Chapter 11 - The LawyerThe gunshot shattered the room.
Alejandro dropped instinctively.
The bullet struck the wall.
Rafael tackled Esteban.
They crashed into the floor.
Valeria screamed.
Mateo pulled Alejandro's father behind the wheelchair.
Another shot.
Glass exploded.
Esteban escaped through the rear door.
Alejandro chased him.
Outside, rain poured over the driveway.
A car sped away.
License plate hidden.
Esteban was gone.
Alejandro returned.
His father was shaking.
“Why would he do this?”
“Because he has been controlling the inheritance.”
His father nodded.
“Esther is dangerous.”
“But Esteban is worse.”
He explained that Esteban had manipulated the family for decades.
He had rewritten contracts.
Moved money.
Created shell companies.
Fed information to Esther.
But Esther believed she was in control.
She wasn't.
Esteban had built the real machine.
The poisonings.
The fake medical records.
The forged DNA.
Even the photograph of the doctor.
Everything had been orchestrated to destabilize Alejandro.
Then Mateo revealed something horrifying.
The poison used on Valeria wasn't ordinary.
It had been modified.
It was designed to cause temporary neurological symptoms.
Hallucinations.
Confusion.
Memory gaps.
“That means the medical records weren't only fake,” Mateo said.
“They were engineered.”
Alejandro looked at his father.
“Can Valeria recover?”
“Yes.”
“But the baby?”
Mateo hesitated.
“We don't know.”
Silence filled the room.
Alejandro looked at Valeria.
“I should have believed you.”
She touched his face.
“You believed me when it mattered.”
Then his father spoke.
“The ledger is still in Esther's room.”
They returned to the mansion.
But Esther was waiting.
She stood at the top of the stairs.
Elegant.
Perfect.
Calm.
“Family reunion,” she said.
Alejandro stepped forward.
“You lied to me.”
She smiled.
“I protected you.”
“You tried to kill my wife.”
“I protected my grandson.”
“You tried to take my child.”
“I tried to save the family from a woman who has spent years manipulating you.”
Alejandro shook his head.
“You're finished.”
Esther laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
She held up a folder.
Inside was a court order.
“Valeria has already been declared legally unfit.”
Then she held up another paper.
“Your father's company is under investigation.”
Another.
“Your bank accounts are frozen.”
Another.
“Your child has been assigned a temporary guardian.”
Alejandro stared.
“Who?”
Esther smiled.
“Me.”
Then Valeria suddenly collapsed.
Blood appeared beneath her dress.
Alejandro screamed her name.
Mateo rushed toward her.
May you like
The baby's heartbeat was fading.
And Doña Esther simply watched.
