Chapter 3 - THE MEDIA FIRECLOUDS
Within twenty-four hours of our departure from Arteaga, the Mexican business world erupted into absolute chaos.
The story hit the headlines before sunrise. “THE QUADRUPLET REVELATION: MONTEMAYOR DYNASTY ACCUSED OF FAKING MOTHER’S DEATH TO ERASE HEIRS.” Photos of me stepping off the helicopter with four identical, honey-eyed children spread across news portals, social media, and financial journals like wildfire.
Inside my penthouse office in Santa Fe, Mexico City, the phones were ringing off the hooks. My company, Vanguard Tech, which I had built from the ground up over eight painstaking years, was suddenly thrust into an unsought international spotlight. But unlike eight years ago, I was no longer a helpless, heartbroken girl with no resources. I was the Chief Executive Officer of a multi-million-dollar software enterprise.
“Camila,” Marisol said, marching into my office with a stack of legal briefs and a steaming cup of coffee. “The stock prices for Montemayor Enterprises dropped twelve percent at the market opening. Their board of directors is panicking. And Daniel’s lead attorney has been calling our legal department every twenty minutes asking for an emergency mediation meeting.”
I sat back in my leather chair, looking out at the sprawling skyline of Mexico City. “Have we verified the medical documents from the Santa Fe clinic yet?”
“Our private investigators worked through the night,” Marisol replied, her expression turning somber. “It’s worse than we thought, Camila. Teresa didn’t just pay off a doctor. She used her position on the board of the private hospital to intercept your medical file. When you transferred to the public hospital in your seventh week after Daniel left, Teresa had a corrupt administrator forge a clinical record declaring you had suffered a fatal miscarriage during an emergency hysterectomy.”
My blood ran cold. “She wanted to make sure Daniel never looked for me.”
“Exactly. And when Daniel asked for proof, she handed him a forged death certificate generated through a fraudulent civil registry office in Estado de México. She literally erased your existence from his life on paper.”
A knock at my office door interrupted us. My chief security officer stepped in. “Ma’am, Daniel Montemayor is downstairs in the lobby. He refuses to leave. He says he won’t move until you give him ten minutes.”
I looked down at my desk, where a framed photo of my four children sat. They were currently at home with their nanny and tutors, entirely unaware that the world outside was tearing itself apart over their existence. They had been brave yesterday, but I knew the emotional impact was beginning to set in. Last night, Noah had asked me why his father hadn't tried harder to find out where my grave was.
“Bring him up,” I told the security chief. “Search him first. Leave the doors open.”
Five minutes later, Daniel walked into my office. He looked as if he hadn't slept a single second. His designer suit was wrinkled, his hair was unkempt, and the arrogant, composed posture he had maintained for eight years was completely gone.
“Camila,” he breathed, stopping near the entrance as my security detail stood by the door. “Thank you for seeing me.”
“You have five minutes, Daniel,” I said coldly, remaining seated behind my desk. “And if you step one inch closer without my permission, my security will throw you out of this building.”
Daniel swallowed hard, pulling a thick leather folder from his briefcase. He placed it carefully on the edge of my desk. “This is everything,” he said, his voice trembling. “I spent the last eighteen hours tearing through my mother’s private archives at the estate. I confronted her last night. Camila… she admitted it all.”
I stared at the folder, making no move to open it. “She admitted to forging my death?”
“She admitted that she hated you from the day I brought you home,” Daniel confessed, tears finally welling in his eyes. “She thought you were beneath our social standing. When you got pregnant, she knew I would be tied to you forever. So when I panicked and walked out that day—a mistake I will regret until the day I die, Camila—she took advantage of my cowardice. She showed me the fake hospital reports. She convinced me that going near your family would only cause more grief.”
“And you believed her because it was easier than facing your responsibilities!” I snapped, rising from my seat. “You were twenty-eight years old, Daniel! You were a grown man! You didn't double-check? You didn't send flowers? You didn't check a registry? You took her word for it and moved on with your life, sipping champagne while I spent my nights screaming into a pillow in a public hospital ward!”
“I know!” Daniel broke down, burying his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking with genuine, racking sobs. “I was a coward! I was terrified of being a father, and my mother gave me an exit, and I took it! I have lived a hollow, miserable life for eight years believing I had caused the death of my wife and child! And yesterday… yesterday I saw four living miracles walking across my lawn with my own face!”
“They are not your miracles,” I said, my voice dropping to a icy whisper. “They are mine. I earned every single laugh, every single step, every fever, every birthday, and every tear. You don't get to walk back into their lives just because you found out your mother lied to you.”
“I want to fix this, Camila!” he begged, looking up at me with raw agony. “I don't care about the estate! I don't care about Montemayor Enterprises! I handed my resignation to the board this morning! I told them I will not stand as CEO while my mother faces criminal charges! I want to be a father to Noah, Mateo, Sofia, and Olivia!”
May you like
I looked at him for a long moment. Part of me—the hurt twenty-six-year-old girl who had loved him—felt a phantom ache of pity. But the mother of four eight-year-olds knew better.
“You want to be a father?” I asked softly. “Then you had better prepare yourself, Daniel. Because your mother isn't going down without a fight, and if you truly want to protect those children, you’re going to have to help me put her in prison.”
