Chapter 3: The Account That Should Not Exist
The mansion’s office was locked.
Alejandro opened it in under thirty seconds.
Not because he was guessing.
Because he already suspected the shape of the lie.
The computer screen lit up.
Accounts.
Transfers.
Trust structures.
Corporate holdings.
But something was wrong.
One account he had never authorized sat at the top.
Active.
Draining.
Slowly.
Consistently.
He clicked it.
And felt his stomach drop.
Monthly transfers labeled:
“Childcare & Domestic Services”
Amounts: enormous.
Regular.
Systematic.
But beneath it—
subaccounts.
Hidden routing.
Foreign destinations.
Luxury vendors.
Private entertainment firms.
No food.
No childcare.
No education.
Only consumption.
Alejandro whispered:
“…she redirected everything.”
Behind him, a voice spoke:
“I managed it responsibly.”
Jimena.
Standing in the doorway.
Calm again.
Reconstructed confidence.
Alejandro didn’t turn.
“How long?” he asked.
She sighed.
“You were gone. Things needed structure.”
He turned slowly.
“They needed food.”
Silence.
Jimena crossed her arms.
“You think I let them suffer?” she said. “I protected them from dependency.”
Alejandro stared at her.
“They were eating mold.”
Jimena’s voice sharpened.
“Food builds weakness.”
That sentence landed wrong.
Even in a room of guests.
Even in chaos.
Alejandro stepped forward.
“You isolated them,” he said.
“I prepared them,” she corrected.
“For what?” he asked.
Her answer came too fast.
“For the world.”
That was when he understood.
This wasn’t neglect.
It was ideology.
He walked past her.
Back toward the hallway.
Back toward his daughters.
Jimena called after him.
“If you undo this, you destroy their discipline.”
Alejandro stopped.
Did not turn.
May you like
And said:
“If this is discipline, then I am ending it.”
