Chapter 10 - THE WAR INSIDE THE FAMILY
By noon, Doña Esther's attorneys were already fighting back.
She denied everything.
She claimed the ledger was forged.
She claimed Rafael had suffered paranoia before his death.
She called Tomás an extortionist.
And she released a statement suggesting Valeria had manipulated Alejandro against his family.
Marcela read the statement on television.
Her face changed.
"She'll destroy all of us."
Alejandro looked at her.
"Only if we keep protecting her."
Marcela began pacing.
"You don't understand how much power she has."
"I understand more every hour."
"Judges owe her."
"Politicians owe her."
"Half the board owes her."
Alejandro stood.
"Then we don't fight quietly."
Within hours, he suspended all foundation transactions.
He ordered an independent forensic audit.
He removed Doña Esther's access to company accounts.
Three board members resigned immediately.
Two more threatened legal action.
Alejandro didn't care.
Then the company stock began falling.
News outlets surrounded the mansion.
Old friends stopped calling.
People who had praised the Aranda name for decades suddenly claimed they had always been suspicious.
Valeria watched the chaos from the hospital.
Alejandro expected her to tell him to save the company.
Instead, she said.
"Don't protect the name."
"Protect the truth."
Those words changed him.
For his entire life, Alejandro had been trained to protect the Aranda name.
Now he understood that a name without truth was just expensive paint over rot.
That night, Marcela arrived at the hospital carrying a small velvet box.
She placed it on Valeria's table.
"I owe you this."
Inside was an antique silver pendant.
Valeria recognized it immediately.
It had belonged to her father.
Her mother had said it disappeared after his death.
"Where did you get this?"
Marcela started crying.
"My mother kept it."
Valeria stared.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
Marcela looked at Alejandro.
"Maybe as a trophy."
Valeria closed the box.
Something inside her expression changed.
Not weakness.
Resolve.
"I want to testify."
Alejandro looked at her.
"You don't have to."
"Yes."
She said.
"I do."
"Your father tried to tell the truth."
"My father died because of it."
"And I almost lost my child because everyone kept protecting the same woman."
May you like
She placed both hands over her belly.
"No more silence."
