Chapter 7 - CAMILA TRIED TO LEAVE
Camila learned about Julian’s suspension from hotel staff.
She called him repeatedly.
He did not answer.
Then she packed.
Three suitcases.
Elena’s cashmere coat.
The emerald pendant.
Two luxury watches Julian had given her.
And an envelope containing $80,000 in cash.
Security stopped her at the private garage.
Not physically.
They simply asked her to wait for police regarding trust property.
Camila exploded.
“Do you know who I am?”
Michael Reyes answered.
“Yes.”
“That is why we called.”
The emerald pendant was recovered.
Elena did not go to the garage.
She did not need the satisfaction.
The item was photographed, sealed, and returned to trust custody.
Then something else appeared inside Camila’s luggage.
A flash drive.
She claimed it was Julian’s.
Police preserved it.
Corporate investigators opened a forensic copy.
The drive contained internal Aurelia files.
Investor presentations.
Employee salary lists.
Draft restructuring plans.
And a folder labeled E.M.
Elena Marlowe.
Inside were emails.
Photographs.
Medical records.
Private messages.
Camila had been collecting information about Elena for months.
Elena stared at the screen.
“Why?”
Miriam opened a draft document.
EXECUTIVE SEPARATION AND REPUTATIONAL PLAN.
Elena’s removal had been choreographed.
First.
Reduce her authority.
Second.
Create internal complaints about erratic behavior.
Third.
Publicly associate Camila with the brand.
Fourth.
Trigger marital separation.
Fifth.
Use the forged prenup to challenge Elena’s family-linked interests.
Sixth.
Complete refinancing before Marlowe trustees could react.
Julian had not lost his temper in the lobby.
He had accelerated a plan.
The public expulsion was supposed to humiliate Elena into disappearing.
Instead, she called her father.
Camila asked for an attorney.
Then she asked for a deal.
She was frightened.
Not of Elena.
Of Julian.
“He said everything would be legal.”
She told investigators.
“He said Elena was already leaving.”
“He said the company belonged to him.”
Miriam asked.
“Did you know about the forged documents?”
“No.”
“Did you know he took Elena’s pendant?”
Camila looked down.
“He told me Elena gave it back.”
Elena almost laughed when she heard.
“Gave it back?”
Thomas looked at his daughter.
“He tells lies tailored to whoever needs them.”
Camila admitted she knew about the reputation campaign.
She had helped feed stories to lifestyle journalists portraying Elena as absent and uninterested in Aurelia.
She had arranged photographs with Julian.
She had even suggested wearing Elena’s coat during the lobby confrontation.
“Why?”
The investigator asked.
Camila whispered.
“I wanted her to understand Julian had chosen me.”
That sentence reached Elena later.
She looked at the emerald pendant resting in an evidence case.
May you like
Camila thought she had won a husband.
She had actually volunteered to become evidence.
