CHAPTER 5 – THE VIDEO THEY THOUGHT WAS DESTROYED
Alejandro didn't drive back to his penthouse.
He didn't return to company headquarters.
And he certainly didn't plug the mysterious USB drive into his laptop.
If Valeria was right...
Someone was watching.
Someone with enough influence to erase evidence the moment it touched the internet.
There was only one place he still trusted.
A tiny apartment in the San Ángel district.
It belonged to Diego Álvarez, the friend who had stood beside him since university, long before either of them had become successful.
Diego wasn't just Alejandro's attorney.
He was a cybersecurity expert who handled the company's most sensitive legal investigations.
If anyone could examine the USB safely...
It was him.
Forty minutes later, Diego locked three separate deadbolts behind them before leading Alejandro into a small room filled with computer equipment.
No internet connection.
No wireless devices.
Only a standalone forensic workstation used to analyze digital evidence.
"You weren't exaggerating," Diego said quietly as he examined the USB.
"This thing has been encrypted."
"Can you open it?"
Diego smiled faintly.
"Eventually."
For nearly an hour, neither man spoke.
The only sounds were the steady tapping of computer keys and the soft hum of cooling fans.
Finally...
A folder appeared on the screen.
Its name consisted of only four words.
"If I disappear..."
Alejandro felt his chest tighten.
Inside were dozens of files.
Payroll spreadsheets.
Bank transfers.
Scanned contracts.
Photographs.
Audio recordings.
And one video.
The timestamp showed it had been recorded eight months earlier.
Diego clicked PLAY.
Grainy security footage filled the screen.
It came from inside the restaurant's manager's office.
The date matched the week before Miguel disappeared.
The camera had no sound.
But the images were enough.
Miguel stood beside the desk holding several documents.
He looked angry.
Across from him...
Efraín remained seated.
Smiling.
Miguel threw the papers onto the desk.
Efraín barely reacted.
Then another man entered the office.
He wore an expensive charcoal-gray suit.
His face remained hidden because he stood with his back to the camera.
The mysterious man calmly picked up the documents.
Read them.
Then...
Without warning...
He tore every page into tiny pieces.
Miguel pointed toward the restaurant floor, obviously demanding an explanation.
The suited man simply shrugged.
Then he reached into his jacket.
Alejandro held his breath.
Instead of a weapon...
The stranger produced an envelope.
Money.
A thick stack of cash.
Miguel stared at it.
Then violently knocked it onto the floor.
He refused.
The suited man slowly nodded.
As though he had expected that answer.
The video ended.
Alejandro remained frozen.
"He tried to expose them," Diego whispered.
"And they tried to buy his silence."
Alejandro nodded.
"But who was the other man?"
Diego zoomed in frame by frame.
The stranger's face never appeared.
Only one detail remained visible.
A platinum ring engraved with a family crest.
Alejandro's eyes widened.
He knew that ring.
Only six copies had ever been made.
His grandfather had commissioned them decades earlier.
Each ring had been given to one member of the Castañeda family.
Which meant...
The man standing beside Efraín wasn't an outsider.
He was family.
Diego opened another folder.
It contained scanned bank statements.
Thousands of transactions.
Money moved through shell companies before disappearing overseas.
The same consulting company appeared over and over.
RM Strategic Services.
Diego searched the corporate registry.
His expression immediately changed.
"You're not going to like this."
"What?"
"The company officially doesn't exist."
"That's impossible."
"It was dissolved five years ago."
Alejandro frowned.
"Then how has Grandma's Hearth been paying it?"
Diego turned the monitor.
"Because someone recreated its bank accounts using forged corporate documents."
Alejandro slowly sat down.
"This wasn't one greedy manager."
"No."
"This required accountants."
"Lawyers."
"Bank officers."
"Maybe executives."
Diego nodded grimly.
"This is organized."
As they continued searching the files...
A spreadsheet caught Alejandro's attention.
Every employee who had questioned missing payroll deductions had been highlighted in red.
Next to several names appeared a handwritten note.
Transferred.
Others.
Resigned.
A few simply read...
Handled.
Miguel's name was different.
Beside it were two words written in capital letters.
DO NOT RETURN.
Neither man spoke for several seconds.
Finally, Alejandro whispered,
"What does that even mean?"
Before Diego could answer...
His computer emitted a sharp warning tone.
Someone was attempting to remotely access the isolated machine.
Diego immediately disconnected the power.
"Impossible."
"This computer isn't connected to anything."
Another warning appeared.
Not through the internet.
Through the USB itself.
A hidden program activated automatically.
The screen filled with red text.
FILES WILL SELF-DELETE IN 60 SECONDS
"What?"
Diego's hands flew across the keyboard.
"They built a destruction program into the drive."
"Can you stop it?"
"I don't know."
Fifty-two seconds.
Forty-eight.
Forty-five.
Diego bypassed one security layer.
Another appeared.
Thirty-nine seconds.
Alejandro watched helplessly.
Years of evidence...
About to disappear forever.
Then Diego smiled.
"I've got it."
He disconnected the USB's memory chip from the hidden program.
The countdown froze at...
Seven seconds.
Silence filled the room.
Diego leaned back.
"They really didn't want anyone seeing this."
Alejandro looked at the recovered files.
"We've only scratched the surface."
As Diego organized the evidence, one final folder appeared.
Neither man had noticed it before.
Its title consisted of a single date.
September 18.
Tomorrow's date.
Inside...
There was only one document.
A reservation confirmation.
Grandma's Hearth.
Original Coyoacán location.
Private dining room.
8:00 p.m.
Guests: Six.
Host: Efraín Mendoza.
Special instruction:
"Prepare the inheritance documents."
Alejandro stared at the screen.
"Inheritance?"
Diego looked equally confused.
"Your parents are alive."
"So why would anyone prepare inheritance papers?"
Before Alejandro could answer...
His personal phone rang.
The caller ID displayed a name that instantly drained the color from his face.
Grandmother Isabella's Lawyer.
The man had retired...
Three years ago.
And according to the family...
He had died six months earlier.
Yet somehow...
His number was calling.
Alejandro answered with trembling hands.
A weak elderly voice spoke only one sentence.
"Mr. Castañeda..."
"They lied to you about your grandmother's final will."
May you like
The line went silent.
End of Chapter 5...
