Chapter 7 - The Desperate Ploy
While the Valenzuela fleet regained its position on international trade routes, Borja and Carmen were discovering the brutal reality of ordinary life. Exiled to a drafty stone house in Toledo without domestic staff or credit cards, the former prince of Madrid high society had quickly degenerated into a bitter, panicked wreck.
One rainy Thursday evening, as I walked toward my car outside the corporate offices accompanied by private security, a drenched figure lunged out from behind the concrete pillars of the underground parking garage.
"Elena! Please, just two minutes! Don't call the police!"
Borja fell to his knees on the damp concrete. His clothes were soaked, his hair was unwashed, and the designer jacket he wore was stained with mud and cheap convenience-store coffee. His expensive shoes were scuffed beyond repair, and his face was hollow, eyes sunken with genuine terror.
My security team stepped forward immediately, hands moving toward their tactical holsters, but I raised a hand to hold them back.
"Stand up, Borja," I said, my voice cutting through the damp chill of the garage. "You look pathetic."
He scrambled to his feet, clasping his hands together in a prayer-like gesture. "Elena, listen to me. I made a terrible mistake. I know that now! The pressure from the company, my mother pushing me to be ruthless... it twisted my mind! I never stopped loving you! Remember our trip to Seville? Remember how happy we were before the business took over?"
"You weren't under pressure, Borja," I answered evenly. "You were intoxicated by cruelty. You liked watching me pour your wine while your friends mocked my background. You reveled in telling your mother that you kept a tame Galician maid in your bedroom."
"I was playing a role!" he pleaded, taking a desperate step forward before security blocked his path with crossed arms. "The banks have issued a travel ban on my passport! The commercial fraud division is reopening the Marbella land file! I’m facing five years in prison if you don't drop the civil damages petition! I’ll sign whatever you want! I’ll work as a deck clerk on one of your ships! Just save me from prison!"
May you like
I looked at him, searching for even a single shred of the handsome, charming suitor who had once promised to build an empire alongside me. There was nothing left. Inside the shell was only a selfish, hollow creature whose only sorrow was being caught.
"You told me that night at the restaurant to see how long I could survive without your money," I said quietly. "Now it’s your turn to see how long you survive on your own merit. If you are innocent of fraud, the courts will clear you. If you are guilty, you will wear your uniform with pride. Do not come near me again."
