CHAPTER 2: The Diamonds Were Not Hers
The security room was beneath the mansion.
Jimena had always hated it.
Too cold.
Too quiet.
Too many cameras.
Now every screen glowed with the truth.
Alejandro stood in front of the monitors with his arms crossed. Beside him were Doctor Herrera, two police officers, the head of security, and his lawyer, Mariana Ríos.
The girls had been taken to the upstairs nursery, where nurses wrapped them in blankets and gave them warm soup.
For the first time that night, they were safe.
Jimena stood near the door, pale beneath her makeup.
“You cannot record your wife without permission,” she snapped.
Mariana glanced at her.
“This is a private security system inside Mr. Santillán’s legal residence. The footage is admissible enough for an emergency custody filing.”
Jimena’s lips parted.
“Custody?”
Alejandro did not look at her.
“Play it.”
The head of security pressed a key.
The first video showed the kitchen three weeks earlier.
Valeria stood near the pantry, holding Sofía’s hand.
Jimena entered wearing silk pajamas.
Valeria said something too quiet to hear.
Jimena grabbed a box of cereal from her hands and threw it into the trash.
Then she locked the pantry.
Alejandro’s face hardened.
The next video showed Camila crying outside Jimena’s bedroom.
Jimena opened the door and hissed, “Pretty girls don’t beg.”
The next video showed Regina trying to warm Sofía’s feet with a towel.
Jimena walked past them holding shopping bags.
She did not even look down.
Then came the worst video.
The dining room.
Christmas Eve.
Jimena placing the moldy bread on the table.
“If you’re hungry,” she said on camera, “you should learn how to look pretty while suffering.”
No one spoke.
Even the police officers looked sick.
Jimena folded her arms.
“It was a joke.”
Alejandro finally turned.
“My daughters believed you.”
Jimena’s confidence cracked.
“You abandoned this house first. You left me alone with four spoiled little girls and expected me to play mother.”
“I paid for three nannies.”
“They were spying on me.”
“I paid for a private chef.”
“He judged me.”
“I sent money every month.”
Jimena said nothing.
Alejandro looked at Mariana.
“Show her.”
Mariana opened a folder and placed bank statements on the table.
Luxury boutiques.
Private jewelry auctions.
A yacht rental in Cancún.
A penthouse deposit under Jimena’s maiden name.
And several transfers to a man named Bruno Salcedo.
Alejandro’s eyes narrowed.
“Who is Bruno?”
Jimena’s face changed before she could stop it.
Mariana answered.
“Her brother. Recently released from prison for financial fraud.”
One police officer looked up.
Jimena snapped, “My family is not your business.”
Alejandro stepped closer.
“You used the money for my children to fund your brother.”
Jimena laughed bitterly.
“Your children already had everything.”
“They had moldy bread.”
Jimena’s eyes flashed.
“They had your name. Do you know what I had before you? Nothing.”
Alejandro studied her.
There it was.
Not guilt.
Not shame.
Resentment.
Jimena had never wanted to be a mother.
She had wanted access.
The diamonds. The mansion. The accounts. The Santillán name.
And the girls had been obstacles wearing nightgowns.
Suddenly, the door opened.
A security guard stepped inside.
“Sir, we found something in Mrs. Santillán’s dressing room.”
He placed a velvet case on the table.
Alejandro opened it.
Inside was his late wife Isabella’s necklace.
The one he had locked away after her funeral.
The one he had promised his daughters they would inherit one day.
Jimena smiled nervously.
“I was going to return it.”
Alejandro touched the necklace with trembling fingers.
“You wore my dead wife’s necklace while starving her children.”
Jimena backed toward the door.
“Alejandro, listen to me.”
“No.”
He closed the case.
“Officers, remove her from my house.”
Jimena’s face twisted.
“You can’t do this to me.”
Alejandro stepped aside.
“I already did.”
As the officers approached, Jimena shouted, “You think your daughters are innocent? Ask Valeria what she saw in the garage!”
Everyone froze.
Alejandro slowly turned.
“What garage?”
May you like
Jimena smiled through her fear.
“The night your first nanny disappeared.”
