Chapter 12 - THE BETRAYAL CLOSEST TO HOME
My uncle’s name stared back at me.
Victor Mendoza.
My father’s younger brother.
The man who attended every birthday.
Every holiday.
Every family dinner.
The man who used to tell me:
“You’re just like your father.”
I always thought it was a compliment.
Now I wondered if it was an insult.
“He did this?”
My father didn’t answer immediately.
“I don’t know.”
That shocked me.
“You don’t know?”
“No.”
I looked at him.
“Then why is his name here?”
“Because someone wants us to believe it.”
I stared.
Another trap.
Another person being used.
Another layer of lies.
“How many people are involved?”
My father looked exhausted.
“I don’t know anymore.”
That was the first time he admitted weakness.
And somehow…
that scared me more than anything.
We went to see Victor.
He lived outside the city.
Quiet.
Simple.
Almost suspiciously simple.
When he opened the door, he smiled.
“Valeria.”
Then he saw my father.
The smile disappeared.
“Arturo.”
My father didn’t move.
“Victor.”
The tension between them was immediate.
Family.
But not love.
Something darker.
History.
Inside, I placed the documents on the table.
Victor looked at them.
Then laughed.
“You really think I did this?”
I watched him carefully.
“I don’t know.”
That surprised him.
Good.
I wanted honesty.
“I’m here because I want the truth.”
Victor looked at my father.
“You finally told her?”
My stomach tightened.
“Told me what?”
Silence.
My father looked angry.
“Victor.”
“No.”
Victor stood.
“She deserves to know.”
My father stepped forward.
“Not from you.”
Victor laughed.
“Of course.”
He looked at me.
“Because Arturo always decides what people can handle.”
I looked at my father.
And said quietly:
“Let him talk.”
My father froze.
Then stepped back.
Victor sat down.
“Your father didn’t steal Rafael Serrano’s company.”
I waited.
“He stole mine.”
I frowned.
“What?”
Victor looked at my father.
“When we started, there were three of us.”
My father’s face changed.
“You were never part of the company.”
Victor smiled.
“There’s the lie.”
My heart started racing.
“Who is telling the truth?”
Victor looked at me.
“That’s the question your father spent twenty years avoiding.”
He explained.
The original company belonged to all three brothers.
Victor.
Arturo.
And Rafael.
But when the company began growing, Arturo created new contracts.
Contracts that removed Victor’s control.
“He betrayed me.”
My father shook his head.
“You sold your shares.”
“Because you forced me.”
The room became silent.
I looked at my father.
“Is that true?”
He didn’t answer.
Again.
Silence.
Again.
The answer.
I left Victor’s house feeling like my entire life was collapsing.
Everyone had a version of the truth.
Everyone had reasons.
Everyone had wounds.
But I still didn’t know who was innocent.
My father.
Rafael.
Victor.
Alejandro.
Nobody.
That night, I received a message from an unknown number.
One photo.
A security image.
A person entering Grupo Vanguardia’s private archive.
I zoomed in.
My heart stopped.
It wasn’t Victor.
It wasn’t Daniel.
It wasn’t Camila.
It was someone impossible.
Someone who had no reason to be there.
Someone I thought was gone forever.
Under the picture was one sentence:
THE PERSON WHO STARTED THIS IS BACK.
May you like
And the name below it made my hands shake.
My mother.
