“Take your parents away before they ruin our photos,” my mother-in-law said in front of six employees, after kicking an old suitcase. My husband collected the luggage, and I canceled the villa without asking for a refund. He thought he had won, until two security guards knocked on the door and mentioned a recording that could ruin everything.

PART 1

“Those two suitcases look like they were taken from a garbage dump. Take them out before they contaminate my luggage.”

Doña Beatriz’s words landed like a slap in the face in the living room of the most exclusive cabin in Valle de Bravo. Before her, Don Ernesto and Doña Rosa stood motionless, still in the simple clothes they had worn during their journey from a small town in Hidalgo. One of their old suitcases had just rolled against the wall after Beatriz kicked it with the toe of her shoe.

Valeria felt her face burn. She had organized this vacation to bring the two families together, paying for a house with a lake view, a private chef, and transportation for five days. She wanted to thank her parents for everything they had done for her when she started her medical products company with a borrowed table and a used computer.