Chapter 2 - THE WOMAN BESIDE THE DEAD MAN
Diego turned slowly toward Paulina.
The expression on his face was no longer shock.
It was something colder.
Something dangerous.
“What did she say?”
Paulina laughed once.
It sounded forced.
“She’s an old woman.”
“She’s confused.”
Teresa’s face tightened.
“I am not confused.”
Paulina glared at her.
“You should be careful.”
Teresa took a frightened step backward.
Diego noticed.
He moved between them.
“No one threatens anyone in my house.”
Paulina’s eyes widened.
“Your house?”
“Yes.”
“My house.”
“Not yours.”
The insult struck its mark.
Paulina’s lips parted.
Diego had never corrected her before.
He had allowed her to choose furniture.
Replace staff.
Change schedules.
Plan their wedding.
But now, in front of every servant, he had drawn a line.
And placed her on the other side.
Paulina lifted her chin.
“I was not involved with your father.”
Teresa shook her head.
“You came to the study twice that week.”
“You brought him a folder.”
“You stayed with him for almost an hour.”
Paulina stepped closer.
“You’re lying.”
Teresa flinched.
Diego caught the movement.
“Ramón.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Stay beside Teresa.”
Ramón moved immediately.
Paulina stared at Diego.
“You think I’m going to attack a servant?”
“I think I don’t know what you’re capable of.”
The words landed hard.
Paulina’s composure cracked for one second.
Then she turned toward Marisol.
“This is what you wanted.”
Marisol looked exhausted rather than victorious.
“I wanted my daughter to be safe.”
“You brought her into my home.”
“Your home?”
Diego repeated.
Paulina ignored him.
“You hid her here because you knew what would happen.”
Marisol shook her head.
“I hid her because I knew people like you would punish her for existing.”
Paulina’s eyes flashed.
“You insolent—”
“Enough.”
Diego’s voice stopped her.
Valentina began to tremble.
Marisol immediately picked her up.
The little girl buried her face against her mother’s shoulder.
Diego saw it.
His anger deepened.
“Take Valentina to the library.”
Marisol looked uncertain.
“I’ll come with you.”
Paulina laughed bitterly.
“Now you’re playing father?”
Diego turned toward her.
“No.”
“I’m trying to become one after someone stole three years from me.”
He led Marisol and Valentina into the library.
The room was warm.
Quiet.
Filled with dark wooden shelves and leather chairs.
Diego closed the door behind them.
For a few seconds, no one spoke.
Marisol stood near the window.
Valentina remained in her arms.
Diego kept his distance.
He did not want to frighten either of them.
“Does she know anything about me?”
Marisol answered carefully.
“She knows you own the house.”
“That’s all?”
“She calls you the kind man from the stairs.”
Diego looked down.
“She said that?”
“Yes.”
A faint, painful smile appeared on his face.
Then he noticed a small scar near Valentina’s eyebrow.
“What happened there?”
Marisol touched it gently.
“She fell when she was learning to walk.”
“Was she hurt badly?”
“No.”
“She cried for five minutes.”
“Then she became angry at the floor.”
Diego almost laughed.
“I did that when I was a child.”
Marisol looked at him.
“I know.”
Their eyes met.
The past moved between them.
Not softly.
Not romantically.
Like a wound reopening.
Diego’s voice lowered.
“Why did you never confront me once you came here?”
“I tried.”
“When?”
“The first month.”
“I waited outside your office.”
“You walked past me with three lawyers.”
“I called your name.”
“You didn’t hear me.”
“You could have tried again.”
Marisol’s expression hardened.
“Then your father saw me.”
Diego became still.
“What happened?”
“He came to the laundry room that night.”
“He told me he knew who Valentina was.”
Diego’s fists tightened.
“What did he say?”
“He said if I ever told you, he would make sure I lost custody.”
Diego looked sick.
“He said no judge would choose a poor maid over the Villaseñor family.”
“He said your lawyers would call me unstable.”
“He said they would claim I entered the mansion to manipulate you.”
Marisol’s voice broke.
“And I believed him.”
Diego looked away.
Because she had been right to believe it.
His father had done worse.
He had destroyed companies.
Silenced witnesses.
Broken families.
All to protect the Villaseñor name.
“Did he hurt you?”
“No.”
“Did he touch Valentina?”
“No.”
“Did anyone else know?”
Marisol hesitated.
“Teresa knew something.”
“And the old driver, Joaquín.”
“Anyone else?”
Marisol looked toward the closed door.
“I think Paulina knew.”
Diego faced her.
“Why?”
“She asked me strange questions.”
“What kind of questions?”
“She asked how old Valentina was.”
“She asked where she was born.”
“She asked whether Valentina’s father had blue blood.”
Diego frowned.
“She said those exact words?”
“Yes.”
“She smiled when she said it.”
Before Diego could respond, there was a knock.
Ramón entered.
“Dr. Salazar has arrived.”
Diego nodded.
“Bring him here.”
Marisol tightened her hold on Valentina.
“Does it have to happen now?”
Diego softened his voice.
“It will only be a cheek swab.”
“No needles.”
“No pain.”
Valentina peeked over her mother’s shoulder.
“Like brushing teeth?”
Diego nodded.
“Exactly.”
Dr. Salazar entered with a sealed medical kit.
He was a longtime family physician.
He greeted Marisol respectfully.
Then he explained the process.
Diego knelt beside Valentina.
The little girl watched the cotton swab with suspicion.
“Will it bite me?”
“No.”
“Are you sure?”
“I promise.”
She looked at Marisol.
Her mother nodded.
Valentina opened her mouth.
The doctor collected the sample.
Then Diego gave his own.
Dr. Salazar sealed both swabs.
“I can have preliminary results within a few hours.”
Diego stood.
“I want the final report sent directly to me.”
“Of course.”
“No assistant.”
“No family office.”
“No one else.”
Dr. Salazar nodded.
Then Diego looked at Ramón.
“You will go with him.”
Paulina appeared in the doorway.
“No.”
Everyone turned.
She stood there with her arms crossed.
“You are not doing this without legal supervision.”
Diego’s face hardened.
“This is not your decision.”
“As your fiancée, it is absolutely my concern.”
“You are not Valentina’s mother.”
“And you do not know whether you are her father.”
The room went silent.
Valentina looked confused.
Marisol covered one of her ears gently.
Diego stepped into the hallway and closed the library door behind him.
Paulina followed.
“What are you afraid of?”
He asked.
She stared at him.
“I am protecting you.”
“From a three-year-old?”
“From a woman who lied to you.”
“She was threatened.”
“So she says.”
“Teresa confirmed it.”
“A servant confirmed another servant.”
Diego’s jaw tightened.
Paulina lowered her voice.
“You are letting emotion destroy your judgment.”
“No.”
“I’m finally using my judgment.”
She stepped closer.
“We are getting married in six weeks.”
“Our families have invested millions in that wedding.”
“Our companies are merging assets.”
“My father is bringing three major contracts into your group.”
Diego studied her face.
There it was.
Not love.
Not concern.
Contracts.
Assets.
Power.
The things Paulina truly feared losing.
He spoke quietly.
“Did you know about Marisol before you entered this house?”
Paulina’s eyes did not move.
“No.”
“Did my father tell you about Valentina?”
“No.”
“Did you help him send that letter?”
“No.”
“Then you won’t mind if I check.”
Her expression changed.
Only slightly.
But again, he saw it.
“Check what?”
“My father’s archived records.”
Paulina forced a laugh.
“He’s dead.”
“His records aren’t.”
Diego called Ramón.
“Lock my father’s private study.”
Paulina turned sharply.
“Why?”
“No one enters without me.”
Ramón nodded.
“I also want every security record from the week Marisol started working here.”
Paulina’s face tightened.
“That was years ago.”
“Our servers keep backups.”
Diego looked at her.
“You knew that.”
She said nothing.
Ramón left with Dr. Salazar.
Diego started toward the study.
Paulina grabbed his sleeve.
“You are humiliating me.”
He looked down at her hand.
Then at her face.
“You tried to throw my child into the street.”
“You don’t know that she is yours.”
“But you were afraid she might be.”
Paulina released him.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you hated her before today.”
“She was a servant’s child.”
Diego stared at her.
Paulina realized what she had said.
Too late.
His expression changed completely.
Not anger.
Disgust.
“She was a child.”
Paulina tried to recover.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“It is exactly what you meant.”
He continued toward the study.
Teresa followed at a distance.
Marisol remained in the library with Valentina.
Paulina stood alone in the hallway.
Then she reached into the pocket of her robe.
She pulled out her phone.
Her fingers moved quickly.
Delete every file connected to Marisol Ortega.
Destroy the archive before Diego opens the study.
She pressed send.
A response appeared seconds later.
Too late.
He already found the hidden safe.
Paulina’s face went white.
From the far end of the mansion came a loud metallic crash.
May you like
Then Diego’s voice thundered through the hall.
“PAULINA!”
