Chapter 6 - A Dangerous Confrontation
I returned to the Gold Coast penthouse that evening, my heart hammering against my ribs. I had to get Alejandro's encrypted flash drive—the one he always kept in his study safe, the key that unlocked his firm's private servers.
As I slipped into his study, the room was dark. I guided myself by the light of the city skyline outside. I reached behind the heavy bookshelf where I knew the secondary wall safe was located. My fingers were just touching the keypad when the overhead lights violently clicked on.
Alejandro was standing in the doorway. His expression wasn't angry; it was cold, calculating, and entirely devoid of humanity.
"Looking for something, Mariana?" he asked, stepping into the room.
Behind him stood two large men in dark suits—his private security details.
"Alejandro," I gasped, stepping back against the bookshelf. "I... I was looking for a passport."
"Don't lie to me," he snarled, throwing a stack of photographs onto the desk. They were pictures of me at the South Side shelter, pictures of me with Robert in the alleyway, and pictures of my meeting with Sarah Lin.
"You thought you were being clever," Alejandro said, walking up to me until he was inches away. He grabbed my wrist, his grip painfully tight. "I built this empire. I saved your family from ruin, and I own you. Your father gave you to me as payment for keeping his secrets out of a federal courtroom."
"You're a monster," I spat in his face. "Robert gave up everything for me. You took everything from him!"
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"And I can take his life next," Alejandro whispered maliciously. "You think you can ruin me with a few old documents? If you don't hand over the binder you stole from your father's safe by tomorrow morning, Robert Velasquez will have a tragic, fatal accident at that shelter. And you, my dear wife, will find yourself committed to a private psychiatric facility for an indefinite stay."
He shoved me away, turning to his men. "Lock her in the bedroom. Take her keys, her phone, and her bag. We leave for the firm's grand gala tomorrow night, and she will be by my side, smiling, before we settle this permanently."
