Chapter 2 - THE BETRAYAL BEYOND THE GRAVE
"You think this was a romance? She entered your house to destroy your empire."Mariana survived the night, but she slipped into a deep, medically induced coma. She was on full life support, her existence reduced to the rhythmic, mechanical puffing of a ventilator.
Alejandro refused to leave her side. He sat by her bed, holding her cold hand, kissing her knuckles, begging her to wake up. For three days, the billionaire tycoon neglected his empire. He didn't answer calls, he didn't sign documents, he didn't care.
On the fourth morning, the heavy wooden doors of the private ICU suite burst open.
It wasn't a doctor. It was Emilio, flanked by Alejandro’s own mother, Sofia Villarreal. Sofia looked immaculate in her Chanel suit, her face a mask of aristocratic disdain as she looked at the tubes connected to Mariana.
"Get out," Alejandro said, his voice deadly quiet, not even looking up from Mariana’s face.
"Alejandro, stop this pathetic display," Sofia snapped, her voice cutting through the room like a knife. "The board of Villarreal Enterprises is in a frenzy. Stocks are dipping because you are hiding in a public hospital playing devoted husband to a charity case from Iztapalapa."
"She is my wife," Alejandro growled, standing up, his eyes bloodshot and full of a terrifying rage. "And you will speak of her with respect."
Emilio took a step forward, a smug, venomous smile on his face. "Is she your wife, Alex? Or is she a corporate spy who played you like a violin?"
Emilio threw a thick manila folder onto the bedside table.
"Open it," Emilio sneered. "While you’ve been crying over her, I did some digging. Your 'innocent' little saint didn't just happen to hear about our bet. She engineered it. She targeted me, made sure I would notice her, and practically fed me the idea to choose her for the wager. Why? Look at the documents."
Alejandro’s eyes fell on the papers. They were internal financial audits of Villarreal Enterprises—highly confidential files regarding the construction accident that killed Mariana’s brother. But there was more. There were signed agreements transferring a massive block of leaked shares to an anonymous offshore account.
"She didn't marry you to change your soul, Alex," Emilio whispered maliciously. "She used the six-month cohabitation clause to access your home office, steal your digital keys, and leak the safety violation reports to the federal prosecutors. The warrant for your arrest for corporate negligence is being signed right now. She ruined you, all while playing the tragic, dying martyr."
Sofia stepped closer, placing a manicured hand on her son’s arm. "She used her illness to manipulate your guilt, Alejandro. She wanted to bankrupt us to avenge her brother. Sign the divorce papers now, while she is unconscious. We can claim she defrauded you, invalidate the marriage, and kill the prosecution. Let her die alone, where she belongs."
Alejandro looked from his mother, to Emilio, and then down at Mariana’s serene, pale face. The evidence was damning. The timeline matched perfectly. She had stolen the files from his computer.
His heart shattered into a million pieces. Had it all been a lie? The quiet nights on the balcony? The gentle smiles? The warmth he felt when she looked at him? Was it all just a calculated, cold-blooded execution of revenge?
May you like
He reached out, his hand trembling as he picked up the pen his mother offered. He looked at the divorce decree. One signature, and he would be safe. One signature, and Mariana would be stripped of his medical insurance, thrown out of the private clinic, left to die.
He pressed the pen to the paper.
