Chapter 3: The Little Girl Waiting at Home
Chapter 3: The Little Girl Waiting at Home
The next morning, Mateo canceled every meeting.
Board members protested.
Investors called nonstop.
None of it mattered.
He drove to a modest apartment on the edge of the city.
Elena hesitated before unlocking the door.
Inside, colorful drawings covered the walls.
Tiny shoes sat neatly beside the entrance.
A little girl looked up from the living room floor.
Curly dark hair.
Hazel eyes.
His eyes.
"Daddy?"
The single word shattered whatever strength Mateo had left.
The child wasn't confused.
She had simply recognized the man from the photographs her mother secretly kept.
Mateo slowly knelt.
"I'm... Mateo."
She smiled.
"I know."
She wrapped her small arms around his neck without hesitation.
He broke.
For years he had built skyscrapers, negotiated billion-dollar mergers, and appeared on magazine covers.
None of it compared to holding his daughter for the first time.
Across the room, Elena quietly wiped away tears.
She had never wanted revenge.
She had only wanted the truth.
That evening, Mateo hired the country's most respected investigators.
Within forty-eight hours they uncovered everything.
Deleted emails.
Forged signatures.
Bribed receptionists.
Private payments.
Security footage.
Every piece pointed to one person.
May you like
Valeria.
The woman he had nearly married.
