I clicked on the status detail.

The status read: *Pending – Legal Dispute Filed.*

I knew Alvaro would try this first.

He wanted to starve me out, to cut off my access to the money before I could leave the country.

But he was too late.

I took a deep breath, opened a secure messaging app, and dialed a number I had memorized weeks ago.

The call connected on the second ring.

“Señora Valcárcel,” a deep, calm voice said.

It was Alejandro Vela, the senior partner at Vela & Asociados, the most formidable criminal defense firm in Spain.

They did not represent corporate entities; they defended politicians and magnates facing state prosecution.

“Good evening, Alejandro,” I said, my voice quiet in the empty kitchen. “Has the transaction cleared?”

“It has,” Alejandro replied.

“The retainer was processed through the Andorran account at nine o’clock tonight,” he said.

“And the documentation?” I asked.

“My team has already reviewed the first batch,” he said. “The ledger details are extraordinary.”

“They outline every off-books transaction Horizonte Capital made through the Swiss accounts over the last four years,” I said.