Chapter 4 - The Midnight Message
Alejandro stared at his phone screen as though it were glowing with radiation. He didn't answer it immediately, but the screen lit up again with a second notification.
Mariana stood by the kitchen island, watching him with cold indifference. She reached into her pocket to retrieve her own phone, which had remained silent all evening—until a soft chime broke the heavy silence of the apartment.
She glanced down at her screen. An unknown number.
“Dr. Torres, my name is Detective Vance with the Metro Fraud Division. I am investigating Alejandro’s firm regarding corporate embezzlement and falsified executive expense reports. Sergio Mendoza provided my contact information after remembering your name tonight. Please call me the moment you are alone. There is something you need to know about your husband.”
Mariana’s blood ran cold. She slowly raised her eyes from her phone to look at Alejandro, who was now frantically typing a response on his own device while pacing the length of the hardwood floor.
Corporate embezzlement? Falsified expense reports?
It all clicked into place with horrifying speed. Alejandro wasn't just working late for promotions; he was hiding something massive. The sudden luxury purchases, the unexplained cash flow, the obsessive need to impress Sergio Mendoza at any moral cost—he wasn't just currying favor for a general manager promotion. He was trying to buy the silence or complicity of the man running the regional branch.
“Who was that?” Mariana asked, her voice dangerously quiet.
Alejandro flinched, quickly locking his phone screen and slipping it into his pocket. “Nobody. Just work.”
“Work,” Mariana repeated, walking over to him until she stood inches away, looking straight up into his evasive eyes. “Is that what you call embezzling funds from the firm while hiding behind a fake narrative about your grieving, fragile wife?”
Alejandro’s face lost every trace of color. “What are you talking about?”
“Sergio’s son is alive, Alejandro. And Sergio isn't just a regional director you’re trying to impress—he’s an honest man whose son I pulled back from the jaws of death thirteen years ago,” Mariana said, her words slicing through his defenses like a laser. “And whatever game you’re playing with the company books, it’s about to catch up with you. The police already know.”
Panics flared in Alejandro’s eyes, destroying the last remnants of his arrogant composure. He lunged forward, grabbing Mariana roughly by the wrist. “You stay out of this! If you ruin my career, I swear to God—!”
Before he could finish the threat, a sharp, authoritative pounding echoed against the front door of the condo.
May you like
Alejandro froze. Mariana yanked her wrist free from his grip.
“Open the door,” Mariana instructed coldly. “Or I will.”
