—Then I have a lot to answer.
He took a USB drive out of his pocket.
—I have copied the internal records of Salvatierra Hospitality that show who authorized the transfers from Santa Aurelia.
Elena looked at him.
-Who?
Diego swallowed hard.
—My father.
The answer surprised her.
—I thought you would say Thomas.
—Tomás designed the operation. But my father signed it.
Diego clutched his memory.
—And I spent two years protecting his name.
Elena finally understood Diego’s true struggle.
He wasn’t just hiding one crime.
She was trying to save the memory of a man she had loved.
—Are you going to hand it in?
Diego looked at the memory.
-Yeah.
—Even if it destroys your father’s reputation?
He took a deep breath.
—If I don’t do it, I’ll be choosing the same lie he chose.
Elena did not forgive him.
But for the first time since the wedding, she acknowledged him again.
Chapter 8 — The Price of a Surname
The economic research took months.
There was no spectacular arrest or dramatic confession.
There were requests for documentation, expert reports, statements, and accounting analyses.
Some of the transactions from 2005 were beyond the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution. Others could have civil repercussions. Certain falsifications and more recent acts remained under investigation.
The legal reality turned out to be less clean than the family narrative.
But enough truth came to light to change everything.
The board of the Salvatierra Group commissioned an independent audit.
Diego temporarily resigned from his management duties.
Lucia did the same.
Thomas refused.
He claimed he was the victim of a conspiracy orchestrated by Elena to seize family assets.
Their strategy ended up weakening when two recent events occurred.
The first was the fake agreement with Elena’s signature.
An expert report indicated that the signature had been digitally inserted from a previous document.
The original file had been created on a computer in César’s office, but was later modified from an internal account linked to Tomás.
The second was the theft of the frame.
The exterior cameras showed Tomás leaving the room with the object. He then met with a driver who used César’s car without authorization.
Tomás had broken the frame while searching for documents.
Upon discovering that it was empty, he ordered the remains to be abandoned.
The framework itself did not prove the old fraud.
But the recent attempt to recover it demonstrated the extent to which he feared what it represented.
Elena gave statements several times.
She came out exhausted every time.
Marta accompanied her whenever she could.
Diego did not impose himself.
He sent short messages.
“I’m here if you need anything.”
Elena only responded when she wanted to.
The marriage existed legally, but emotionally it was suspended.
One afternoon, Diego asked to speak.
They met in Madrid, in Julián’s studio.
It was the first time Diego had entered there.
He looked at the plans, the photographs, and the models.
—I’ve never seen his work like this before.
—Your father’s family called him reckless.
—My father called him brilliant.
Elena turned around.
—You never told me that.
—Because every good memory made it harder to talk about the bad ones.
Diego took out an envelope.
—I have requested a temporary separation of powers in our joint ventures and have relinquished any involvement in your mother’s property. My lawyer has arranged everything so that I can never represent you or make decisions regarding that land.
Elena looked at him.
—Do you expect that to fix anything?
—No.
—Then why?
—Because it should have been that way from the beginning.
Elena opened the envelope.
The documents seemed correct, but he decided to have his own lawyer review them.
-Thank you.
Diego nodded.
Then he looked at the desk.
—Are you going to divorce me?
The question had been floating between them for months.
Elena did not respond immediately.
-Don’t know.
-I understand.
—No, Diego. It’s not just that you lied to me. It’s that you decided your fear was more important than my right to know.
-I know.
—And every time you had the opportunity to tell me the truth, you chose to wait another time.
-Yeah.
Elena looked at him sadly.
—I love you. That doesn’t disappear just because I’m angry.
Diego closed his eyes.
—I wish that were enough.
-Me too.
Meanwhile, Lucia was facing her own story.
César agreed to cooperate with the investigation and take responsibility for his involvement. Father and daughter rarely saw each other.
Lucía had spent years believing that she could correct from within what César had helped to build.
Now he understood that this idea also had something of pride in it.
One night he met with Elena.
—I want to apologize for the wedding.
Elena raised an eyebrow.
