Andrés hesitated.
"Just over two thousand euros in total."
My stomach dropped.
The number itself wasn't what hurt.
It was the calculation behind it.
Javier knew I had recently received a substantial payment for a consulting project. He knew I'd been saving it to expand my small financial advisory business.
He also knew I'd refused his request to lend his mother money the previous week.
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I turned toward him.
"That's why you brought me here."
He said nothing.
Mercedes answered instead.
"We brought you because you're family. Families help one another."
"Families don't ambush each other with bills."
Her face hardened.
"You've always been selfish with money."
I stared at her.
I thought about the electricity bills I'd paid when she claimed she was struggling. The expensive birthday gifts Javier had insisted were necessary. The countless times he'd borrowed from my business account and promised to repay it.
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