Chapter 3: Christmas Justice
Alejandro returned to the ballroom carrying Valeria's notebook.
The music stopped when guests noticed the fury on his face.
Jimena smiled.
"Darling, you're finally here."
Alejandro said nothing.
Instead, he climbed onto the stage.
Every guest turned toward him.
"What I'm about to say concerns everyone in this room."
Jimena's smile disappeared.
Alejandro opened the notebook.
Then he began reading.
Page after page.
Word after word.
Every painful sentence written by his daughter.
The ballroom fell silent.
Several guests wiped tears from their eyes.
Jimena turned pale.
"Alejandro, stop—"
"No."
His voice thundered through the mansion.
"For six months my daughters have been starving while you spent their money."
Gasps erupted around the room.
Alejandro displayed the bank records on the giant screen.
Luxury purchases.
Hidden transfers.
Fraudulent accounts.
Evidence filled the room.
Guests who had been praising Jimena minutes earlier now stared at her in disgust.
She tried to defend herself.
"They're lying!"
Then little Valeria stepped forward.
The five-year-old looked directly at Jimena.
Her voice trembled.
"But why did you tell us Daddy didn't love us?"
The question shattered every excuse.
Police officers arrived less than twenty minutes later.
One of Alejandro's attorneys had already contacted authorities.
Jimena was arrested for fraud, child neglect, and financial theft.
As she was escorted away, nobody defended her.
Nobody even looked at her.
They were all looking at the four little girls.
The true victims.
That night the Christmas party ended.
But something far more important began.
Alejandro canceled every business trip scheduled for the next year.
He moved his office into the mansion.
He attended every school event.
Every doctor appointment.
Every bedtime story.
Months later, the girls were healthy, happy, and laughing again.
One evening, as Alejandro tucked them into bed, Sofía whispered,
"Daddy?"
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"You came back."
Alejandro smiled through tears.
"I always will."
The four girls snuggled beneath their blankets.
Safe.
Fed.
Loved.
And for the first time in a very long time, the Santillán mansion finally felt like a home.
The End.