Adriana Zumarán (novela)

Adriana Zumarán returns to the imposing Aliaga mansion with a memory that refuses to fade: the unsettling image of her father's funeral, his pale hands hidden beneath a white shroud, and the lingering suspicion that his death was more than a simple suicide. The shadow of that childhood trauma colors every thought as she re‑encounters the family whose bond with her own was severed after the tragedy. Now, years later, she steps back into the elegant, almost decaying, Buenos Aires salon, seeking answers that have haunted her since youth.

Inside the house, long, ivory‑toned corridors lead to rooms filled with carved mahogany, copper candelabra shaped like dragons, and an alabaster jar swathed in lilac velvet. The three Aliaga sisters and their solitary brother, Eduardo, move through the space with a measured, weary politeness that hints at hidden grief. When Adriana finally asks about her father's connection to the family, the eldest sister, Zoraida, offers only vague comforts, leaving a palpable tension that suggests deeper secrets waiting to surface.