Daniel remained motionless for several seconds.

His heart pounded as he watched what had appeared from beneath the earth.

It was a small metal box.

It wasn’t big.

Barely the size of a book.

The metal was covered in dirt and rust, as if it had been buried for many years.

Daniel swallowed hard.

He looked around the courtyard.

Everything was silent.

The house was still just as old.

Just as calm.

But now that place didn’t feel the same anymore.

He bent down slowly and lifted the box.

It was heavy.

Too heavy to be empty.

The metal was cold against his hands.

For a moment he thought about covering it with dirt again.

He didn’t know why… but something inside him told him he shouldn’t open it.

But curiosity was stronger.

He went back to his room.

He closed the door.

He placed the box on the table.

The small padlock that secured it was completely rusted.

Daniel took a screwdriver and tapped it gently.

After several attempts, the metal gave way with a small crack.

The padlock fell to the ground.

Daniel opened the lid.

There were several things inside.

First he saw a yellow envelope.

Then some old banknotes.

And underneath… a small black notebook.

Daniel frowned.

He took out the envelope.

There was money inside.

Big money.

One thousand peso bills.

He counted quickly.

There were more than fifty.

Daniel felt his heart racing.

That was more money than he’d had in months.

But something wasn’t right.

The banknotes looked old.

Very old.

He took out the black notebook.

The first few pages were full of names.

Directions.

Dates.

And some handwritten amounts.

It looked like some kind of record.

Daniel flipped through several pages.

And then he saw something that left him completely frozen.

One of the names.

It was the name of the owner of the house.

Doña Carmen.

Daniel stared at the page.

Next to the name was a date.

And a quantity.

100,000 pesos.

But what really disturbed him was what was written underneath.

One word.

“Earring.”

Daniel felt a knot in his stomach.

Earring?

Waiting for what?

She closed the notebook slowly.

At that moment he heard something behind him.

A soft sound.

Like footsteps in the hallway.

Daniel turned his head.

The door to his room was ajar.

And on the other side…

Doña Carmen’s calm voice was heard.

—Did you find anything in the yard, son?

Daniel felt his blood run cold.

Because I hadn’t told anyone about the flowerpot.

I hadn’t told anyone about the box.

So…

How did she know?