CHAPTER 3 — The Secret Debt
The guests began whispering.
Some stood.
Others checked the documents themselves.
One of Rodrigo's uncles adjusted his glasses and frowned.
“Elvira…”
She ignored him.
Another relative pointed at a page.
“Why are there three loans here?”
Rodrigo grabbed the report.
His eyes widened.
“What loans?”
Mariana opened another section of the folder.
“You should ask your mother.”
The documents revealed nearly four million pesos in hidden debt.
Credit lines.
Private loans.
Business advances.
Money borrowed without the family's knowledge.
Every signature belonged to Doña Elvira.
The room exploded.
“You mortgaged the warehouse?”
“You borrowed against the ranch?”
“You used the family name?”
Doña Elvira finally lost her composure.
“I did what I had to do!”
“For what?” Rodrigo shouted.
No one had ever shouted at his mother before.
Her face twisted.
“For this family!”
But Mariana shook her head.
“No. Not for the family.”
She removed a final envelope.
Inside were receipts.
Luxury jewelry.
European vacations.
Designer purchases.
Private club memberships.
Thousands upon thousands of dollars.
The debts were not created to save the family.
They were created to fund Elvira's lifestyle.
Rodrigo stared at the evidence.
The woman he had defended for years suddenly looked like a stranger.
Then his aunt Rosario spoke.
“You humiliated Mariana every day.”
His cousin added,
“You called her a gold digger.”
Another relative looked at Elvira.
“She was paying your bills.”
For the first time, Doña Elvira had no answer.
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The kingdom she had ruled through fear was collapsing.
And everyone was watching.
