Chapter 8 - The Crimson Counter-Attack
The morning the tabloid article broke, Alejandro didn't call a press conference. He didn't issue a corporate statement. Instead, he walked into the office of the Federal Attorney General, followed by Marcus Vance and a technical team from the country's leading cybersecurity firm.
"We traced the digital origin of the fabricated text messages within four hours of publication," Marcus Vance announced, laying a series of network diagrams on the prosecutor's desk. "The files were generated by a public relations firm hired by Marcela Aranda, funded through a liquidated asset transfer from a private vault in Guadalajara."
Alejandro leaned forward, his expression completely devoid of mercy. "This constitutes systematic witness intimidation, obstruction of justice, and harassment of a victim of domestic violence who is currently six months pregnant. I want the house arrest revoked for my sister. I want the public relations firm shut down. And I want the maximum penalty applied to every single person involved in this publication."
The Attorney General reviewed the evidence, his face grim. "Mr. Aranda, your family is determined to pull you down with them."
"They aren't my family anymore," Alejandro said coldly. "They are corporate liabilities and criminal entities. Treat them as such."
By 3:00 PM that afternoon, federal agents arrived at Marcela’s luxury penthouse in Polanco. Her house arrest was officially revoked by a federal judge due to the breach of her bail conditions. She was escorted out of the building in tears, her designer sunglasses failing to hide the terror in her eyes as she was loaded into a transport van headed for the same prison holding her mother.
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Meanwhile, the tabloid magazine issued a full, front-page retraction and an public apology to Valeria Aranda, facing a multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit that would completely bankrupt their publishing house.
The final desperate play by Doña Esther had backfired spectacularly. Instead of creating doubt, she had successfully reunited her two daughters under the same prison roof, leaving Ricardo to finalize his plea deal in total isolation.
