Chapter 7: The Woman Behind the Family’s Perfect Plan
For several seconds after Ernesto said those words, nobody moved.
Not Mateo.
Not me.
Not even the sound of the city outside our window seemed real anymore.
“The woman your mother chose.””
I replayed the sentence in my head.
Because it meant something I had not considered.
Camila was not the beginning of the story.
She was simply the person everyone knew about.
There was someone else.
Someone Beatriz had considered a better match.
Mateo’s voice was low.
“Dad.””
Ernesto exhaled.
“I should have told you years ago.””
“You think?””
“I made mistakes.””
“No. You made decisions.””
The silence on the phone was heavy.
I watched Mateo’s face.
He was not angry in the way I expected.
He looked disappointed.
Sometimes disappointment hurt more than anger.
Anger meant you still believed someone could change.
Disappointment meant you finally accepted who they were.
“Who was she?”” Mateo asked.
Ernesto didn’t answer.
“Dad.””
“She was someone your mother knew.””
“That doesn’t answer the question.””
A long pause.
Then:
“Luciana.””
I frowned.
The name meant nothing to me.
But Mateo reacted immediately.
His expression changed.
“Luciana?””
“Yes.””
“From the company?””
“Yes.””
I looked at him.
“You know her?””
Mateo covered the phone.
“She was my father’s business partner’s daughter.””
I understood immediately.
Another family connection.
Another arrangement.
Another person chosen because she fit into someone else’s plan.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”” Mateo asked his father.
“Because it was never serious.””
“Wasn’t serious?””
His voice sharpened.
“You spent my entire life deciding who was acceptable for me.””
Ernesto said nothing.
Mateo continued.
“You introduced me to women like they were business proposals.””
“That’s unfair.””
“Is it?””
Silence.
I walked toward the window.
Outside, people were starting their morning routines.
Cars moving.
Neighbors leaving for work.
Normal life continuing while mine felt like it had been pulled apart.
I thought about the last twenty-four hours.
A dinner I never agreed to.
A family meeting.
A hidden agreement.
An old relationship.
And now another woman.
It was almost unbelievable.
But somehow, with the Cárdenas family, unbelievable had become normal.
Mateo ended the call.
For a moment, we just stood there.
Then I asked:
“Who is Luciana?””
He sat down.
“She was around when I was younger.””
“How young?””
“Twenty-three.””
“And?””
“And nothing.””
I looked at him.
“Mateo.””
He sighed.
“My parents wanted me to date her.””
“Did you?””
“No.””
“Why?””
“Because I didn’t want someone chosen for me.””
The irony was almost painful.
Because that was exactly what had happened with everyone around him.
They kept trying to choose his life.
Even years after he thought he had escaped.
“What happened to her?”” I asked.
“I don’t know.””
“You don’t?””
“No.””
He looked at the documents on the table.
“But apparently she’s involved now.””
My phone buzzed.
A message.
From an unknown number.
I opened it.
*You need to stop asking questions before you hurt people who cannot protect themselves.*
My blood went cold.
I showed Mateo.
His face immediately changed.
“Who sent this?””
“I don’t know.””
He grabbed his phone.
“I’m calling Dad.””
“No.””
He looked at me.
“No?””
“Not yet.””
“Valeria, someone threatened you.””
“No.””
I pointed at the message.
“This person wants us to react.””
Mateo stared.
“And?””
“And we don’t give them what they want.””
I had learned something during years of negotiations at work.
The person who loses control first usually loses the conversation.
So I stayed calm.
I saved the message.
I took screenshots.
And I waited.
Two hours later, Daniel Ruiz called.
The attorney.
“I need to speak with both of you.””
We met him at his office that afternoon.
He had prepared a stack of documents.
“I reviewed the agreements again.””
“And?”” Mateo asked.
Daniel looked serious.
“There are inconsistencies.””
“What kind?””
“The original investment agreement was altered.””
I frowned.
“Altered?””
“Yes.””
“By who?””
Daniel placed two versions on the table.
“The first version was signed before Mateo married Valeria.””
I looked at the date.
Then the second.
“Six months later.””
“Yes.””
“What changed?””
Daniel pointed.
“The ownership clause.””
Mateo leaned forward.
“The house.””
“Yes.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“What did they add?””
Daniel looked at me.
“They added a condition that if the marriage ended within ten years, ownership rights would be reviewed.””
The room became silent.
I looked at Mateo.
“Ten years.””
He nodded slowly.
We had been married eight years.
Two years left.
The timing suddenly felt too convenient.
Daniel continued.
“But that is not the strangest part.””
“What is?””
“The second version was not signed by Camila’s father.””
Mateo frowned.
“Then who signed it?””
Daniel looked directly at him.
“Your mother.””
Nobody spoke.
Because now the truth was becoming clear.
May you like
Beatriz had not inherited this problem.
She had created it.
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