The elegant woman in white stepped into Alejandro's office as if she owned the building.

Her high heels clicked sharply against the polished floor.

Mariana instinctively pulled Sofía closer.

Alejandro's expression hardened.

"Verónica," he said coldly. "What are you doing here?"

The woman smiled, but there was no warmth in it.

"I came to have lunch with my fiancé."

Mariana froze.

Fiancé?

Alejandro sighed.

"Verónica, this is Mariana Salazar and her daughter, Sofía."

Verónica's eyes swept over them.

The torn backpack.

The worn shoes.

The exhausted little girl holding a package of cookies.

Disgust flashed across her face.

"So this is the woman you've been helping."

Alejandro stood up.

"Watch your tone."

Verónica crossed her arms.

"For months you've postponed our wedding, ignored my calls, and now I find you alone in your office with a stranger?"

Mariana immediately stood.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

She grabbed her backpack.

"We'll leave."

But Sofía suddenly tugged on her sleeve.

"Mama..."

The little girl looked dizzy.

Her face had become pale.

Then her small body collapsed.

"SOFÍA!"

Mariana caught her before she hit the floor.

Alejandro rushed around the desk.

The child was burning with fever.

Within minutes they were speeding toward the hospital.

Doctors soon delivered frightening news.

Sofía was suffering from severe pneumonia, worsened by weeks of poor nutrition and exposure to the cold.

Mariana broke down crying.

"I should have protected her."

Alejandro placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You did protect her."

The doctor looked up from the medical chart.

"If she'd arrived a few hours later, she might not have survived."

Outside the room, Verónica watched everything.

And for the first time, she realized Alejandro cared about Mariana far more than she had imagined.

That realization filled her with jealousy.

And jealousy would soon become dangerous.