Chapter 3: Blood Does Not Mean Loyalty
Mateo had always been the charming one.
The careless brother.
The one who borrowed money, wrecked cars, and smiled his way out of consequences.
But when Alejandro dragged him into the study and threw the image on the desk, Mateo stopped smiling.
“You don’t understand,” Mateo said.
Alejandro hit him once.
Mateo crashed into the bookshelf, blood on his lip.
“Then explain.”
Mateo’s hands shook. “Mother said Valeria was going to ruin everything.”
“By being pregnant?”
“No,” Mateo said. “By telling you the truth.”
Alejandro froze.
Mateo laughed bitterly. “You think Father left the company to you because you were the oldest? He didn’t. He left it to your firstborn child.”
The room went silent.
Mateo continued, voice cracking. “If Valeria gave birth, your child would inherit control of everything. Mother would lose power. I would lose my shares. She said Valeria only needed to disappear until the baby was gone.”
Alejandro felt something inside him turn to ice.
“Where was she kept?”
Mateo shook his head. “A private clinic outside Santa Rosa. Mother paid them. I swear I didn’t know they would keep her alive that long.”
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Alejandro leaned close.
“You should have prayed she died,” he said quietly. “Because now she can testify.”
