It was something worse: rotten trust.
Alejandro had used my company as if it were an extension of his ego. And Teresa spoke of my money as if it were a family inheritance I was wrongfully occupying.
—This is not a mother-in-law quarrel —Valeria said—. This is confidentiality, misuse of resources, and divorce with evidence.
At three in the afternoon, Human Resources formalized his dismissal for cause.
At four, the joint account was limited only to the money Alejandro had provably contributed.
At five, I sent him a folder by courier.
Inside were the divorce papers, the notice of employment termination, the inventory of assets, and the house deeds.
They didn’t take long to show up.
Alejandro arrived first, pale, sweating inside his gray suit jacket. Teresa came behind him, still wearing makeup, still proud, still believing she could force her way through with shouting.
—This is a disgrace! —she said in front of the door—. You’re going to destroy my son over a dress!
I stepped into the foyer with my arms crossed.
—It wasn’t because of a dress.
Alejandro swallowed.
—Mariana, let’s talk. My mother made a mistake, but you’re exaggerating.
I looked at him with cold sadness.
—Did I also exaggerate when you used the company card for hotels? When you shared my financial statements with her? When you tried to put your cousin in purchasing even though he didn’t meet the requirements?
Teresa opened her mouth, but for the first time, she found no words.
Alejandro lowered his gaze.
That was when I understood that fear had finally reached him.
Not because he was losing me.
Because he had been discovered.
Desperate, Teresa pointed at the door.
—This house belongs to my son too!
Then Valeria, who had arrived behind me, held out a copy of the deeds.
—No, ma’am. This house was never your son’s. It was only the address where he lived.
Teresa’s face changed.
All her arrogance cracked for a second.
But just when I thought she would leave in silence, she made her final mistake.
She looked at me with hatred and said:
—You don’t know who you’re messing with, Mariana. There are things about your company that still haven’t come to light.
Alejandro froze.
And I knew there was still something worse to uncover.
PART 3
I didn’t sleep that night.
Not because I was afraid of Teresa, but because of the way Alejandro had turned pale when she spoke of “things that still hadn’t come to light.” The next morning, I requested an urgent audit.
Three days later, my chief financial officer walked into my office with a red folder.
—Mariana, you need to see this.
