Chapter 6 - The Opening of the Ledger
I walked over to the mahogany console table by the window, picked up a thick leather-bound dossier, and tossed it onto the coffee table right in front of them.
“Open it,” I said.
Diego snatched the dossier up, flipping the heavy pages with trembling fingers. Inside were certified bank statements, wire transfer receipts, tax settlements, and court injunctions dating back nearly ten years.
“What... what is this?” Paulina whispered, leaning over her husband’s shoulder.
“That is the history of your survival,” I said, crossing my arms. “For the last nine years, every single property tax bill, every emergency roof repair, every structural engineer’s fee, and every hidden bank levy on the San Ángel estate was paid out of an anonymous corporate account named Aethelgard Holdings. Do you know who owns Aethelgard Holdings, Diego?”
The congressman stared at the corporate registry documents on page four. His face drained of all color. His lips moved silently, reading the name printed at the bottom of the certified government seal: Mara Rivas-Vance.
“No,” Paulina gasped, stumbling backward until her back hit the wall. “That’s... that’s impossible. You were always broke! You drove that old sedan! You wore off-the-rack dresses!”
“I drove an old car because I was busy investing every spare dollar into distressed tech assets and financial restructuring funds alongside Andrés,” I replied smoothly. “While you were spending your husband’s stolen campaign contributions on designer handbags and society galas, I was quietly buying up your mortgage debt on the secondary market at a fifty percent discount.”
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Leticia stared at me as if she were looking at a ghost. Her lips trembled. “You... you bought our mortgage?”
“I didn't just buy it,” I smiled coldly. “I own the underlying land deed. The house doesn't belong to the Rivas family anymore, Mother. It belongs to me. And as of last night, the grace period has officially expired.”
