CHAPTER 7 — The Ring in the Reflection
CHAPTER 7 — The Ring in the Reflection
The conference room became eerily quiet.
Everyone stared at the frozen frame on the screen.
The image was grainy.
Blurred.
Barely recognizable.
But the emerald ring gleamed clearly in the reflection.
Mariana's breathing slowed.
"I've seen that ring."
Victor nodded.
"So have I."
Alejandro leaned closer to the monitor.
"Can we enhance the image?"
Victor called the digital forensics team immediately.
Within minutes, two specialists arrived with advanced imaging software.
The footage was processed frame by frame.
The reflection became slightly sharper.
Not perfect.
But enough.
A woman's silhouette.
Short blond hair.
A tailored suit.
And the unmistakable emerald ring Margaret had worn almost every day for over twenty years.
Emily covered her mouth.
"Oh my God..."
"No conclusions."
Mariana's voice remained calm.
Everyone looked at her.
"We deal in evidence."
"Not assumptions."
Victor nodded approvingly.
"Agreed."
"The ring proves she was there."
"It doesn't prove murder."
Alejandro folded his arms.
"Then we find proof."
Meanwhile...
Margaret sat alone inside the library of the Collins mansion.
For the first time in years...
She felt something she refused to admit.
Fear.
The house seemed different.
Colder.
Empty.
The portraits lining the walls no longer looked proud.
They looked like witnesses.
Her phone rang.
She answered immediately.
"What?"
A man's nervous voice came through.
"Mrs. Collins..."
"We have a problem."
Margaret stood.
"What happened?"
"The café."
Her face tightened.
"They escaped."
Silence.
"You let them escape?"
"We weren't expecting Escalante security."
Margaret closed her eyes.
"You idiots."
She hung up.
Without realizing it...
Someone had heard every word.
Andrew.
He stood just outside the library door.
He hadn't intended to eavesdrop.
But the conversation had frozen him in place.
Escaped?
Security?
Who was his mother talking about?
He quietly stepped away before she noticed him.
For the first time...
A terrible question entered his mind.
How much had his mother hidden from him?
Across the city...
Mariana entered the digital forensics lab.
The enhanced video played again.
Richard Collins sat behind his desk.
His face was tense.
"You've already taken enough."
The unknown woman replied,
"You should be grateful."
Richard laughed bitterly.
"You're destroying this family."
The audio crackled.
Then—
"I won't let you touch Mariana."
The recording distorted again.
Victor frowned.
"Someone deliberately corrupted this file."
The forensic technician nodded.
"The damage wasn't accidental."
"It was encrypted."
"Can it be restored?"
The technician hesitated.
"Maybe."
"How long?"
"Twenty-four hours."
Mariana didn't hesitate.
"Do it."
Emily remained unusually quiet.
Mariana noticed.
"What is it?"
Emily looked down.
"I remembered something."
"What?"
"The day my father died..."
Everyone turned toward her.
"He argued with my mother."
Victor frowned.
"Your mother?"
Emily nodded.
"She died years ago."
"I know."
"But before she died..."
"My parents argued constantly."
"About what?"
Emily whispered,
"Money."
Alejandro exchanged a glance with Victor.
"Go on."
Emily took a deep breath.
"The night before my father died..."
"I heard him say something."
"What?"
"'If Margaret gets control... she'll destroy everything.'"
The room fell silent.
Emily's eyes filled with tears.
"I didn't understand back then."
"I think I do now."
At that same moment...
Andrew sat alone in his car outside the mansion.
He couldn't bring himself to go inside.
Instead...
He opened the glove compartment.
Inside was an old photograph.
His wedding day.
Mariana was smiling.
Not because of the cameras.
Not because of the guests.
Because she believed in him.
Andrew stared at the photo for a long time.
Then another memory surfaced.
Three years earlier...
His father had called him unexpectedly.
"Andrew."
"I'm busy."
"I know."
"I need to tell you something about Mariana."
Andrew sighed impatiently.
"Dad..."
"I'm in a meeting."
"It can't wait."
"It'll have to."
He ended the call.
It was the last conversation they ever had.
The next morning...
Richard Collins was dead.
Andrew gripped the steering wheel.
His father had been trying to tell him something.
Something about Mariana.
Something he had never listened to.
His phone suddenly vibrated.
An unknown number.
He answered cautiously.
"Hello?"
A distorted voice spoke.
"If you want the truth about your father..."
Andrew froze.
"...come alone."
The call ended.
A message arrived immediately.
An address.
An abandoned warehouse near the old harbor.
Andrew stared at it.
Every instinct told him it was dangerous.
But another feeling was stronger.
Regret.
If there was even a chance of learning the truth...
He had to go.
At Escalante Headquarters...
Victor received an alert from the cybersecurity team.
"Miss Escalante."
Mariana looked up.
"Andrew's phone has been contacted."
"By whom?"
"We don't know."
"But the signal was routed through three encrypted servers."
Victor displayed a map.
"The destination is an abandoned warehouse."
Alejandro's expression darkened.
"It's a trap."
Mariana immediately stood.
"Can we stop him?"
Victor shook his head.
"He already left."
Mariana made her decision instantly.
"Prepare a team."
Victor looked surprised.
"You're going after him?"
She grabbed her coat.
"I don't want him dead."
Alejandro studied his daughter.
"After everything he did?"
Mariana answered quietly.
"I refuse to become the kind of person they are."
Night had fallen.
Rain poured over the deserted harbor.
Andrew stepped into the abandoned warehouse.
His footsteps echoed across the concrete floor.
"Hello?"
No answer.
Only silence.
Then...
A single light switched on.
Someone stood at the far end of the warehouse.
Hidden in shadow.
"You came."
Andrew narrowed his eyes.
"Who are you?"
The stranger smiled.
"The man who knows who really killed your father."
Before Andrew could react—
A loud metallic click echoed behind him.
He turned.
The warehouse doors slammed shut.
Locked from the outside.
Then...
Several figures emerged from the darkness.
One.
Two.
Five.
Eight men.
All armed.
Andrew realized too late.
He hadn't come for answers.
May you like
He had walked straight into an execution.
End of Chapter 7
