CHAPTER 5 — The Truth Hidden in the Recording
CHAPTER 5 — The Truth Hidden in the Recording
The tiny red light blinked once.
Then again.
Rodrigo never noticed.
Neither did Esteban Fuentes.
The conversation inside the penthouse continued as the hidden recorder silently transmitted every word to an encrypted server hundreds of kilometers away.
At the Montenegro estate, Mateo hurried into Alejandro's office carrying a laptop.
"Sir."
Alejandro looked up from a stack of financial reports.
"What is it?"
"Our cyber division intercepted a live signal."
Alejandro frowned.
"From where?"
Mateo placed the laptop on the desk.
"We're not completely sure."
"But someone is broadcasting audio through a military-grade encrypted device."
"Can we hear it?"
Mateo pressed a key.
Static filled the room.
Then voices emerged.
"...Montenegro won't abandon them..."
Alejandro immediately recognized Esteban Fuentes.
"...once Valeria trusts him, everything else becomes easier..."
The recording crackled again before Rodrigo spoke.
"And if she finds out we're using her?"
Esteban laughed softly.
"By then, it won't matter."
Alejandro's expression turned to stone.
"So she really is being used."
Mateo nodded.
"But I don't think she knows."
"I agree."
Alejandro closed the laptop.
He thought back to the flight.
Valeria's exhaustion.
Her trembling hands.
The way she had apologized every time Sofía made the slightest noise.
None of it had looked rehearsed.
If she was part of the plan, she deserved an award.
His instincts told him something different.
She was another victim.
Outside, in the guest house garden, Valeria sat beneath a jacaranda tree while Sofía chased butterflies across the lawn.
For the first time in weeks, the little girl laughed without fear.
Valeria smiled through tears.
She had almost forgotten what that sound felt like.
A housekeeper approached carrying a tray.
"Mrs. Hernández?"
"Please... just Valeria."
"The señora asked me to bring you lunch."
Valeria looked at the carefully prepared meal.
"I can't accept this."
"You can."
The older woman smiled kindly.
"In this house, refusing Señora Elena usually creates more work for everyone."
Valeria laughed despite herself.
"Then I suppose I have no choice."
Inside the main house, however, someone else was far less welcoming.
Alejandro's sister, Camila Montenegro, watched through the dining room window.
"So that's her."
Elena looked up from her tea.
"Yes."
Camila crossed her arms.
"You've known her less than a day."
"Alejandro has."
"And now she's living on our property."
Elena calmly stirred her tea.
"Temporarily."
"You don't know that."
"No."
"I know my son."
Camila sighed.
"My concern isn't Alejandro."
"It's the headlines."
"'Mexico's richest bachelor shelters mysterious divorced woman.'"
"You know exactly how the media will spin this."
Elena smiled faintly.
"The media always needs a story."
"What interests me is whether this young woman needs help."
Later that afternoon, Alejandro knocked on the guest house door.
Valeria answered almost immediately.
"I hope I'm not interrupting."
"Not at all."
Sofía ran past him carrying the paper rabbit.
"Mr. Bunny is hungry!"
Alejandro crouched.
"Is he?"
She nodded very seriously.
"He eats cookies."
"I'll have to remember that."
Valeria couldn't help smiling.
"You've become her favorite person in less than twenty-four hours."
"I think the rabbit deserves most of the credit."
Once Sofía disappeared into the living room, Alejandro became more serious.
"I need to ask you something."
Valeria noticed the change immediately.
"Of course."
"Did Rodrigo ever ask about my family?"
She frowned.
"No."
"He barely followed business news."
"What about your companies?"
She thought carefully.
Then something resurfaced.
"There was one conversation."
"When?"
"About six months ago."
"He asked whether I'd ever done freelance design work for Montenegro Technologies."
Alejandro's eyes narrowed.
"And had you?"
"No."
"He seemed... disappointed."
Before Alejandro could respond, Mateo called.
"Sir."
"We have a problem."
Alejandro answered immediately.
"What happened?"
"Someone broke into Valeria's old apartment in Guadalajara."
Valeria's face turned pale.
"But Rodrigo changed the locks."
"It wasn't Rodrigo."
"Then who?"
Mateo's voice became tense.
"They searched the entire apartment."
"They ignored jewelry."
"They ignored electronics."
"They were looking for documents."
Alejandro exchanged a glance with Valeria.
"What documents?"
She looked genuinely confused.
"I don't know."
That evening, after Sofía had fallen asleep, Valeria finally unpacked the second suitcase she had brought from Guadalajara.
Most of it contained children's clothes.
Old photographs.
A few books.
Nothing valuable.
Until she reached the false bottom.
She froze.
"I... I forgot this was here."
Inside lay a large manila envelope.
It wasn't hers.
She recognized Rodrigo's handwriting immediately.
PRIVATE
DO NOT OPEN
Her heartbeat quickened.
She carried the envelope to the main house.
Alejandro and Mateo were waiting when she entered.
"I found this."
She placed it carefully on the table.
"I've never opened it."
Alejandro studied the sealed package.
The envelope was thick.
Much thicker than ordinary paperwork.
Mateo carefully slipped on gloves before opening it.
Inside were dozens of documents.
Land contracts.
Corporate correspondence.
Bank transfers.
Photographs.
Then a small USB flash drive fell onto the table.
Mateo picked it up.
"There are labels."
Alejandro read them aloud.
"'Project Eclipse.'"
"'Montenegro Holdings.'"
Silence filled the room.
Those were confidential internal project names.
Names known only to a handful of senior executives.
Alejandro slowly looked at Valeria.
"How did Rodrigo get these?"
She shook her head repeatedly.
"I swear... I've never seen them before."
"I believe you."
Mateo inserted the USB drive into an isolated computer.
A single video file appeared.
No title.
No date.
He clicked play.
The screen lit up.
A boardroom.
Several executives discussing a future acquisition.
Alejandro frowned.
"This meeting..."
"It was private."
"There were only eight people in the room."
The camera angle shifted.
Hidden.
Secretly recorded.
Someone inside the meeting had betrayed them.
Then the video paused automatically.
A message appeared across the screen.
IF YOU ARE WATCHING THIS...
THE TRAITOR IS ALREADY INSIDE THE MONTENEGRO FAMILY.
No one in the room spoke.
May you like
Because every person present suddenly realized the danger wasn't approaching from outside anymore.
It had been living among them all along.
