CHAPTER 3 — The Empire Starts to Burn
The mansion’s lights flickered.
Not from power failure.
From system override.
Santiago rushed toward his office.
Locked door.
Green light.
Denied access.
“What did you do?” he snapped at Ricardo.
Ricardo didn’t answer.
Instead, Valeria did.
“I stopped protecting you.”
Her voice was steady now.
Stronger.
“You thought I was trapped in your house.”
A faint breath.
“I was mapping it.”
Beatriz finally lost her composure.
“This is insanity,” she hissed. “You can’t destroy a family like this.”
Valeria looked at her calmly.
“You already did that.”
A beat.
Then—
A deep electronic alert echoed through the mansion.
Santiago’s offshore accounts froze.
One by one.
Transfers reversed.
Assets seized.
Board members resigning.
Public scandal alerts flooding media servers.
His empire didn’t fall.
It unraveled.
Fast.
Too fast.
Santiago turned slowly toward Valeria.
“You never loved me,” he said quietly.
For the first time, no anger.
Just disbelief.
Valeria hesitated.
A small pause.
May you like
“I tried,” she admitted.
That hurt him more than hatred.
