Chapter 6 - THE FAMILY ESTATE IN CHAINSBy noon, the drama had escalated from national news headlines to a full-scale corporate and legal earthquake.
Rodrigo Sánchez strode back into my hospital room carrying a fresh cup of espresso and an iPad displaying live financial feeds. Behind him walked my doctor, who smiled warmly as she checked my charts.
“Well, Mariana, your blood pressure is back to normal, and the baby’s vitals are textbook perfect,” the doctor announced, removing her stethoscope. “If you keep resting like this for another twenty-four hours, I can discharge you tomorrow morning.”
“Thank you, Doctor,” I smiled, feeling a profound sense of relief wash over me.
Once the doctor closed the door behind her, Rodrigo pulled up his chair, his eyes gleaming with professional triumph.
“You missed the best part, Mariana,” Rodrigo said, opening his iPad and turning it toward me.
On the screen was a live news broadcast from outside the sprawling wrought-iron gates of the Fuentes family mansion in Puebla. A crowd of reporters, camera crews, and police officers surrounded the grand entrance. Federal marshals could be seen slapping orange seizure seals across the front gates.
“What am I looking at?” I asked, leaning forward.
“That is the rapid liquidation of the Fuentes Real Estate Group,” Rodrigo said smoothly, taking a sip of his espresso. “The moment your public assault video hit the internet last night, combined with the emergency audit I filed at midnight, the National Banking and Securities Commission audited their corporate accounts. They found over two hundred million pesos in unrecorded corporate debt and tax evasion.”
My jaw dropped. “So… their empire is actually collapsing?”
“It’s not collapsing, Mariana. It’s vaporizing,” Rodrigo corrected with a cold smirk. “Doña Elena is currently locked inside her mansion refusing to speak to reporters, and Arturo was just detained by financial crimes investigators for questioning regarding corporate embezzlement.”
A knock sounded on the hospital door before it slowly creaked open.
Standing in the doorway, looking pale, exhausted, and wearing the exact same crumpled tuxedo he had worn to our wedding yesterday, was Arturo.
He looked like a ghost of the man who had stood at the altar. His hair was disheveled, his tie was gone, and his eyes were bloodshot and desperate.
“Mariana…” he whispered, taking a tentative step into the room.
May you like
Mateo immediately stood up, towering over Arturo and blocking his path. “Where do you think you’re going, trash? Back up before I throw you out the window.”
“Please, Mateo, just… just let me talk to my wife,” Arturo begged, his voice cracking as he looked past Mateo’s shoulder directly at me. “Mariana, please. Drop the charges. Call your lawyer off. You’re destroying everything we built!”
