Chapter 7 - The Paper Trail of Greed
It was 2:00 AM in the executive penthouse suite of Robles Construction Tower.
The floor was littered with stacks of financial audits, bank statements, and legal ledgers going back six years. Alejandro sat at his broad mahogany desk, his tie loosened, sleeves rolled up, working alongside his elite legal team and his trusted Chief Financial Officer, Marcos Vance.
“We found it, Alejandro,” Marcos said, throwing a glowing tablet onto the desk.
Alejandro picked up the tablet, his eyes scanning the fast-moving rows of numbers. “Explain.”
“For the past six years, Doña Teresa hasn't just been spending your monthly transfers for Lucía,” Marcos explained, pointing at the screen. “She and Raúl Garza created a network of secondary shell companies registered in Panama and the Cayman Islands. They’ve been siphoning off construction project funds directly from Robles Construction.”
Alejandro’s eyes narrowed. “How much?”
“Over forty million dollars,” Marcos revealed gravely. “They were inflating sub-contractor bills on our city bridge contracts, pocketing the excess cash, and laundering it through fake legal retainer accounts managed by Garza.”
Alejandro leaned back in his leather chair, a slow, cold realization dawning upon him.
“She didn't just want Lucía gone because she was poor,” Alejandro said softly, his voice heavy with revelation. “Lucía was working as an junior assistant bookkeeper in our firm when we met three years ago. She was auditing the lower accounts.”
Marcos nodded slowly. “Lucía stumbled onto the first discrepancy three years ago, right before she married you. She didn't know what it meant at the time, but Doña Teresa realized Lucía was a threat to her financial fraud scheme. Teresa had to get rid of her before Lucía connected the money back to her and Garza.”
Alejandro stood up slowly, walking to the massive glass window looking out over the glowing lights of Mexico City.
Everything made terrible, crystal-clear sense now. His mother’s hatred for Lucía was never just about high-society snobbery or family bloodlines. It was about greed. It was about self-preservation. Teresa had destroyed his family, starved his daughter, and nearly killed his wife all to protect her secret fortune.
“Marcos,” Alejandro spoke, his voice dead cold.
“Yes, Don Alejandro?”
“Gather every piece of this financial evidence. Call the Federal Tax Crimes Division, the District Attorney, and the Federal Police. Tell them I want arrest warrants signed and ready.”
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“For Doña Teresa?” Marcos asked.
“For Doña Teresa, Raúl Garza, and anyone else who took a single peso from my family,” Alejandro replied, staring at his reflection in the dark window. “Tomorrow morning is the board meeting. They think they are coming to take my company. I’m going to make sure they leave in handcuffs.”
