Chapter 4 - The House of Cards Collapses
Within minutes of the video broadcast, the gala transformed from a high-society event into a crime scene.
Flashing blue and red lights illuminated the front of the Four Seasons Hotel. Six federal police officers marched into the ballroom, handcuffs gleaming under the chandeliers.
"Santiago Rivas, Beatriz Rivas," the lead detective announced, pulling out a warrant. "You are under arrest for aggravated domestic assault, conspiracy to commit medical fraud, and attempted extortion. Hand over your wrists."
"Get your hands off me!" Beatriz shrieked as a female officer forced her arms behind her back, the emerald bracelets clinking against metal handcuffs. "Do you know who my family is? I will have your badges for this! Santiago, do something!"
But Santiago couldn't do anything. He was trembling violently, his eyes glued to the projector screens which were still looping his violent outburst. As the handcuffs clicked around his wrists, he looked at Valeria, his face a mixture of pure rage and terrifying desperation.
"You trapped me!" he roared, trying to lung toward her, but he was instantly slammed against a nearby pillar by two large police officers. "You lied to me for two years! If I knew who your father was, I would have never—"
"You would have never beaten me?" Valeria interrupted, stepping closer, looking down at him with absolute pity. "You only respect power, Santiago. You abuse those you think are weak. That is your true nature. You didn't fail because of who my father is. You failed because of who you are."
As Santiago and Beatriz were dragged out of the ballroom in front of dozens of flashing media cameras, the guests began to slowly clear out, leaving the Salazar family alone in the grand room.
The next morning, the financial execution was completed.
With the video of the assault going viral globally, the Rivas Group’s stock was completely frozen. By 10:00 AM, Ricardo Salazar’s legal team formally executed the debt foreclosure. Every asset owned by the Rivas family—their corporate headquarters, their bank accounts, their luxury vehicles, and the Lomas de Chapultepec mansion—was seized to satisfy their unpaid loans.
Valeria sat in her father’s penthouse office, watching the live news coverage. The Rivas empire had completely vanished in less than twenty-four hours.
Elena walked in, carrying a document. "Miss Salazar, we have discovered the extent of their fraud. The psychiatric clinic they were planning to send you to was owned by a corrupt doctor who has already confessed to taking bribes from Beatriz. He has turned state’s evidence. Santiago and Beatriz are being denied bail due to being a flight risk."
Valeria let out a long, deep breath. The suffocating weight that had crushed her chest for two long years finally dissolved completely. She looked out the window at the beautiful skyline of Mexico City.
Suddenly, a sharp, tight pain bloomed in her lower abdomen. She gasped, her hand tightening around the edge of the mahogany desk.
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"Valeria?" Ricardo jumped up from his chair, his face filled with sudden panic.
"Papa..." Valeria gasped, a mixture of pain and immense excitement flooding her voice. "The baby... it’s time."
