I AGREED TO CLEAN AN OLD WOMAN’S HOUSE FOR 200 PESOS… BUT THE DAY SHE DIED AND LEFT A SINGLE LETTER FOR ME, I UNDERSTOOD THAT NOTHING HAD BEEN AS I THOUGHT.-nghia

A man in a gray suit appeared minutes later.

“Safe deposit box 317?” he asked.

I nodded.

They took me to a private room.

The manager opened a row of metal boxes.

I inserted the small key.

The box opened with a soft click.

Inside was a thick envelope.

And several documents.

The manager checked them slowly.

Her eyebrows rose.

—Young man… did you know Doña Carmen López?

—Yes —I replied.

The man looked at me with a serious expression.

—This account was opened twenty-three years ago.

I swallowed.

—How much is there…?

The manager checked the papers again.

Then he said something that made the world seem to stop for a moment.

—With accrued interest… the account has approximately two million pesos.