Chapter 2 - THE ULTIMATUMHook: A mother cornered, a blackmailer's trap, and a secret whistleblower in the shadows. Ximena has 48 hours to make a choice that will change her life forever.The next forty-eight hours were a blur of physical pain, sleep deprivation, and sheer panic.
Ximena was discharged from the hospital on Thursday afternoon. Her mother, Elena, had driven her back to her modest apartment in the Coyoacán neighborhood. Elena was furious when Ximena confessed what had happened in the hospital room.
"Are you out of your mind, Ximena?!" Elena walked back and forth across the small living room, holding a bottle of warm milk. "You cannot go to that wedding! That woman is unstable, and Mateo is a monster. It’s a trap!"
"I know it's a trap, Mom," Ximena said, gently rocking Leo in her arms. Every movement reminded her of her raw incision, but the emotional pain was far worse. "But you don't understand the kind of power Sofía’s family has. Her father is Alejandro De la Vega. He owns half the real estate developments in the city. He has judges, politicians, and the best lawyers in the country in his pocket. If Sofía wants to destroy me and take Leo away, she has the resources to do it."
"But why does she want you there?" Elena asked, stopping in her tracks. "It makes no sense. Why would a proud, wealthy woman want her fiancé's ex-wife and secret newborn baby at her high-society wedding?"
"I don't know," Ximena admitted, her voice dropping to a whisper. "But she had this look in her eyes... she's planning something terrible. And Mateo is too stupid and scared of losing her money to see it."
Suddenly, Ximena’s phone buzzed on the coffee table. It was an unknown number.
Thinking it was Sofía or Mateo harassing her again, Ximena answered with a sharp, "Stop calling me."
"Ximena, don't hang up," a muffled, unfamiliar voice said on the other end. It sounded like a woman, but the voice was distorted, as if they were speaking through a cloth or a voice-changing app.
"Who is this?" Ximena demanded, her grip tightening on the phone.
"I am the person who sent Sofía the photo of you and the baby at the hospital," the voice replied.
Ximena’s breath hitched. "Why did you do that? Why are you dragging me into their sick drama?!"
"Because Mateo is a criminal, and Sofía is a victim who is about to become an accomplice," the voice said urgently. "You think this is just about a cheating ex-husband and a hidden baby? It’s much bigger than that. Mateo didn't just hide your pregnancy to save his engagement. He used your name and forged your signature on financial documents to embezzle millions from the De la Vega corporation through his architectural firm."
Ximena felt the room spin. "What? No... that’s impossible. We’ve been divorced for eight months!"
"The documents are dated from over a year ago, while you were still legally married," the caller explained. "If the truth comes out normal way, Mateo goes to prison, and because your name is on those forged papers, you go down with him. Sofía’s father found out about the missing money last week. That’s why Sofía is forcing this wedding. She isn't trying to save face, Ximena. She’s trying to trap Mateo into a legal marriage so she can claim spousal privilege and seize his remaining assets before the federal authorities step in."
"Why are you telling me this?" Ximena cried, tears of frustration spilling over her eyelashes. "What do you want from me?"
"Go to the wedding," the voice whispered. "But don't go as a victim. Go as the executioner. I am going to send a digital file to your email in exactly ten minutes. It contains the original documents showing Mateo forged your signature. At the reception, when the time is right, you need to expose them. If you don't, Mateo will frame you for the financial fraud, and you will raise your son behind bars. The choice is yours."
The line went dead.
Ximena stared at the blank screen, her heart hammering against her ribs. Within seconds, a notification chimed at the top of her screen.
New Email: Anonymous Sender - SUBJECT: MATEO_FRAUD_EVIDENCE.PDF
With a trembling finger, Ximena tapped the file. As the pages loaded, her jaw dropped. There it was. Her name, her old legal signature, copied and pasted onto multi-million-dollar offshore wire transfers, dated during the final months of their marriage.
Mateo hadn't just abandoned his son. He had set her up to be his scapegoat.
"Ximena?" her mother asked, looking at her pale face with deep concern. "What is it? Who was that?"
May you like
Ximena looked up at her mother, the fear in her eyes slowly hardening into a cold, lethal resolve. The exhaustion from giving birth seemed to vanish, replaced by the fierce, protective instinct of a mother protecting her child.
"Mom," Ximena said, her voice steady and sharp as glass. "Find my black dress. The elegant one. And call a makeup artist. We are going to a wedding on Saturday."
