Chapter 12 - THE LAST ATTACK
Esteban knew the walls were closing around him.
The financial records were devastating.
Board members were abandoning him.
Authorities had begun freezing accounts connected to his companies.
So he made one final move.
He challenged Isabel’s amendment.
His attorneys claimed she had not been mentally competent when she signed it.
If successful, Valentina would lose the shares.
The hearing drew national attention.
Marisol hated every second.
Reporters waited outside the courthouse.
Cameras followed her.
Questions flew.
“Marisol, did you pressure Isabel?”
“Did Diego promise you money?”
“Are you and Diego together again?”
Diego placed himself between Marisol and the cameras.
“Keep walking.”
Inside, Esteban’s attorneys attacked the amendment.
They produced medical records showing Isabel had been receiving treatment near the end of her life.
Then they called a witness.
Paulina.
Marisol stared.
“What is she doing?”
Diego’s attorney whispered.
“Trying to save herself.”
Paulina took the stand.
Esteban’s lawyer asked whether Isabel had seemed confused.
Paulina nodded.
“Yes.”
“Did she understand what she was signing?”
“I don’t believe so.”
Diego stared at her.
Another lie.
Then Diego’s attorney stood.
“Ms. Robles, when did you discover the amendment?”
Paulina hesitated.
“After Isabel died.”
“And you understood its contents?”
“Yes.”
“Yet you demanded ten million dollars in exchange for returning it?”
Esteban’s attorney jumped up.
“Objection.”
The judge allowed the question.
Paulina’s face tightened.
Diego’s attorney displayed the recording from the parking garage.
Her own voice filled the courtroom.
Ten million.
Tomorrow.
Bring the box.
Paulina closed her eyes.
Then came the final witness.
Teresa Álvarez.
She carried Isabel’s appointment book.
“Isabel knew exactly what she was doing.”
Teresa opened it.
“She met with two independent attorneys.”
“Two doctors evaluated her.”
“And she recorded a video statement.”
Diego looked up.
“What video?”
Teresa handed a flash drive to the court.
The screen turned on.
Isabel Villaseñor appeared.
Thin.
Tired.
But completely lucid.
Diego’s breath caught.
His mother looked directly into the camera.
“My name is Isabel Villaseñor.”
“I am recording this voluntarily.”
“I failed my son.”
Diego lowered his eyes.
“I allowed fear, pride, and family expectations to separate him from someone he loved.”
“I also allowed my granddaughter to grow up without her father knowing who she was.”
Marisol began crying.
Then Isabel said something nobody expected.
“Valentina is not receiving my shares because she is Diego’s daughter.”
“She is receiving them because I owe her something money cannot replace.”
“Her first three years.”
The courtroom became completely silent.
“If Diego ever sees this, I ask only one thing.”
“Do not repeat my mistakes.”
“Choose people over pride.”
May you like
The video ended.
Esteban’s case collapsed before lunch.
