Chapter 6 - The Money That Never Belonged to Her
Diego enlarged the photograph.
Marisol looked terrified.
“That is not what it seems.”
“Then tell me what it is.”
She sat down slowly.
Valentina rested against her shoulder.
“The morning after your father died, his lawyer called me.”
“What lawyer?”
“Licenciado Ortega.”
Diego knew the name.
Ortega had managed his father’s private estate for twenty years.
“He asked me to meet him at the bank.”
“Why?”
“Your father had left instructions.”
Diego’s expression tightened.
“What instructions?”
“He opened a small trust for Valentina.”
Paulina’s accusation echoed in the room.
Ask the maid how much your father paid her to disappear.
“How much?”
“Two million pesos.”
Diego looked away.
Marisol continued quickly.
“I never spent it.”
“I never touched it.”
“I did not even know how to refuse it without creating legal problems.”
“The money remains in the same account.”
“Why did you never tell me?”
“Because I believed you had rejected us.”
“I thought the money was your family’s way of making sure we stayed silent.”
Diego’s voice became rough.
“So you came into my house and worked for four years while that money sat untouched?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Valentina needed food.”
“She needed a safe place to sleep.”
“And because after I realized this was your house, part of me kept hoping you would see her.”
Diego turned toward the window.
The answer wounded him more deeply than an accusation would have.
Marisol had lived beneath his roof.
His daughter had grown up beside his kitchen.
And he had noticed neither of them enough to ask the right question.
Gabriel entered with a file.
“Sir, we traced the black sedan.”
“It belongs to Robles Capital.”
“Paulina’s father?”
“Yes.”
“Armando Robles left the city by private helicopter thirty minutes ago.”
“Destination?”
“The flight plan lists Monterrey.”
“But the aircraft changed direction after takeoff.”
Diego’s phone rang.
His lawyer sounded tense.
“The financial complaint names Marisol Cruz as the beneficiary of several transfers.”
Marisol stared at Diego.
“What transfers?”
Diego activated the speaker.
“More than eighty million pesos moved through shell companies registered under her name.”
Marisol stood so quickly that Valentina nearly slipped from her arms.
“I have never owned a company.”
The lawyer continued.
“The documents contain her identification number and signature.”
“They also contain copies of Valentina’s birth certificate.”
Diego’s face darkened.
“Someone used her identity.”
“There is more.”
“The final transfer was authorized yesterday.”
“By whom?”
“Arturo Mendoza.”
The line went silent.
Marisol’s breathing became uneven.
“He found me.”
Diego looked at her.
“What are you talking about?”
“Arturo used my mother’s identity after she died.”
“He opened debts in her name.”
“He took her savings.”
“When I was seventeen, he tried to force me to sign papers I did not understand.”
“I ran away.”
Diego clenched his fists.
“And now he is using your name again.”
Marisol nodded.
“Paulina knew him.”
“How?”
“I saw them together once.”
“When?”
“Two months ago.”
“Where?”
“At the rear gate.”
Marisol looked ashamed.
“I thought Arturo had come looking for me.”
“I hid.”
“Why didn’t you tell security?”
“Because I was afraid I would lose my job.”
Diego stepped closer.
“From now on, you tell me everything.”
“No matter how small.”
“No matter how frightening.”
“You are not alone anymore.”
Before Marisol could answer, Valentina lifted her head.
“Mommy?”
“Yes?”
“Rabbit is talking.”
Marisol looked at the worn stuffed animal.
A faint vibration came from inside it.
Diego took the rabbit carefully.
There was a small cut along the seam.
He opened it.
A mobile phone had been hidden inside.
The screen lit up.
A live audio connection was active.
Someone had been listening to every word spoken in the room.
Then a voice came through the speaker.
Arturo Mendoza’s voice.
May you like
“Thank you, Marisol.”
“You just told us exactly where the original trust documents are.”
