—Shut me up? —Camila screamed, out of her mind—. You promised me marriage! You promised me the presidency when you got rid of her! You even told me that the founder’s old documents were already destroyed!
That phrase changed everything.
I felt my back harden.
—What documents? —I asked for.
Alejandro remained motionless.
Camila put a hand to her mouth, as if she had just realized what she had said.
I took a step forward.
—Answer.
He swallowed.
—Valeria… listen… your father… before he died… He left some papers, but they were no longer valid…
—Answer well.
Ramiro looked up suddenly.
—What papers are you talking about?
Alejandro lowered his eyes.
And then, for the first time since it had all started, I saw something real in him.
Fear.
Not the fear of losing money.
Not the fear of losing office.
But the fear that something much worse would come to light.
I knew it before he spoke.
I felt it in my chest.
Like a cold blow.
—My father left a private succession clause, right? —I said, almost in a whisper.
Alejandro did not respond.
Ramiro tensed.
—Valeria… Your dad once mentioned to me that there was a testamentary annex, but he never gave it to me personally. He said it was kept in a box outside the company.
I looked at Alejandro.
—Where is?
He remained silent.
Then one of the agents stepped forward.
—Sir, you better cooperate.
Alejandro ran a trembling hand over his face.
—It is… in the Valle de Bravo country house.
I frowned.
—That house was sold two years ago.
Alejandro closed his eyes.
—It wasn’t sold —he murmured—. I put it in the name of another company name.
Ramiro cursed under his breath.
Everything fit.
The transfers.
Ghost companies.
The rush to empty accounts.
He wasn’t just stealing money.
I was looking for something.
Something my father had left behind.
Two hours later, escorted by agents and Ramiro, we arrived at the old country house.
Alejandro opened the door with clumsy hands.
The house smelled of humidity, dust… and abandonment.
We go up to the main office.
There, behind a built-in library, was an old safe.
Alejandro marked the combination.
When the metal door opened, there were not only documents inside.
There was also a yellow envelope with my name on it, written by my father’s hand.
My fingers trembled.
I opened the letter first.
“Valeria, if you are reading this, it means that I am no longer here to protect you. That’s why I must tell you the truth that I hid too much time…”
I felt like I was short of breath.
I kept reading.
“I built this group for you. But there was a mistake that accompanied me for years. Before you got married, I investigated Alejandro and discovered that his mother had worked in one of my old plants. What he never knew… is that she had a son by a man who never acknowledged his paternity. I secretly tested when he came into the company. Valeria… Alejandro not only didn’t love you. Alejandro is my biological son. He’s your half brother.”
The paper slipped through my fingers.
Everything started to spin.
Ramiro held my arm before I fell.
—What’s happening? —he asked alarmed.
I couldn’t speak.
I handed it to him.
He read it.
His face emptied completely.
—Holy God…
