CHAPTER 3 — THE LITTLE SOLDIER STRIKES BACK
The next morning, the storm had passed.
But a different storm was arriving.
Lawyers.
Auditors.
Federal investigators.
Bank representatives.
By noon, the gates of the Salazar estate were crowded with vehicles.
Rebecca screamed as bank accounts were frozen.
Company directors arrived carrying emergency notices.
Employees demanded answers.
Investors demanded records.
Everything Rogelio had hidden for years began surfacing.
Millions missing.
Fraudulent transfers.
False accounting.
Secret offshore accounts.
The empire started collapsing by the hour.
Meanwhile, Mateo sat beside Valeria's hospital bed.
Lucía slept peacefully in a bassinet nearby.
For the first time since his return, the room felt safe.
Valeria held his hand.
"You knew?" she asked.
Mateo nodded.
"I suspected."
She lowered her eyes.
"I was trying to protect what belonged to you."
Mateo shook his head.
"No."
He gently touched Lucía's tiny hand.
"You were protecting what belongs to her."
Outside the hospital room, television reporters had already begun covering the scandal.
The powerful Salazar family was falling apart.
And everyone wanted to know why.
But none of that mattered to Mateo.
For him, only two people mattered.
His wife.
His daughter.
The family his parents had tried to destroy.
Then his phone rang.
The caller was his attorney.
"Mateo," the lawyer said.
"You need to come immediately."
"Why?"
There was a pause.
May you like
Then:
"We found the final secret."
