Isabel Allende

The Gold of Tomás Vargas (El oro de Tomás Vargas) is a story by Isabel Allende, published in Cuentos de Eva Luna (1989). It tells the story of Tomás Vargas, a greedy, quarrelsome, and womanizing man who the people of Agua Santa despise. His meanness and selfishness lead him to accumulate a treasure in gold coins while his wife, Antonia Sierra, and their children live in misery. When a pregnant young woman arrives claiming his protection, Vargas takes her into his home, unleashing a conflict that changes the family dynamic. Her destiny becomes intertwined with the gambling, greed, and tensions of a town that tolerates him but does not respect him.