Chapter 2 - THE PRICE OF SILENCEThe blood-red emergency lights cast long, distorted shadows across the faces of the city's elite. Wealth and power meant nothing beneath the crosshairs of the automated turrets humming above. A prominent city councilman, known for taking millions in developer bribes, clawed frantically at the thick steel door behind him, his manicured nails scratching uselessly against the cold metal.
"Let us out!" the councilman shrieked, turning his sweat-soaked face toward Valeria. "Miss Valeria, please! This is a misunderstanding! Nicolás is young, he’s hot-headed—we can settle this like civilised people! Name your price!"
Valeria turned slowly. Her expression was completely devoid of mercy.
"Civilised?" Valeria repeated, her voice echoing in the vast, tomb-like silence of the ballroom. "Where was your civilisation three months ago when my father’s shipping company was illegally seized? Where was your civilisation when my younger brother was pushed off a balcony to cover up your corporate embezzlement?"
A collective gasp sucked the air right out of the room. The faces of several high-ranking executives instantly drained of colour. They knew. Every single person in this room had signed off on the cover-up, trading silence for stock shares and political immunity.
Nicolás backed away, pressing his spine against the unyielding steel of the sealed exit. "You're... you're Alexander Vance's daughter," he muttered, the name hitting him like a physical blow. "The Vances... your family was wiped out in that offshore shipping scandal five years ago. You were supposed to be bankrupt. Finished!"
"Bankrupt?" A deep, gravelly voice echoed through the estate’s intercom system, sending a shiver down the spine of every living soul in the room.
The main audio feed crackled, and the unmistakable sound of heavy combat boots echoed as a private army of tactical operatives systematically secured the outer perimeter of the mansion.
"We were never bankrupt, young Nicolás," Alexander Vance's voice reverberated, dripping with absolute authority. "We were just quietly buying up every single debt, mortgage, and dirty secret your precious family accumulated over the last century."
On the massive, hidden projection screen behind the stage, the velvet curtain ripped open automatically. Instead of a charity logo, high-resolution financial ledgers, encrypted offshore bank accounts, and video confessions began to play in ruthless, high-definition loop.
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Account after account, name after name flashed across the screen. The politicians turned pale. The CEOs clutched their chests.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the liquidation sale," Valeria announced, sweeping her hand across the room. "And the first item on the block... is Nicolás."
