Chapter 3 - THE WOMAN IN THE WHITE DRESS
The hearing resumed forty minutes later.
Renata no longer sat close to Julián.
There were six inches between their chairs.
Then twelve.
By the time Judge Aranda returned, she had moved almost completely to the edge of the table.
Fear had begun doing what morality never had.
It was separating them.
Esteban opened Exhibit Three.
It contained hotel reservations.
Airline records.
Credit-card statements.
Nothing surprising.
Everyone already knew about the affair.
But Claudia hadn’t included them to prove adultery.
She included them because of the signatures.
“Mrs. Rivera’s electronic authorization was used seventeen times.”
Esteban enlarged one signature on the courtroom monitor.
Then another.
Then another.
They looked identical.
Too identical.
A handwriting and digital-authentication expert had determined that Claudia’s stored signature certificate had been copied.
Judge Aranda frowned.
“Who had access to this certificate?”
Claudia answered.
“My husband.”
Julián shook his head.
“Half the executive department had access.”
“No.”
Claudia turned toward him.
“They had access to documents.”
“You had access to my certificate.”
Renata stared at Julián.
“You said she approved those reservations.”
Julián whispered, “Stop talking.”
Renata didn’t.
“You told me Claudia knew.”
The words hit Claudia harder than expected.
She had imagined hundreds of conversations between them.
She had imagined insults.
Mockery.
Promises.
She had never imagined Julián telling his mistress that his wife had approved their affair.
Renata looked toward Claudia.
For the first time, there was no smugness in her face.
Only humiliation.
“He told me your marriage was over.”
Claudia said nothing.
“He said you stayed together for the company.”
Still Claudia said nothing.
“He said you knew about me.”
Claudia finally answered.
“I didn’t.”
Renata looked down.
Julián leaned toward her.
“This isn’t the time.”
She turned on him.
“When exactly is the time?”
The judge ordered them to stop.
Esteban opened Exhibit Four.
Emails.
Deleted messages.
Backups from corporate servers.
One message had been sent by Julián to Arturo.
Prepare the separation package.
Make it look voluntary.
Another said:
Remove CR access after final patent transfer.
Another:
Once her mother gets worse, she won’t have energy to fight.
Claudia’s hands tightened beneath the table.
That message still hurt most.
Not the affair.
Not the money.
Her mother.
Julián had watched Elena Rivera grow weaker from chemotherapy.
He had carried groceries into her apartment.
He had called her Mamá Elena.
He had sat beside her hospital bed.
And behind Claudia’s back, he had treated her illness like a business opportunity.
Claudia heard her mother’s voice in her memory.
Never confuse kindness with surrender, hija.
She wished Elena could have been there.
But Claudia had refused.
Her mother had already survived cancer.
She did not need to survive Julián again.
Esteban moved to Exhibit Five.
This one was different.
A security video appeared.
The date was eleven months earlier.
Claudia recognized her own office.
She appeared on screen at 9:42 p.m.
Alone.
Working.
At 10:06, she left.
At 10:11, Julián entered.
At 10:14, Arturo joined him.
The two men opened Claudia’s locked filing cabinet.
They removed three folders.
Then Julián walked toward the camera.
The video went black.
The next morning, Claudia had been told the security system had malfunctioned.
It hadn’t.
Someone had deleted the footage.
But the backup server had retained a compressed copy.
Julián stared at the screen.
Claudia stared at him.
“You should have remembered who designed the backup system.”
He looked away.
Esteban closed the fifth tab.
Five pieces of evidence.
Twelve remained.
Then something unexpected happened.
Renata stood.
“Your Honor.”
Her attorney tried to stop her.
She ignored him.
“I need separate counsel.”
Julián’s face changed instantly.
“Renata.”
She stepped away from him.
“No.”
“Sit down.”
“No.”
Her voice cracked.
“You told me she was crazy.”
Julián stared at her.
“You told me she stole from you.”
“Renata.”
“You told me everything was yours.”
She pointed toward the evidence folder.
“What else did you put my name on?”
Julián didn’t answer.
And Claudia understood.
The alliance was breaking.
May you like
But a frightened Renata could be more dangerous than a loyal one.
Because frightened people talked.
