Chapter 6 - The Uninvited Guest
While Ricardo was being escorted to the precinct in the back of a patrol car for formal questioning, I took a long, hot shower in a suite at the city's finest boutique hotel. I put on a tailored cream blazer, black trousers, and my favorite pearl earrings. At eight in the morning, holding a manila folder, I walked back into the VIP maternity wing of San Lucas Hospital.
Daniela was sitting up in bed, nursing the baby, humming a soft tune. The morning sun poured through the sheer curtains, painting a picture of blissful domestic peace.
When the door clicked shut and I walked in, the lullaby died on her lips.
Daniela’s face turned paper-white. She instinctively pulled the infant closer against her chest, her knuckles turning white. "Mariana... what are you doing here? You can't be in here. Where is Ricardo?"
"Ricardo spent the night in an interrogation room explaining why he attempted to forge my name on a five-million-dollar commercial lien," I said pleasantly, walking to the foot of her bed. "So I wouldn't count on him bringing you breakfast."
"You're lying!" she spat, though her trembling lips betrayed her terror. "Ricardo loves me! He's going to marry me! We have a son together—a real Mendoza heir! You couldn't even give him a boy!"
I couldn't help but chuckle. The sheer absurdity of her vanity was almost tragic.
"A Mendoza heir?" I asked, opening my manila folder and sliding a set of legal documents onto her blanket. "Daniela, look at the papers. The name Mendoza has no money. The logistics empire, the contracts with the shipping lines, the distribution warehouses in five states—they were all founded by my father, Don Hernán Salgado. Ricardo was an entry-level fleet manager when I married him. Every suit he wears, every luxury car he leased, was paid for by the dividends of my inheritance."
Daniela glanced down at the documents, her eyes frantically scanning the corporate share structures and ownership deeds. Her hands began to shake violently.
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"He... he told me he owned eighty percent of the conglomerate," she whispered, her voice shrinking to a fragile squeak. "He said you were just his secretary who inherited a small minority stake."
"Ricardo is a very convincing liar," I murmured. "You should know that better than anyone, considering you helped him lie to me for nearly a year. But here is the reality: the penthouse you are living in is leased under Mendoza Freight. The lease has been terminated effective today. The credit card used to reserve this VIP suite has been canceled. By noon, the hospital administration will move you to the general ward unless you can settle the twenty-four-thousand-dollar maternity bill out of your personal savings."
