Chapter 3 - THE PRICE OF TRUTH
"I stole the files, Alejandro. But you don't know the real reason why."Alejandro stared at the signature line. The pressure in the room was suffocating. Emilio was smiling, already tasting victory. Sofia was nodding approvingly.
Suddenly, a weak, raspy sound broke the silence.
“Al... Alejandro...”
Alejandro dropped the pen. He spun around. Mariana’s eyes were open, fluttering weakly against the harsh hospital lights. The ventilator tube had been downgraded to an oxygen mask earlier that morning, and she was fighting to speak.
"Mariana!" Alejandro rushed to her side, completely forgetting the documents, forgetting his mother, forgetting the betrayal. "Don't speak. Don't move."
"Alex..." she whispered, her voice like dry autumn leaves. She looked past him, seeing Emilio and Sofia, and her eyes filled with a profound sadness. "You found them... the files."
"Is it true?" Alejandro asked, his voice breaking, desperately searching her eyes for a denial. "Did you marry me just to steal those documents? To ruin my family?"
Mariana closed her eyes for a moment, a single tear escaping and rolling down her temple. "Yes," she whispered. "In the beginning... that was the plan. I wanted justice for Diego. Your family murdered him with their greed, and they laughed about it."
Sofia gasped in outrage. "You treacherous little—"
"But I stopped," Mariana interrupted, her voice gaining a sudden, fierce strength as she looked directly into Alejandro’s eyes. "Look at the date on the transfer leak, Emilio. Look at it."
Alejandro snatched the papers back up. He checked the timestamp on the leaked data. It was dated three weeks ago.
"Three weeks ago, I had everything I needed to destroy Villarreal Enterprises," Mariana said, her breathing growing shallow. "I could have sent it to the press. But I didn't send it to the prosecutors. Look at the recipient email, Alejandro."
Alejandro scrolled down the printed page. The recipient wasn't the federal police. It wasn't the media.
It was Alejandro’s personal, private encrypted server.
"I didn't leak it to the world," Mariana sobbed, her chest heaving painfully. "I intercepted it. Emilio... Emilio was the one selling the safety reports to your competitors. He was the one trying to bankrupt you, Alejandro! He used my brother’s death, used the wager, and used me as a scapegoat so he could take over your position as CEO!"
The room went dead silent.
Alejandro’s gaze snapped to Emilio. The smug smile had completely vanished from his friend’s face, replaced by a sudden, sickly paleness.
"She’s lying!" Emilio stammered, taking a step back toward the door. "She’s a dying, desperate woman trying to confuse you!"
"I have the digital forensic logs on my phone," Mariana whispered, pointing weakly to her purse in the corner. "Emilio knew about my heart condition. He threatened to cut off my community center’s funding if I didn't play along. But when I got to know you, Alejandro... when I saw who you really were beneath the arrogance... I couldn't do it. I chose to protect you. Even if it cost me my last days."
Alejandro’s vision went red. The man he had called a brother for ten years had not only exploited a dying woman but had tried to destroy his life while framing his wife.
Alejandro walked slowly toward Emilio. The raw, primal fury radiating from him made Emilio stumble backward until he hit the wall.
"Alex, wait, let’s talk about this—" Emilio pleaded.
Alejandro’s fist connected with Emilio’s jaw with the force of a freight train. Emilio crashed to the floor, bleeding and groaning.
"Get out of my sight," Alejandro whispered, his voice vibrating with a terrifying rage. "Before I make sure you never see the light of day again. And mother? If you stay in this room for one more second, I will divest every single dollar of my personal wealth from your foundation. Try living in Polanco without my money."
Sofia, horrified and humiliated, grabbed Emilio by the arm and dragged him out of the room, leaving Alejandro alone with his wife.
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He fell to his knees by Mariana’s bed, sobbing uncontrollably, burying his face in her hospital gown. "I’m sorry... I’m so sorry, Mariana. I almost gave up on you."
She touched his hair weakly. "I’m still here, Alex. But my heart... it’s tired. It’s so tired."
