Chapter 4 - WHISPERS IN THE MANSION
Over the next two weeks, Alejandro transformed the mansion into a fortress.
Private guards patrolled the iron gates twenty-four hours a day. Mariana was no longer allowed to clean or serve meals; instead, Alejandro hired a full team of professional chefs and housekeepers, insisting that Mariana and Lucía live as part of the family.
For Mariana, the transition was overwhelming. She was used to scrubbing floors, not sitting at grand mahogany dining tables drinking fresh orange juice while servants offered her pastries.
One afternoon, while Lucía was taking her afternoon nap in the nursery—which Alejandro had filled with colorful toys, books, and giant stuffed animals—Mariana found Alejandro sitting on the terrace patio, looking over financial charts.
She walked out softly, holding two cups of coffee.
"You don't have to do all this, Alejandro," Mariana said quietly, setting a cup down near his elbow. "The private tutors, the designer clothes for Lucía... it's too much."
Alejandro looked up, taking off his reading glasses. For the first time, he didn't look like a hardened billionaire. He looked tired, vulnerable, and human.
"It's not enough," Alejandro said gently, taking her hand. His touch was warm and sent a quiet thrill through Mariana’s chest. "For three years, you suffered while my family lived in luxury. I can never repay you for keeping Mateo’s daughter safe and loved."
"I loved her because she was my sister's baby," Mariana said, tears shimmering in her eyes. "I didn't care about money or titles. I just wanted her to have a life."
"And she will," Alejandro promised, pressing a soft kiss to the back of Mariana’s hand. "A life where she never has to worry about a thing."
Mariana felt her heart flutter. Over the past few weeks, seeing how Alejandro interacted with Lucía—playing tag on the lawn, kneeling on marble floors to let her paint his face with watercolors, reading her bedtime stories about brave rabbits—she had fallen deeply, hopelessly in love with him.
He was no longer the cold, paranoid boss who left locked drawers to test his staff. He was a man who had opened his heart to a little girl’s laughter.
Suddenly, the house phone chimed. Alejandro picked up the receiver.
"Alejandro," Detective Vance’s voice cut through the line. "We have a problem. Ernesto just leaked a story to the national press. Headlines are claiming you're being blackmailed by a maid who brought an illegitimate child into your house. The board of directors has called an emergency hearing for tomorrow morning to vote on your removal as CEO."
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Alejandro’s eyes darkened, the cold fire returning to his gaze.
"Let them call the hearing," Alejandro said coldly. "It’s time to end this."
