Moses stood up, his eyes full of questioning and some disbelief.
-How do you know?
The mother had been very well protected and had never revealed which country she was from, so how had he found out?
Also, why is he investigating his mother as well?
Wait, did he say too?
Diego stepped forward and said respectfully.
-Mr. Moses, you must not get excited. We have no ill will.
Moses looked at Diego and then at the motionless Carlos, whose eyes were sincere and his usual indifferent expression had a few moments of reassuring discretion, and Moses slowly sat down.
Carlos did not want to jump through hoops with him either and told him plainly.
-My mother was also from Salamonsa, but she died of poisoning, more than ten years ago.
He could not expose Micaela yet; Micaela’s situation was different and he did not want to expose Micaela when the existing situation was still unclear.
Moses looked at Carlos with eyes full of surprise.
-I recently found out that she was from Salamonsa, and I set out to investigate how many people from Salamonsa are inside Anlandana and I came up with some surprising results.
Carlos winked and Diego handed him the folder he had in his hand.
Moises takes it and flips it open.
This is what Diego found out about the five men.
Moses raised his head after a quick glance.
Carlos continued.
-I have tried to enter Salamonsa under the pretext of getting gems to investigate the true cause of my mother’s death, and I have been turned back three times and I still don’t know what to do. Inadvertently, I found out about your mother, so, Moses, would you mind telling me what you know?
Carlos’ deep eyes looked at Moisés, his tone was sincere, and gave off a powerful affinity that made one feel the emotion of being valued, of wanting to know everything and to be grateful for that attention.
This is what Diego particularly admires about your family, Sir, because your aura is so strong that when you lower your posture, it is very obvious that the other party will feel your sincerity.
True to his style, Moses was engaged and opened his mouth slowly.
-I really don’t know much, and I don’t know if it will help you. As you should know, since you have done your research, Salamonsa is very closed and the population control is very strict, it is very difficult for outsiders to enter and the natives are not let out easily.
Carlos nodded and did not speak.
Regarding that population control, it is really a difficult thing to understand how many stowaways there are all over the world, but Salamonsa has done it to the maximum, because the geographical advantage of Salamonsa is very unique, he studied that map of Salamonsa for a long time, the terrain of Salamonsa is very easy to defend and difficult to attack, so he can have exclusive access to the gemstone resources for half a century without being subject to a barbaric foreign invasion.
-Exactly why that country is so mysterious, I know nothing, but why your mother died of poisoning, and why the women, in this investigation, died, I probably know a little bit of the skin.
Carlos clenched his fists and looked at him seriously.
-Your mother, and these people, must have escaped without Salamonsa’s permission, and she died poisoned because she must have been ‘contracted’ while at Salamonsa.
A contract?
Carlos’ brow furrowed, was ‘contract’ another word for that kind of poison?
His heart also rose, Micaela, could he have been hired as well…?
Moses continued.
-I’ve only been to Salamonsa once, when I was nine, for my grandmother’s birthday, and my mother took me there, and the ‘deed’ thing came up when my mother and grandmother were talking, so I guess they thought I was young then and didn’t avoid me. My mother didn’t have a ‘contract’, she did all the normal paperwork and left Salamonsa and came to Fracimon Nation to marry my father.
He frowned slightly, as if remembering the details of the moment.
-There was talk then of a woman who had a “contract” on her, who fled Salamonsa and died in Anlandana because the “contract time” was up, but there was no antidote and she died of poisoning, perhaps one of the people in this investigation of yours.
Moses looks at Carlos with a frank look.
-That’s all I know, I don’t know exactly what the “contract” is. Gee, besides, even though my mother left Salamonsa by the normal procedures, it is really no different than being kicked out, not being allowed to mention that she is from Salamonsa, not being allowed to take anything from Salamonsa, but she has a privilege to return to Salamonsa twice in her life and she has already used it once.
At that point, he frowned again.
-However, I always had a big doubt, Anlandana and Salamonsa are geographically separated by more than a hundred thousand miles, however, the language, color, writing and customs are basically the same as Anlandana, which is probably the reason why those people would choose to go to Anlandana. By the way, I am also a quarter Anlandana, my great-grandfather was a Salamentro from Anlandana and the current mayor, Andres Abasto, is my uncle.
Diego was a little surprised, so Elisa Abasto and he were cousins?
It’s a small world…
Carlos’ attention was completely detached from this irrelevant matter.
Not much progress had been made after hearing Moisés talk about it….
Carlos asks the question that worries him the most.
-How do we know if there is a ‘fact’ in the person leaving Salamonsa?
Moisés frowns and affirms emphatically.
-I don’t know anything about that.
Carlos continued with the question.
-Can I ask your mother?
Moses was a little torn, and said half-heartedly.
-My mother was very reluctant to answer questions about Salamonsa, I witnessed her talking to my father about this when I was a child, about Salamonsa and then coughing blood…..
Carlos’ heart sank, it really is all like this, these people who know the inside story, even Sergio who knows only a little of the skin, Adriana, spits blood when they mention this….
Carlos immediately identified another loophole.
-So he didn’t spit blood when he mentioned it to your grandmother in Salamonsa?
Moses remembers carefully and answers.
-Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to hear anything more than the -deed- I remember so well, after all, I was just a playful kid back then, but I’m sure my mom didn’t spit blood when she went back to Salamonsa.
Carlos immediately went on with the question.
-Is it to be understood, then, that by not focusing on Salamonsa and just mentioning the fact, your mother will not vomit blood?
Moses struggled with the nervousness in Carlos’ eyes? Was he going to test his mother for Carlos, his friend? The stunt was Salamonsa’s, and bringing it up must have had some repercussions?
Carlos also guessed Moses’ concern and had to test him to check Micaela’s potential risk.
-Moses, Micaela is also from Salamonsa.