The secret of the cartels

Patricia Rodriguez had always sensed her family harbored secrets, but she never expected them to be so dark. It all began on a humid afternoon when she decided to clean out the attic. The room, a dusty and forgotten part of their old mansion, was filled with relics of the past that no one had touched in years. She pulled down the ladder and climbed up, bracing herself for cobwebs and dust bunnies.

As she sorted through old boxes and trunks, she came across a leather-bound journal that looked out of place among the mundane household items. The cover was cracked with age, and the pages were yellowed. Curious, Patricia sat down on an old, creaky chair and began to leaf through it.

The journal belonged to her late mother, Maria. It was filled with notes and letters, but one document, in particular, caught Patricia's eye. It was a series of financial records and handwritten notes that hinted at her father's involvement with a drug cartel. The names Carrillo Fuentes and Miguel Herrera were mentioned repeatedly, along with coded messages that Patricia couldn't fully decipher.

Her heart pounded as she read through the entries, piecing together a puzzle that painted a very different picture of her father, David Rodriguez. She knew she had to confront him, but first, she needed to talk to her brother, Owen.

Owen was in the backyard, fixing up an old car they had inherited from their grandfather. He was always the practical one, hands-on and down-to-earth, unlike Patricia, who was more of a dreamer and a thinker. She approached him, the journal clutched tightly in her hands.

"Owen, we need to talk," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Sure, what's up?" Owen replied, wiping grease off his hands with a rag.

Patricia took a deep breath. "I found something in the attic. It's Mom's old journal, and it has some... troubling information about Dad."

Owen raised an eyebrow. "Troubling how?"

"Here, look at this." She handed him the journal, pointing to the entries about the cartel. Owen's eyes widened as he skimmed through the pages.

"This can't be real," he muttered. "Are you sure these are about Dad?"

Patricia nodded. "It all fits. The names, the dates... it all points to him."

Owen looked conflicted. He had always looked up to their father, and this revelation was shattering his idealized image of him. "We need to talk to him," Owen finally said.

"Agreed," Patricia replied, though she dreaded the confrontation.

They found David in his study, a room filled with bookshelves and old family portraits. He looked up from his desk as they entered, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Patricia, Owen, what's going on?" David asked, sensing the tension.

Patricia took a step forward, holding up the journal. "We found this in the attic. It's Mom's journal, and it has some disturbing information about you."

David's face paled as he saw the journal. "Where did you get that?" he asked, his voice unsteady.

"In the attic," Patricia repeated. "What does this mean, Dad? Are you involved with the cartels?"

David's eyes darted from Patricia to Owen, his mind racing for a way out. "It's complicated," he finally said. "But you need to understand, everything I did was to protect this family."

"Protect us?" Owen scoffed. "How is getting involved with criminals protecting us?"

David sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You don't know what it was like back then. I had no choice."

Patricia's frustration boiled over. "There's always a choice, Dad. You chose to put us all at risk. What else haven't you told us?"

David remained silent, his gaze fixed on the floor. The room was thick with tension, and it was clear they weren't going to get any more answers from him at that moment.

"We'll find out the truth, with or without your help," Patricia said, turning to leave.

Owen followed her out, his mind swirling with questions and doubts. "What do we do now?" he asked once they were outside.

"We need to dig deeper," Patricia replied. "If Dad won't tell us the truth, we'll find it ourselves. We owe it to Mom and to ourselves to uncover what really happened."

Owen nodded, still processing the weight of the situation. "Alright, I'm with you. But we need to be careful. If Dad's really involved with the cartels, this could be dangerous."

"I know," Patricia said. "But we can't let fear stop us. We need to find out the truth, no matter what."

As they walked back to the house, Patricia couldn't shake the feeling that their lives were about to change forever. The secrets she had uncovered were just the beginning, and she had no idea where this path would lead them. But one thing was certain: they were in it together, and they wouldn't stop until they uncovered the truth about their father and the dark legacy he had hidden for so long.