Chapter 5 - THE LIE BEHIND THE AFFAIR
For a second, I thought I heard her wrong.
“My husband?”
Camila nodded.
“Alejandro asked me to get the file.”
I stared at her.
“No.”
She looked down.
“I know what it sounds like.”
“No.”
My voice became sharper.
“You don’t understand.”
I leaned closer.
“I spent three years with that man.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.”
My hands shook.
“You think you know Alejandro because he chose you.”
Camila looked away.
“He didn’t choose me.”
That sentence stopped me.
“What?”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“He chose what I represented.”
I said nothing.
She continued.
“Your husband was never in love with me the way you think.”
I almost laughed.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did he destroy our marriage?”
Her voice became quiet.
“Because he was angry.”
“At me?”
“No.”
She looked directly at me.
“At himself.”
Camila told me something I never expected.
Two months before our divorce, Alejandro discovered something.
He discovered my identity.
Not everything.
But enough.
Enough to know I wasn’t just Valeria, his quiet wife.
Enough to know I was Arturo Mendoza’s daughter.
And instead of telling me…
he changed.
“He became obsessed,” Camila said.
“With what?”
“With proving he could stand beside your family.”
I frowned.
“That makes no sense.”
“It does if you know Alejandro.”
I hated that she was right.
Alejandro had always cared about being respected.
His father’s approval.
His family name.
His place among powerful people.
“He thought you looked down on him.”
I laughed.
“I never did.”
“I know.”
She looked sad.
“But he convinced himself.”
I looked away.
Because some part of me understood.
Not forgave.
Never forgave.
But understood.
“Why the affair?” I asked.
Camila was silent.
Then she said:
“Because I was easy.”
The honesty surprised me.
“I made him feel important.”
She looked at the table.
“I admired him. I told him he was brilliant. I told him he deserved more.”
“More than me?”
She shook her head.
“No.”
A pause.
“More than feeling ordinary.”
That hurt.
Because it sounded exactly like Alejandro.
“Then why steal the file?”
Camila’s expression changed.
“Because he threatened me.”
My heart stopped.
“What?”
“He said if I didn’t help him, he would destroy me.”
“With what?”
She reached into her bag.
Pulled out her phone.
And placed it on the table.
There were messages.
From Alejandro.
Threats.
Instructions.
Names.
Dates.
My eyes moved across the screen.
Then I saw something.
A message from three days ago.
The day of our divorce.
ALEJANDRO:
Get the financing documents. If Valeria’s father approves the deal, everything changes.
Everything.
My fingers went cold.
Camila whispered:
“He never wanted you back.”
I looked up.
“What?”
“He came back because he needed your vote.”
I left the café without saying goodbye.
My mind was racing.
Anger.
Pain.
Confusion.
Everything mixed together.
When I reached my car, someone grabbed my arm.
I turned.
Alejandro.
“Valeria.”
I pulled away.
“Don’t touch me.”
His face changed.
“What happened?”
I stared at him.
“You tell me.”
He became still.
“About what?”
“The financing file.”
A second.
Only one second.
But I saw it.
Fear.
“You talked to Camila.”
I smiled.
“Yes.”
His jaw tightened.
“You shouldn’t trust her.”
“Funny.”
I stepped closer.
“You said the same thing about yourself.”
He looked hurt.
Good.
Then he said something I never expected.
“She’s lying.”
“Is she?”
“Yes.”
“Then prove it.”
Silence.
I watched his face.
And I knew.
Because innocent people get angry.
Guilty people get careful.
Alejandro became very careful.
That night, my father called me into his office.
He placed a folder on the desk.
“We found something.”
I opened it.
Inside were security records.
Emails.
Access logs.
And one name appeared again and again.
Not Camila.
Not Alejandro.
Someone else.
Someone inside Grupo Vanguardia.
My father looked at me.
“Valeria…”
I turned the page.
And my heart dropped.
May you like
Because the person helping them…
was someone I trusted.
