I hid my identity and started working with false documents in the Grupo Monteverde corporation itself, my husband’s company. When my father died, he left me an empire worth billions of pesos that had started as a small assembly workshop in Monterrey. I, his only daughter, handed over the entire administration to my husband, Alejandro, and decided to step aside to become the quiet wife who always supported him.
For three years I believed that sacrifice would give me a peaceful home. But Alejandro began to move further and further away. Business trips became longer, and on her clothes she no longer only smelled of liquor… also of a feminine perfume that I didn’t know. My intuition told me that something was very wrong. And I decided to find out for myself.
I put on a simple white blouse, black office pants and put my hair up in a high bun. No one would have recognized Valeria Monteverde, the heiress of the group, in me. I joined as a basic level administrative assistant. The first day I made copies, organized files, made coffee, and set up the meeting room. At lunchtime, the area manager ordered me to bring a tray of drinks to the general manager’s office.
The door was half closed.
I was going to play… but I stopped dead when I heard voices inside.
It was Camila, Alejandro’s new secretary. He spoke in a honeyed tone, mocking me without knowing that I was listening. She said that I was useless, that I was a dull woman, good only at locking herself in the house, incapable of understanding the business world. She boasted that she was the woman who deserved to be next to the CEO.
I was paralyzed.
The tray began to shake in my hands.
I waited to hear Alejandro defend his wife. I waited for him to shut her up. I hoped for at least a little dignity.
But not.
He let out a dry laugh and played along.
He said that I was boring, insipid, that I had only put up with it for three years because I was the founder’s daughter. He promised Camila that he would soon get me out of the way… and then give her the place she deserved.
The coffee in the cup shook.
Every word was like a knife slowly burying itself in my chest.
I took a deep breath, pushed the door and walked in.
The two were startled and immediately separated. Alejandro adjusted his jacket. Camila stood up with arrogance painted on her face.
