her mother's house. The journey was quiet, both of us lost in our own thoughts about what we might find in that safe.
When we arrived, Elena was waiting at the door. She pulled Maliya into a tight embrace, then looked at me with cautious eyes.
"Rafael. Thank you for bringing her."
"Mrs. Cruize." I nodded respectfully.
Inside, we sat in the living room. Elena kept glancing between us nervously.
"What's this about?" she asked finally. "You sounded so serious on the phone, Maliya."
"Mama, we need to open Papa's safe," Maliya said gently. "It's important."
Elena's face went pale. "The safe? But I don't know the code. I tried so many times—"
"We're going to figure it out together," I said. "But we need to be very careful. The safe has a lockdown
