CHAPTER 2 — The Woman They Tried to Erase
Three years earlier.
Valeria wasn’t Valeria.
She was Isabel Salazar.
And she was never an orphan.
She chose the name Mendoza like a shield, not a disguise.
Because freedom meant nothing if it was never tested.
Ricardo had warned her.
“They will not love you,” he said. “They will own you.”
She wanted to prove him wrong.
So she disappeared into Santiago’s world willingly.
A controlled experiment.
A dangerous one.
Back in the present—
Santiago slammed the table.
“You planned this?” he shouted. “You let me—”
Valeria didn’t flinch.
“I let you show who you are.”
A pause.
Her voice lowered.
“And you did perfectly.”
The recording device hidden in the antique clock blinked red.
Live feed.
Court admissible.
Santiago noticed it.
His breathing changed.
For the first time—
Fear replaced arrogance.
Beatriz grabbed Santiago’s arm.
“We still have the clinic ready,” she whispered urgently. “We can still—”
Ricardo interrupted softly.
“There is no clinic anymore.”
He tapped his phone once.
Outside, distant sirens echoed through Mexico City.
Not police.
Not ambulance.
Federal financial enforcement.
May you like
Santiago’s empire had already begun collapsing.
In real time.
