Chapter 7 - THE TRAP INSIDE MY OWN HOME

For years, I believed the biggest battles in life happened in boardrooms.

I was wrong.

The hardest battles happen inside your own home.

They happen when you look at someone you love and realize you have no idea who they really are.

After finding the document Isabella brought me, I didn’t sleep.

Not because I was worried about losing my company.

Money could be replaced.

Buildings could be rebuilt.

Contracts could be rewritten.

But my daughter’s trust?

That was something I almost lost forever.

I sat in my office at three in the morning, staring at the transfer agreement.

My name.

My company.

My signature.

Everything looked real.

Too real.

Someone had carefully prepared a plan to take control of everything I built.

And the person helping them was the woman who slept beside me every night.

My phone rang.

It was Marcus.

“You found the document?”

“Yes.”

There was silence.

Then he said:

“Sir, you need to hear this.”

I sat up.

“What happened?”

“I checked the paperwork.”

“And?”

“It wasn’t created recently.”

My eyes narrowed.

“How old is it?”

“Almost six months.”

Six months.

That meant this started before I even left for Dubai.

Before the distance.

Before the excuses.

Before Isabella became afraid.

They had been planning while I was still standing right beside them.

“Marcus.”

“Yes?”

“Find everything.”

“I already am.”

“No.”

I looked at the document.

“Find every person involved.”

Because this was bigger than Beatriz.

Much bigger.

Later that morning, I went downstairs.

Beatriz was in the kitchen.

She looked calm.

Too calm.

She poured coffee into a cup and smiled.

“Did you sleep?”

I looked at her.

“Not much.”

“I’m sorry we fought.”

The way she said it almost sounded sincere.

Almost.

“I don’t want us to destroy our marriage over a misunderstanding.”

A misunderstanding.

She kept using that word.

Like if she repeated it enough times, reality would change.

“You know what bothers me?” I asked.

She looked at me.

“What?”

“I spent years thinking I was protecting my family.”

A small smile appeared.

“You were.”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“I was protecting an illusion.”

Her face changed.

Only slightly.

But enough.

“You’re letting one bad moment ruin everything.”

“One bad moment?”

I stepped closer.

“My daughter was afraid to tell me she was being hurt.”

Beatriz sighed.

“She’s sensitive.”

I looked at her.

“Do you hear yourself?”

She looked away.

And that was when I knew.

There was no regret.

Only frustration that she had been caught.

Before I could continue, my phone rang.

It was Daniel.

My lawyer.

His voice sounded urgent.

“You need to leave the house.”

I frowned.

“What?”

“Right now.”

“Why?”

A pause.

Then:

“Because someone filed an emergency motion against you.”

My expression changed.

“Who?”

Daniel answered.

“Your wife.”

The room suddenly felt colder.

“What did she claim?”

Another pause.

Then he said:

“She says you are unstable and a danger to Isabella.”

I looked at Beatriz.

She was watching me.

And she wasn’t surprised.

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Because she already knew.

The trap had started.