CHAPTER 2: The Man Santiago Never Expected
The mansion fell into absolute silence.
Even the chandelier seemed to stop trembling.
My father stood in the doorway without speaking.
Rain dripped from the shoulders of his black overcoat onto the polished marble floor. Behind him stood two senior attorneys from Grupo Salazar, three security officers, and my personal physician.
Santiago blinked.
"I'm sorry," he said with a forced smile. "Who exactly are you?"
My father slowly removed his leather gloves.
"My name is Ricardo Salazar."
The smile vanished.
Beatriz's wine glass slipped from her fingers and shattered across the marble.
"No..." she whispered.
"It can't be."
Ricardo Salazar—the billionaire industrialist whose companies financed half the country's largest construction projects—was standing inside their home.
Santiago looked at me.
Then back at my father.
Then at me again.
"You..."
His voice cracked.
"You're his daughter?"
I nodded quietly.
"I always was."
"You just never cared enough to ask."
My father walked directly toward me.
Not toward Santiago.
Not toward Beatriz.
Toward his daughter.
He gently placed one hand on my shoulder before looking at the bruise beginning to darken beneath my cheek.
His jaw tightened.
"Did he do this?"
For months I had hidden the truth.
Not anymore.
"Yes."
Only one word.
But it was enough.
My father's attorneys immediately handed sealed folders to Santiago and Beatriz.
The first contained emergency court orders.
The second contained notice that every outstanding loan owed by the Rivas Group had been called due immediately.
The third contained copies of recordings.
Hours of recordings.
Every threat.
Every insult.
Every confession.
My father looked Santiago directly in the eyes.
May you like
"You thought my daughter had no one."
"You were wrong."
