Chapter 5 - The Shadow Master
Paola immediately clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wild with terror as she realized the catastrophic secret she had just let slip.
Valeria didn't look surprised. In fact, she looked almost relieved, as if she had been waiting for this exact moment to unveil the darkest piece of the puzzle.
"Go on, Paola," Valeria said softly, crossing her arms. "Tell him the rest. Tell him who really paid for your apartment in Polanco. Tell him who hired you to join Castañeda Enterprises three years ago."
Alejandro looked between his wife and his mistress, his head spinning. "What is happening? Valeria... what is she talking about?!"
"Alejandro," Valeria said with deep pity in her eyes. "You thought you were a mastermind who conquered the Mexican real estate market. You thought you seduced a gorgeous young PR director who admired your brilliance. But you were just a pawn in a game played by someone much bigger than you."
Mr. Garza placed a third file on the table. This one was bound in red leather.
"Meet Hector Riva," Garza announced.
Alejandro’s heart stopped. Hector Riva was his fiercest business rival—a ruthless, legendary tycoon who controlled the northern shipping ports and had spent the last decade trying to destroy the Castañeda family.
"Hector Riva is Paola's biological uncle," Valeria revealed. "And three years ago, when your empire began to threaten his monopoly, he placed Paola inside your company to infiltrate your financial network, feed your ego, distance you from your family, and orchestrate your downfall."
Alejandro felt his legs go numb. He sank into a chair, staring at Paola as if seeing a monster for the very first time. "No... no, Paola... tell me she's lying. Tell me this isn't true!"
"It doesn't matter anymore!" Paola sobbed hysterically, dropping all pretense of elegance. "You were easy, Alejandro! You were so blinded by your own arrogant vanity that all I had to do was wear short skirts, stroke your ego, and tell you how brilliant you were! You handed me the keys to your company! You signed away your own assets into offshore shells that I control!"
"And who controls those shells now?" Valeria asked with a cold, triumphant smile.
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Paola froze, her sobbing instantly cutting off. "What?"
"You thought you were so clever, Paola," Valeria said, stepping forward until she stood right over her husband's mistress. "You thought you were leaking financial data to Hector Riva. But six months ago, I bought Hector Riva's debt portfolio through a third-party trust in London. Hector Riva doesn't own those offshore shells. I do. Your uncle is bankrupt. And every single dollar you stole from Alejandro... now belongs to Mateo."
