Chapter 4 - DESPERATE MEASURESBy the next morning, news of the scandal dominated every front page, blog, and television broadcast in Mexico. Headlines blasted: "THE FALL OF FERRER: EMPIRE CRUMBLES AFTER MISTREATMENT OF SALVATIERRA HEIRESS."
Mauricio sat in the living room of the Ferrer mansion—or what was left of it. The bank foreclosers were already outside placing yellow tape around the property. Repossession agents were hauling away his luxury cars.
Beatriz was hyperventilating on the couch, while Vanessa was frantically packing her designer bags in the upstairs bedroom.
"Where do you think you're going?" Mauricio yelled, barging into the bedroom and grabbing Vanessa’s arm.
"Let go of me, Mauricio!" Vanessa spat, shoving him away. "You're broke! You lied to me! You told me you were top tier, but you were just living off loan guarantees from the Salvatierras without even knowing it! I’m not staying to drown with you!"
"You're the reason I'm in this mess!" Mauricio screamed. "You hit that child! If you hadn't put your hands on Renata, Don Mateo wouldn't have destroyed me!"
"You let me do it!" Vanessa sneered. "You stood there and did nothing because you're a coward!"
She grabbed her bags and stormed out, leaving Mauricio standing in the empty hallway, broken and ruined.
Meanwhile, at the massive Salvatierra estate, Adriana sat in a sunlit garden, watching Renata play safely with top-tier security surrounding the perimeter. For the first time in six years, Adriana felt she could breathe.
Don Mateo walked over, handing her a glass of fresh juice. "He came to the corporate headquarters this morning, begging to see you."
"Did you throw him out?" Adriana asked calmly.
"Of course," Don Mateo replied. "But a man with nothing left to lose is dangerous, Adriana. Mauricio isn't just greedy; he's stupid. And stupid men make desperate moves."
As if on cue, Adriana’s secondary phone buzzed. It was a text from an unknown number. Attached was a photo of Renata’s school application records, along with a message:
May you like
"You ruined my life, Adriana. If I don't get fifty million dollars and my company back by tomorrow, you will never see your daughter again."
Adriana’s eyes narrowed into slits of deadly rage. "He thinks he can play dirty with me?"
