CHAPTER 6 — The Traitor Within
CHAPTER 6 — The Traitor Within
For several long seconds, no one moved.
The message remained frozen on the monitor.
THE TRAITOR IS ALREADY INSIDE THE MONTENEGRO FAMILY.
Valeria looked from Alejandro to Mateo.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I never should have brought this into your lives."
Alejandro turned off the monitor.
"No."
"If this evidence was hidden in your suitcase, someone wanted it to disappear."
"And now we know why."
Mateo carefully removed the USB drive.
"I'll have our digital forensics team examine it offline."
"No internet."
"No outside network."
"I want to know when it was recorded, who edited it, and whether anything has been altered."
"Understood."
Alejandro couldn't ignore one detail.
Only eight people had attended that confidential board meeting six months earlier.
Himself.
His mother, Elena.
His sister, Camila.
Mateo.
The company's chief financial officer.
Its legal counsel.
Two senior directors.
No one else.
Whoever recorded it had either been one of those eight...
Or had been helped by one of them.
The following morning, the Montenegro headquarters buzzed with its usual rhythm.
Executives hurried through polished hallways.
Assistants carried folders between conference rooms.
Everything appeared normal.
Only Alejandro knew that every familiar face had suddenly become a question.
He called an emergency executive meeting.
The same people who had attended the original board meeting gathered once again.
No one knew why.
Alejandro looked around the table.
"I'll keep this brief."
"Our internal security department has uncovered evidence that confidential information has been leaking from this company."
The room fell silent.
The chief financial officer frowned.
"How serious is it?"
"Serious enough that I canceled every appointment today."
The legal counsel leaned forward.
"Do we know who's responsible?"
Alejandro answered honestly.
"Not yet."
"But we will."
He deliberately watched everyone's reactions.
Most looked surprised.
One looked offended.
Only one person didn't react at all.
Camila.
She simply folded her hands and met his gaze without blinking.
After the meeting ended, Elena entered Alejandro's office.
"You suspect someone in our family."
"I have to consider every possibility."
She nodded sadly.
"That doesn't mean it'll be easy."
"No."
"It won't."
She placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Whatever you discover..."
"Don't let anger make the decision."
"Let the truth."
Meanwhile, Valeria had decided she couldn't remain idle.
She wandered through the guest house searching for a notebook to organize her job applications.
Instead, she found an old sketchbook she had packed months earlier.
Inside were architectural illustrations she had created during college.
Modern office buildings.
Urban parks.
Community centers.
She smiled faintly.
She had almost forgotten that designing spaces used to make her happy.
A voice came from behind.
"Those are impressive."
She turned.
Alejandro stood in the doorway.
"I didn't mean to interrupt."
She closed the sketchbook.
"They're old."
"They're good."
"I wanted to become an architect."
"What happened?"
Valeria laughed softly.
"Life."
"Marriage."
"Bills."
"Sofía."
"I started taking freelance graphic design jobs because they paid faster."
Alejandro looked through another page.
"Would you ever go back?"
She hesitated.
"If I had the chance..."
"Yes."
Later that afternoon, Alejandro introduced her to the headquarters of the Montenegro Foundation.
Unlike the luxury of the corporate offices, the foundation focused on scholarships, hospitals, and affordable housing.
"This is the part of the business most people never see," Alejandro said.
"They usually only write about money."
A woman approached with a warm smile.
"Alejandro."
He turned.
"Lucía."
"This is Valeria Hernández."
Lucía shook her hand.
"I've heard wonderful things."
Valeria looked confused.
"You have?"
Lucía laughed.
"Any woman capable of getting Alejandro to fly commercial without complaining deserves recognition."
Alejandro rolled his eyes.
"I complain."
"Quietly."
As they toured the building, Valeria noticed framed photographs covering one wall.
Schools.
Medical clinics.
Disaster relief projects.
One picture caught her attention.
A much younger Alejandro stood beside several construction workers, covered in dust, smiling broadly.
"Where was this taken?"
Lucía answered.
"After the Oaxaca earthquake."
"He spent three weeks helping rebuild homes."
Alejandro looked slightly embarrassed.
"It wasn't just me."
"No," Lucía agreed.
"But you never told the press you were there."
Valeria glanced at him.
The man beside her looked very different from the billionaire newspapers described.
Back at the estate that evening, Camila waited in the library.
"May we talk?"
Alejandro nodded.
She closed the door behind him.
"I know you suspect me."
"I haven't accused anyone."
"You didn't have to."
She walked toward the fireplace.
"You've been watching everyone."
"I've noticed."
Alejandro remained silent.
Camila sighed.
"I understand why."
"But I need you to know something."
She opened a drawer and removed a thin folder.
"I've been conducting my own investigation."
Alejandro frowned.
"What?"
"I discovered unusual transfers six months ago."
"Money moving through companies we don't control."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wanted proof."
She handed him the folder.
Inside were dozens of financial records.
Every transaction led to one name.
Arturo Vega.
The company's chief financial officer.
Alejandro stared at the documents.
"These can't be..."
"They are."
"I hired an outside forensic accountant."
"The evidence points directly to him."
Before Alejandro could respond, the lights throughout the mansion suddenly went dark.
Every room.
Every hallway.
Complete silence.
Then the backup generators failed to start.
Mateo's voice echoed from somewhere downstairs.
"Everyone stay where you are!"
"We've lost the security system!"
A second later, the piercing sound of shattered glass rang out from the rear of the estate.
May you like
Someone had broken into the Montenegro residence.
And in the darkness, a single shadow moved silently toward the guest house... where Sofía was sleeping alone.
