amount twice.
“He was going to pay her this much?”
“The agreement describes it as a strategic advisory contract.”
Alejandro looked at the document.
“For what advice?”
“None is specified.”
Mariana almost laughed.
The number was large enough to purchase a house.
Andrew had spent months telling employees that the company needed discipline, delayed bonuses, and tighter budgets.
At the same time, he had been preparing to move a fortune to his mistress through a meaningless contract.
“Do we know whether any money was already transferred?” Mariana asked.
“We are checking.”
Her phone lit up again.
This time the message came from Andrew.
ANSWER YOUR PHONE.
A second message followed.
YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU’VE DONE.
Then a third.
CALL THE BANK AND FIX THIS NOW.
Mariana stared at the screen.
Not one apology.
Not one question about her injury.
Not one denial of the affair.
He still believed her role was to repair whatever problem threatened him.
She placed the phone face down.
“Do not restore anything,” she said.
The attorney nodded.
“Understood.”
At 2:13 in the morning, the first director called an emergency board meeting.
By 6:00, every senior executive knew the company’s access to critical financing had been suspended pending review.
By 7:30, Andrew arrived at headquarters.
He entered the lobby furious.
Mariana watched from a monitor in the conference room as he pushed past reception and demanded to see her.
Brenda followed several steps behind him in large sunglasses despite the early hour.
Margaret came too.
She was carrying the empty velvet jewelry box.
“Let them up,” Mariana said.
Her father looked at her.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
When the elevator doors opened, Andrew walked into the conference room like a man entering property he owned.
“What the hell did you do?”
No greeting.
No apology.
Mariana sat at the long table with her father, three attorneys, the chief financial officer, and two board members.
Andrew stopped when he saw them.
For the first time, uncertainty crossed his face.
“Sit down,” Mariana said.
“Don’t order me around.”
One of the board members shifted uncomfortably.
Mariana did not raise her voice.
“Sit down, Andrew.”
He remained standing.
Margaret stepped forward.
“This childish tantrum has gone far enough.
You have embarrassed the family and interfered with Andrew’s business because you were caught stealing.”
Mariana looked at the jewelry box in her hands.
“You brought that with you?”
“Of course I did.
Evidence matters.”
“I agree.”
Mariana nodded to the attorney.
The lights dimmed.
The wall screen turned on.
Brenda stopped breathing for a moment.
The hallway footage began to play.
No one spoke as Brenda appeared on screen with the velvet box hidden beneath her coat.
Then Margaret appeared.
Then the bedroom door opened.
Andrew’s face changed when the second camera angle began.
There he was.
Standing at the end of the corridor.
Watching.
The video ended.
Silence filled the room.
Margaret recovered first.
“That proves nothing.”
The chief financial officer looked at her in disbelief.
Mariana folded her hands.
“Then perhaps Brenda would like to explain why she carried your necklace into my bedroom.”
Everyone turned toward Brenda.
“I was asked to,” she said suddenly.
Margaret’s head snapped toward her.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Brenda’s voice rose.
“You told me to put it there.
You said Mariana
