Chapter 2 - THE MAN WHO CAME BACK
At 7:15 the next morning, my father called.
“They’re here.”
I was still standing barefoot in my kitchen.
“Who?”
A short pause.
“Your ex-husband.”
My stomach tightened.
“And?”
“His mother.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course.
The moment they discovered who I was, they remembered my value.
Funny how money changes people.
“Do you want me to send security?”
“No.”
My father sounded surprised.
“No?”
“I’m coming.”
Forty minutes later, I walked into my father’s mansion.
Beatriz was sitting on the sofa.
For the first time since I met her, she looked nervous.
Not arrogant.
Not judgmental.
Nervous.
Alejandro stood by the window.
He turned when I entered.
“Valeria.”
I sat across from them.
“Why are you here?”
Alejandro opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
Beatriz answered.
“We wanted to talk.”
“About?”
She looked uncomfortable.
“Your marriage.”
I almost smiled.
“My marriage ended three days ago.”
Alejandro stepped forward.
“Valeria, we can fix this.”
I stared at him.
“Fix what?”
“Us.”
I laughed quietly.
“Us?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting.”
I leaned forward.
“Because three days ago you weren’t trying to save us.”
His face changed.
“I made a mistake.”
“A mistake?”
I looked at him.
“Eleven months is a very long mistake.”
Silence.
Then Beatriz spoke.
“Alejandro regrets what happened.”
I turned to her.
“You mean he regrets getting caught.”
Her expression hardened.
“Watch your tone.”
There she was.
The old Beatriz.
The woman who thought she still had power.
I smiled.
“You’re right.”
I stood.
“I should watch my tone.”
I walked toward the table.
“Because unlike before…”
I placed a blue folder down.
“Now you know exactly who you’re talking to.”
Alejandro stared at it.
“What is that?”
“Your family’s financing request.”
His face changed.
“How did you get that?”
I looked at him.
“My company reviewed it.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Your company?”
My father finally spoke.
“Valeria is part of Grupo Vanguardia’s investment committee.”
The room went silent.
Beatriz looked at me like she was seeing a stranger.
Alejandro opened the folder.
Page after page.
Financial reports.
Debt structure.
Investment conditions.
Then he reached the final page.
His hands stopped.
Because beneath the approval signatures was my name.
VALERIA MENDOZA GARCÍA.
CHAIR, STRATEGIC INVESTMENT COMMITTEE.
He looked up.
“You?”
“Yes.”
“You decide?”
“I have a vote.”
His voice became quieter.
“And that vote can stop the deal.”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
For the first time in our marriage…
Alejandro looked at me with respect.
And that hurt more than his betrayal.
Because I realized something.
He never respected me.
He respected my power.
Then my father’s assistant rushed into the room.
“Mr. Mendoza.”
Everyone turned.
She looked at me.
“We have a problem.”
She handed me a tablet.
My heart stopped.
Someone had accessed the confidential De la Vega financing file.
From inside Grupo Vanguardia.
A document was stolen.
The authorization page.
And the person who accessed it…
was someone who should never have known that file existed.
I looked at the name.
May you like
My blood went cold.
Camila Serrano.
