-What is this?
—Money that left the company in the last eight months. Your audit team detected irregular transactions while you were out of the country.
Elena felt her stomach harden.
—Mateo told me he was investing in new projects.
—Some funds ended up in accounts related to Clara.
Silence fell over the room.
Elena looked at the dates again. There were transfers made during the same month that Mateo had promised her they needed to cut expenses. She remembered cancelling a vacation, postponing a renovation, and selling a watch collection she had inherited from her father to maintain liquidity in the family business.
While she was cutting expenses, Mateo was funding another life.
“How much?” he asked.
Daniel, I’ll give you a figure.
Elena did not react immediately.
Then he carefully placed the document on the table.
—I want them to freeze any transfers that we can legally stop.
—We have already initiated the necessary procedures. We will not block accounts without grounds or touch funds that are not subject to a valid order.
—Good. I want everything to be impeccable.
Daniel nodded.
—There’s something else. Margarita called a real estate firm this afternoon.
Elena raised her head.
-So that?
—He asked how much he could get for the mansion if he sold it before the end of the year.
For the first time all night, Elena felt a pang of genuine surprise.
—¿Margarita?
—According to the report, he said his son was the owner and that he needed to arrange a discreet sale.
Elena remembered her mother-in-law’s smile at the door. It hadn’t just been satisfaction at seeing her leave.
Margarita was convinced that, once she was Elena, she could help her son take over everything.
“Did he sign anything?” Elena asked.
—Not yet. But the real estate agent asked for additional documentation.
Daniel took out a third folder.
—The legal team prepared a formal notification regarding the property and a request to preserve the records related to the potential sale. If we file it tonight, Mateo’s lawyer will receive the notification first thing tomorrow.
Elena looked at the folder.
-Do it.
Daniel studied her for a few seconds.
—One last question. If Mateo calls you, will you answer?
Elena let out a brief, joyless laugh.
—It depends on what I want.
—What if he asks you to come back?
She remembered the way he had pushed the money against her hand, as if he were paying a stranger to disappear from his sight.
—Then I’ll ask him if the two thousand five hundred dollars also included an apology.
Daniel closed the computer.
—I’m going to prepare everything.
Elena got up and walked to the window. Her phone vibrated before she could say anything else.
It was a message from an unknown number.
There was an attached photograph.
The photo showed Mateo sitting on the mansion’s sofa, with a glass in his hand. Clara was next to him, and Margarita posed behind them both.
The text below the image read:
Now that Elena’s gone, we can finally sell the house and split the money. Mateo still doesn’t know what he signed.
Elena enlarged the photograph.
I didn’t recognize the number.
But he did recognize the signature that appeared partially visible on a document on the living room table.
It was Matthew’s.
And underneath was another signature.
Margarita’s.
Elena immediately called Daniel.
—Don’t send the notification yet.
He turned to her.
-What happened?
Elena showed him the screen.
—I think they’ve just made a bigger mistake than we imagined.
Daniel read the message twice.
Then he looked up.
—Elena, who sent you this?
She looked at the unknown number and wrote down a single question:
*What exactly did they sign?*
The answer came before I could put my phone away.
Ask your husband who lent him the money to buy the shares of his own company.
Elena felt the air getting colder.
Because she had never lent Mateo money to buy those shares.
And, if that message was true, someone had been lying to both of them for years.
Chapter 3: The Firm That Changed Everything
At 12:26 in the morning, Mateo raised his glass in front of the mansion’s enormous window.
The city glittered below him. From that height, the lights of Los Angeles looked like stars trapped in the pavement.
Clara approached from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder.
“Finally,” she whispered. “It’s about time you made a decision.”
Mateo took a drink.
—You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting tonight.
—And Elena?
He let out a laugh.
—Elena has always been too proud to admit she needs someone. Tomorrow she’ll be looking for a place to stay. In a week she’ll understand she doesn’t stand a chance against us.
