Chapter 11 - MY MOTHER’S SECRET
I didn’t sleep.
I sat in my father’s library all night.
The photograph stayed on the table.
My mother’s face.
A woman I barely remembered.
She died when I was young.
At least, that was what I had always been told.
A car accident.
A tragic moment.
A story nobody questioned.
But now everything felt different.
Because lies had a pattern.
And my family had been built on them.
At sunrise, my father walked in.
He stopped when he saw the picture.
I watched his face.
That was enough.
“You know this photo.”
He didn’t answer.
“Dad.”
A long silence.
Then:
“Yes.”
My chest tightened.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
He sat down.
“Because your mother wanted it hidden.”
I stared.
“She wanted?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
My father looked at the photograph.
“Because she knew someone would use it against you.”
I laughed bitterly.
“Someone did.”
He closed his eyes.
“She was right.”
For the first time, my father told me everything.
Before Grupo Vanguardia became powerful…
there was another company.
A partnership.
My father.
Rafael Serrano.
And my mother.
Three people building something together.
Until one night changed everything.
“There was a financial attack,” my father said.
“Someone leaked confidential information.”
“Rafael blamed you?”
“No.”
He looked at me.
“I blamed him.”
“Why?”
“Because the person who leaked the information had access to his accounts.”
I looked down.
“And my mother?”
“She found out the truth.”
“What truth?”
My father’s voice became quieter.
“Rafael wasn’t the one who betrayed us.”
My heart stopped.
“Then who was?”
My father didn’t answer immediately.
And that scared me.
Finally:
“Someone close to all of us.”
I found Camila again.
This time, she didn’t pretend.
“I knew about your mother.”
I stared at her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because my father made me promise.”
“Your father?”
She nodded.
“He believed your father destroyed his life.”
“And you believed him?”
“I did.”
She looked away.
“Until I met you.”
That surprised me.
“Why?”
“Because the woman my father described…”
She smiled sadly.
“Wasn’t real.”
I said nothing.
Camila took a deep breath.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“Alejandro wasn’t the only person investigating Grupo Vanguardia.”
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“Someone hired him.”
My blood went cold.
“Who?”
She looked at me.
“Beatriz.”
I couldn’t breathe for a second.
Beatriz.
Alejandro’s mother.
The woman who criticized my clothes.
My manners.
My family.
The woman who acted like I was beneath her.
“She knew?”
Camila nodded.
“She knew your identity before Alejandro married you.”
My hands tightened.
“Why?”
“Because she thought marrying you would give them access to your father.”
I closed my eyes.
Three years.
Every dinner.
Every smile.
Every compliment.
Fake.
All of it.
“She never wanted me as a daughter-in-law.”
Camila shook her head.
“No.”
A pause.
“She wanted you as a key.”
That evening, I confronted Alejandro.
He opened the door and froze.
“Valeria.”
“Did your mother know who I was?”
His face changed.
I already had my answer.
“You knew.”
“Listen—”
“No.”
My voice was calm.
That scared him.
“Three years.”
He looked broken.
“I made mistakes.”
“Mistakes?”
I stepped closer.
“You and your mother planned my entire marriage.”
“No.”
“Then explain.”
He had no answer.
That was the answer.
Then he whispered:
“I did love you.”
I looked at him.
“Maybe.”
A pause.
“But you loved what I could give you more.”
His eyes filled.
And for once…
I didn’t feel satisfaction.
I felt disappointment.
Because the man I married had never really existed.
When I returned home, my father was waiting.
“We found the person who leaked the documents.”
I looked at him.
“Who?”
He handed me a file.
I opened it.
My heart stopped.
Because the evidence showed the leak came from inside my family.
Not my father’s company.
My family.
The person responsible was someone I had trusted my entire life.
Someone who called me daughter.
Someone who knew every secret.
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The name on the file was:
MY UNCLE.
