—Valeria… Your dad once mentioned to me that there was a testamentary annex, but he never gave it to me personally. He said it was kept in a box outside the company.
I looked at Alejandro.
—Where is?
He remained silent.
Then one of the agents stepped forward.
—Sir, you better cooperate.
Alejandro ran a trembling hand over his face.
—It is… in the Valle de Bravo country house.
I frowned.
—That house was sold two years ago.
Alejandro closed his eyes.
—It wasn’t sold —he murmured—. I put it in the name of another company name.
Ramiro cursed under his breath.
Everything fit.
The transfers.
Ghost companies.
The rush to empty accounts.
He wasn’t just stealing money.
I was looking for something.
Something my father had left behind.
Two hours later, escorted by agents and Ramiro, we arrived at the old country house.
Alejandro opened the door with clumsy hands.
The house smelled of humidity, dust… and abandonment.
We go up to the main office.
There, behind a built-in library, was an old safe.
Alejandro marked the combination.
When the metal door opened, there were not only documents inside.
There was also a yellow envelope with my name on it, written by my father’s hand.
My fingers trembled.
I opened the letter first.
“Valeria, if you are reading this, it means that I am no longer here to protect you. That’s why I must tell you the truth that I hid too much time…”
I felt like I was short of breath.
I kept reading.
“I built this group for you. But there was a mistake that accompanied me for years. Before you got married, I investigated Alejandro and discovered that his mother had worked in one of my old plants. What he never knew… is that she had a son by a man who never acknowledged his paternity. I secretly tested when he came into the company. Valeria… Alejandro not only didn’t love you. Alejandro is my biological son. He’s your half brother.”
The paper slipped through my fingers.
Everything started to spin.
Ramiro held my arm before I fell.
—What’s happening? —he asked alarmed.
I couldn’t speak.
I handed it to him.
He read it.
His face emptied completely.
—Holy God…
Alejandro frowned.
—What does it say? What does it say there?
I looked at him.
And for the first time since I met him, I didn’t see my husband.
I saw a stranger.
To a man who had entered our lives hungry, with ambition… without even knowing who he really was.
Ramiro read the essential part aloud.
Alejandro backed away as if he had been shot.
—No… no… that’s a lie…
—There are also the lab results —I said, pointing to the box.
There was a sealed file.
Genetic test.
Signatures.
Dates.
All.
