“Then the audit focuses on other clubs. The vote passes, but you’re protected. Simple.”

“I’ve made something better,” Julio said. “I’ve made a team.”

Silence. Then, slowly, a hand rose.

“They came to my house,” Elias whispered. “They said if I gave them information, they would give my family papers. Residency. My mother… she has been waiting fifteen years.”

“Sons grow up, Nacho. Sons want things. A coaching job when he retires. A percentage of a future sale. Or maybe he just got tired of lying.”

Julio closed his eyes. The whistle had come from inside the house. Not greed. Not ambition. Just a boy trying to save his mother.

Julio walked over and knelt in front of the boy. Nineteen years old. Terrified. Betrayed by hope.

“And if I withdraw my opposition to the new TV rights deal?” Julio asked, already knowing the answer.