CHAPTER 3: THE PERSON BEHIND THE BETRAYAL WAS SOMEONE SHE NEVER SUSPECTED
The emergency board meeting room had never been this quiet.
Usually, this room was filled with confident voices, financial discussions, and plans for the future of Grupo Novatek.
But today…
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone had just witnessed something impossible.
The CEO had been removed.
The woman they thought was a simple assistant had revealed herself as the true owner.
And now, the company was facing a bigger question:
Who else had been helping Adrián Montiel?
Elena Alcázar stood at the head of the conference table.
Not as Laura Méndez.
Not as the quiet woman everyone ignored.
But as the woman her father had prepared to lead the empire he built.
Across from her sat Adrián.
For the first time in years, he looked small.
The expensive suit.
The perfect haircut.
The confident smile.
Everything that once made people respect him had disappeared.
Now he was just a man who had been caught.
A man who had underestimated the wrong woman.
Teresa Molina placed the document on the table.
“Elena, I checked the transfer records again.”
Everyone looked at her.
“There are payments that connect Adrián’s private companies to someone inside Novatek.”
Elena frowned.
“Someone inside?”
Teresa nodded.
“Yes.”
She opened another folder.
“The person who helped him hide the money had access to internal financial systems.”
The room became tense.
Only a few people had that level of access.
Only a few people knew the company’s deepest secrets.
Adrián leaned forward.
“This is ridiculous.”
His voice was calmer now.
Almost too calm.
“You’re trying to blame everyone because you’re angry.”
Elena looked at him.
“Angry?”
She smiled.
“No, Adrián.”
“I’m disappointed.”
That word hurt him more than any accusation.
Because anger meant she still cared.
Disappointment meant she had already let go.
The door opened.
A woman entered.
Everyone turned.
It was Verónica Salas.
Novatek’s Chief Financial Officer.
A woman who had worked beside Elena’s father for more than twenty years.
A woman Elena had trusted since childhood.
Elena stood up immediately.
“Verónica…”
The older woman avoided her eyes.
And that small gesture told Elena everything.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
“Why are you here?” Elena asked.
Verónica placed her handbag on the table.
“I heard there was a misunderstanding.”
A misunderstanding.
Elena almost couldn’t believe it.
Her husband had attempted to destroy her company.
Her mistress had assaulted her.
Millions had disappeared.
And Verónica called it a misunderstanding.
Teresa looked at Elena.
“Elena…”
Her voice was careful.
“She is the person connected to the accounts.”
The room froze.
Elena stared at Verónica.
“No.”
The word escaped before she could stop it.
Because some betrayals are impossible to accept.
Not because they are unbelievable…
But because they come from people we never thought we needed to doubt.
Verónica sighed.
“I didn’t want it to happen this way.”
Elena felt a cold feeling in her chest.
“What way?”
Verónica looked around the room.
Then at Adrián.
And Elena understood.
They had planned this together.
For months.
Maybe years.
“You knew?” Elena whispered.
Verónica looked away.
“Yes.”
The answer broke something inside Elena.
“You knew everything?”
“Yes.”
“About Adrián?”
“Yes.”
“About the stolen patents?”
A pause.
Then:
“Yes.”
Elena stepped back.
The woman who had helped her father build the company.
The woman who had attended family dinners.
The woman who had held Elena’s hand at her father’s funeral.
She had been part of the betrayal.
“How could you?”
Verónica finally looked at her.
And for the first time, Elena saw anger in her eyes.
Not guilt.
Anger.
“Because your father chose you.”
The room went silent.
Elena frowned.
“What?”
Verónica laughed bitterly.
“Do you really think I forgot?”
She walked closer.
“Your father and I built this company together.”
“He trusted me with everything.”
“But when he died…”
Her voice became colder.
“He gave you the shares.”
Elena stared at her.
“That’s what this is about?”
“About inheritance?”
“No.”
Verónica shook her head.
“It’s about recognition.”
The entire room listened.
For years, everyone had believed Julián Alcázar built Novatek alone.
But behind the scenes, Verónica had been there.
She had managed finances.
She had negotiated with suppliers.
She had helped save the company during its hardest years.
And she believed she deserved more.
“I sacrificed my youth for this company,” Verónica said.
“I watched your father become a legend while I stayed invisible.”
Elena’s eyes hardened.
“My father trusted you.”
“And I trusted him.”
Verónica’s voice cracked.
“But trust doesn’t pay bills.”
Adrián suddenly smiled.
A small, arrogant smile.
Elena noticed.
And she understood.
This was not a desperate plan.
This was a partnership.
Adrián and Verónica had been working together.
He provided ambition.
She provided access.
Together, they planned to take control of Novatek.
“You wanted my shares,” Elena said.
Verónica didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
The silence was enough.
Elena picked up another document.
“You made one mistake.”
Everyone looked at her.
“You thought my father only left me shares.”
She opened the file.
“He left me something else.”
Adrián’s expression changed.
“What?”
Elena looked at him.
“A protection clause.”
Years earlier, Julián Alcázar had created a legal agreement.
A clause hidden inside the company’s ownership structure.
If anyone attempted to illegally transfer company assets, manipulate executives, or damage Novatek’s value…
The controlling shares would automatically enter a protective trust.
Meaning:
Nobody could steal them.
Not Adrián.
Not Verónica.
Nobody.
Verónica’s face changed.
“You knew?”
Elena nodded.
“My father knew people would try to take what he built.”
She looked at the portrait of Julián hanging on the wall.
“He knew greed doesn’t always come from strangers.”
Then Teresa received a message.
She read it.
Her face suddenly became serious.
“Elena…”
“What happened?”
“The police are outside.”
Everyone froze.
Adrián looked nervous.
“Police?”
Teresa nodded.
“They have arrest warrants.”
For the first time, Adrián lost control.
“Wait.”
He stood up.
“You can’t do this.”
Elena looked at him.
“You’re right.”
She walked closer.
“I can’t.”
A pause.
“But the evidence can.”
As officers entered the room, Adrián looked at Elena.
The woman he betrayed.
The woman he underestimated.
The woman he thought was weak.
“Why didn’t you stop me sooner?” he asked.
Elena looked at him silently.
Then answered:
“Because I needed to know how many people were willing to betray me.”
The officers took Adrián away.
Then Verónica.
But before leaving, Verónica turned back.
“Elena…”
Everyone waited.
“There is something you still don’t know.”
Elena’s expression changed.
“What?”
Verónica smiled sadly.
“Your father’s death…”
She paused.
“It wasn’t an accident.”
The room went completely silent.
Elena stopped breathing.
“What did you say?”
Verónica was taken away before answering.
But those seven words remained in Elena’s mind.
Your father’s death wasn’t an accident.
For twenty-eight years, Elena believed she had lost her father naturally.
Now everything she knew was falling apart.
And suddenly…
The betrayal of her husband no longer seemed like the biggest mystery.
Because someone had been hiding the truth about her father’s death.
Someone who had been close to her family.
May you like
Someone who was still free.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Chapter 4: The Secret in Her Father’s Will — Elena Discovers the Shocking Truth Hidden for 28 Years
