Chapter 15 - THE LOWEST POINT
Alejandro opened Aranda Holdings’ internal servers to independent investigators.
Every archive.
Every medical subsidiary.
Every old legal file.
His attorneys warned him.
César threatened shareholder suits.
Esther called it betrayal.
Alejandro did it anyway.
Within forty-eight hours, investigators found enough irregularities to trigger formal financial scrutiny.
Trading was temporarily halted.
Banks froze discretionary facilities.
The company’s crisis became national news.
César blamed Alejandro.
Some employees did too.
Outside headquarters, workers carried signs:
SAVE OUR JOBS, NOT YOUR FAMILY WAR.
Alejandro read every one.
He did not blame them.
Valeria remained hospitalized for observation.
The baby stabilized.
But she felt powerless again.
Then the court delivered another blow.
The emergency request to activate descendant-trust audit powers before birth was denied.
Too many disputed lineage questions.
Too many competing documents.
The judge would wait until the child was born.
César now had time.
Perhaps days.
Perhaps weeks.
That night, Sofia received an anonymous delivery.
Inside:
A paternity report.
It claimed Alejandro was not the father of Valeria’s baby.
The media received copies an hour later.
Valeria stared at the headline.
She almost laughed.
It was so predictable.
Affair photograph.
Doctor.
Paternity.
The final version of the same lie.
Alejandro arrived at the hospital.
Valeria watched his face.
For one terrible second, memory returned.
The bedroom.
His anger.
His question.
Tell me who he is.
She waited.
Alejandro placed the report on the table.
Then tore it in half.
“I don’t care what this says.”
Valeria said nothing.
He continued.
“If you want an independent test for legal reasons, we do one.”
He met her eyes.
“But I will not accuse you again.”
Her throat tightened.
“What if it’s true?”
“I trust you.”
“What if the baby somehow isn’t biologically mine?”
He paused.
“I am still the man who has spent eight months talking to that child through your stomach.”
Valeria looked away.
That mattered.
Not enough to repair everything.
But it mattered.
For legal clarity, they agreed to independent testing through a court-approved laboratory.
The result:
Alejandro was the biological father.
The leaked report was forged.
More importantly, forensic review traced the false report to a digital account associated with César’s personal legal adviser.
César denied involvement.
His adviser disappeared.
Then investigators found one final server archive.
A backup from the medical subsidiary.
It contained communications between César and Diego dating back to Arturo Montes’s death.
One message from César:
FOLLOW HIM. GET THE FILE. DO NOT TOUCH HIM.
That supported César’s claim he had not ordered murder.
Then a later message:
YOU LET HIM CRASH. FIND THE FOLDER BEFORE ESTHER DOES.
Valeria stared.
César had known Diego’s pursuit contributed to the crash.
And covered it.
But the most important line was the second half.
Before Esther does.
César and Esther had not been operating as one unit.
They had been competing.
Arturo’s folder threatened both.
Each wanted it first.
Sofia smiled grimly.
“When powerful conspiracies collapse, they usually collapse because nobody inside them trusts anyone else.”
Then investigators found a third message.
From Diego to César.
RAFAEL KNOWS. HE SAYS THIS ENDS NOW.
Timestamp:
The night Arturo died.
Rafael had known Diego was following him.
And apparently tried to stop it.
That shifted blame again.
Rafael was not innocent.
But perhaps he had finally chosen truth too late.
Just like Alejandro.
The old generation’s failures repeated in the new one.
Unless somebody broke the pattern.
Valeria looked toward her husband.
“We finish it.”
Alejandro nodded.
“Yes.”
“No private deal.”
“No.”
“No family settlement.”
“No.”
“No protecting your father’s reputation.”
He swallowed.
“No.”
“No protecting mine either.”
Alejandro looked at her.
“Agreed.”
May you like
The lowest point had done something useful.
They had finally stopped negotiating with the truth.
