Chapter 1
“If you spill the water one more time, I'll keep you on your knees until that baby is born!”
Ofelia's voice echoed through the living room just as Alejandro Villarreal unlocked the front door of his home in San Pedro Garza García.
He had returned unexpectedly to pick up a confidential file he needed for an upcoming Board of Directors meeting.
He expected to find Mariana, his wife, resting.
She was eight months pregnant, her ankles were badly swollen, and her doctor had given her strict instructions:
No physical exertion. No stress. Constant monitoring because of the risk of premature labor.
Instead...
Behind the glass wall, Alejandro saw a scene that stole the air from his lungs.
Mariana was kneeling on the marble floor, her maternity dress soaked with water.
Her hands were submerged in a basin filled with warm water and ginger.
Across from her, Ofelia lounged comfortably in a leather armchair, eating pecan cake while forcing her daughter-in-law to wash her feet.
“Harder,” she ordered.
“After all, you're living off my son's money.”
Mariana tried to stand.
She lost her balance.
With a look of contempt, Ofelia lifted her foot...
And shoved her directly into the side of her swollen belly.
Alejandro's briefcase hit the floor.
He rushed forward, pulled his mother away, and caught Mariana before she collapsed.
Her lip was split.
She struggled to breathe.
Her entire body trembled as though she had been holding back tears for hours.
“How long has this been happening?” he asked.
Mariana lowered her eyes.
“I didn't want to come between the two of you,” she whispered.
“You were so happy to have her living with us.”
“I thought if I endured it for a while... your family would stop saying I had turned you against them.”
The words hit Alejandro like a concrete wall.
Mariana had been beside him since the days when they survived on bean tacos in a tiny rented room near UANL.
She had sold the gold necklace her grandmother left her so he could open a small medical equipment distribution business.
She had worked as the company's accountant.
Its delivery driver.
She had even cleaned the office herself when they couldn't afford employees.
Twelve years later...
The business generated millions of pesos every year.
And Alejandro, obsessed with proving he was "a good son,"
Had invited Ofelia to move in with them from Linares.
He had even given her a credit card with a 100,000-peso monthly limit for groceries, medication, and household expenses.
Without saying another word...
Alejandro walked upstairs to his mother's bedroom.
He packed two suitcases with her clothes and jewelry.
Then he carried them outside and left them on the sidewalk beneath Monterrey's blazing afternoon sun.
“You're never setting foot in this house again.”
Ofelia's expression shifted instantly...
From shock...
To pure rage.
“This house belongs to me too!”
“Your company exists because of me!”
“When your brother Diego gets here, we'll take everything from you—even your family name!”
Alejandro slammed the front gate shut.
That night...
While Mariana remained under medical observation...
Alejandro opened the safe in his home office.
It was empty.
Gone were:
Five gold bars.
500,000 pesos in cash.
The original incorporation documents for the company.
Just then...
His phone rang.
It was Diego.
Laughing.
“Brother,” he said.
“Tomorrow you're going to appoint me as Chief Executive Officer.”
Alejandro stared into the empty safe.
May you like
In that instant...
He realized Mariana's humiliation had been only the surface of something far darker.
