CHAPTER 3 – THE WOMAN IN THE RED DRESS
The scream outside the conference room ended as suddenly as it had begun.
Then came silence.
A terrible, heavy silence.
Mariana's heart pounded.
The emergency lights flickered on, painting the room in a dim red glow.
Pamela looked terrified.
Héctor, however, looked angry.
Not surprised.
Angry.
That was enough to make Mariana suspicious.
Someone knocked frantically on the door.
"Mr. Héctor! Open up! Something happened!"
Héctor unlocked the door.
The young receptionist from the lobby stumbled inside, pale as a ghost.
"The security guard… he's dead."
"What?" Pamela gasped.
"He fell from the second-floor stairs. There's blood everywhere."
For the first time, Héctor's expression changed.
But it wasn't grief.
It was calculation.
"Call an ambulance," he ordered.
"We already did."
The receptionist looked at Mariana.
"He was trying to come here… I think he wanted to tell you something."
A chill ran down Mariana's spine.
The guard who had checked her credentials.
The one who had looked at her with concern.
Dead.
Within minutes.
That was no accident.
Suddenly, Mariana's phone vibrated again.
An unknown number.
She answered.
"Hello?"
A woman's voice whispered on the other end.
"Don't trust Diego."
The call disconnected.
Mariana froze.
Pamela noticed.
"Who was that?"
"No one."
But it wasn't no one.
Because Mariana recognized the voice.
She had heard it before.
Months ago.
On one of Diego's late-night phone calls.
A woman had answered his phone by mistake.
A woman who had said:
"Diego is in the shower. Who's calling?"
He had later claimed it was his cousin.
Mariana never fully believed him.
Now that same voice had just warned her.
Don't trust Diego.
Her hands grew cold.
Before she could think further, another employee rushed into the room.
"Mr. Héctor! The police are here."
"What?" Pamela whispered.
"They arrived with an official warrant."
Mariana frowned.
That was impossible.
The evidence wasn't supposed to be sent for another twenty minutes.
Unless…
Someone else had already reported the fraud.
The conference room door opened again.
A female police commander stepped inside.
She looked around carefully.
Then her eyes landed on Mariana.
"Mrs. Mariana Ríos de Armenta?"
"Yes."
The officer walked toward her.
"You need to come with us."
Pamela smirked.
Héctor folded his arms.
"Finally."
The officer continued:
"Because someone attempted to murder you tonight."
The room fell silent.
"What?" Mariana asked.
The officer pulled out a photograph.
It showed Mariana's car in the parking garage.
Its brake lines had been cut.
The picture had been taken less than an hour earlier.
"If you had driven home today," the officer said, "you would likely be dead."
Pamela's face lost all color.
Héctor looked away.
The officer noticed.
"Interesting reaction," she said.
"No one here seems surprised."
The room became uncomfortably quiet.
Then another voice came from the doorway.
"That's because they're guilty."
Everyone turned.
Diego Armenta had arrived.
He looked exhausted.
His suit was wrinkled, and there was blood on his sleeve.
Mariana's eyes widened.
"Diego…"
He stepped inside and stared directly at his uncle.
"You killed him, didn't you?"
Héctor's jaw tightened.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"The security guard."
Silence.
"He called me ten minutes ago. He said he had proof."
Mariana looked at Diego.
"What proof?"
Diego's eyes met hers.
"He discovered who has been stealing from the company."
Pamela swallowed hard.
Héctor remained perfectly still.
"And who is it?" Mariana asked.
Diego slowly looked at his uncle.
"You."
The room exploded with gasps.
Pamela stepped backward.
"That's ridiculous!"
Diego pulled several papers from his briefcase and handed them to the police commander.
"Bank records. Offshore accounts. Fake companies."
The officer examined the documents.
Her expression darkened.
"You've been investigating your own family?"
"For six months."
Mariana stared at him.
"You knew?"
He looked at her.
"Not everything. But enough to know someone inside the company wanted me dead."
"Dead?" she whispered.
He nodded.
"The accident last month wasn't an accident."
Mariana's heart skipped a beat.
The accident.
The reason they had married in secret.
The reason Diego had suddenly appeared in her life.
The reason he had begged her for help.
Because Mariana wasn't just his wife.
She was one of the best forensic accountants in the country.
And he believed someone was stealing from the company his father had built.
He just hadn't known who.
Until now.
Suddenly, Héctor laughed.
A low, frightening laugh.
"You think you've won?"
The room became quiet.
The old man looked directly at Diego.
"You really are your father's son."
"What does that mean?"
Héctor's smile widened.
"It means you're asking the wrong question."
Diego frowned.
"The real question isn't who stole the money."
He looked at Mariana.
"The real question is… who told me where to find it?"
A cold feeling settled in Mariana's stomach.
Because Héctor was looking directly at her.
"No…" she whispered.
He smiled.
"Didn't Diego tell you?"
Diego's face turned pale.
"Uncle, don't."
"Oh, I think it's time she knows."
Mariana slowly turned toward her husband.
"What is he talking about?"
Diego didn't answer.
"Diego?"
Silence.
Then Héctor delivered the sentence that shattered the room.
"The anonymous whistleblower who started this entire investigation… used your name."
Mariana stopped breathing.
"What?"
"The first report accusing me of fraud was sent six months ago."
He smiled.
"And it was signed by… Mariana Ríos."
The room spun.
She had never sent any report.
Never.
Slowly, she looked at Diego.
His silence told her everything.
"You used my identity?" she whispered.
He closed his eyes.
"Mariana… I can explain."
Tears filled her eyes.
"You lied to me from the beginning?"
"I had no choice."
"No choice?"
"I needed someone I could trust."
"So you stole my name?"
"To protect you."
She laughed bitterly.
"Protect me?"
The police commander watched the scene carefully.
Then another officer entered the room.
"Commander, we found something."
"What is it?"
The officer held up a small red purse.
"It belongs to the dead security guard."
Inside was a flash drive.
The commander's eyes widened.
"Play it."
An employee connected it to the conference-room screen.
A video appeared.
The security guard's face filled the screen.
If you're watching this… I'm probably dead.
Everyone froze.
I discovered who is stealing from Grupo Armenta.
It's not just one person.
It's two.
The guard swallowed nervously.
Mr. Héctor Armenta… and…
The video suddenly cut off.
The screen turned black.
The room fell silent.
Then every eye slowly turned toward Diego.
May you like
Because everyone now wanted to know the same thing.
Who was the second thief?
