Chapter 8 - THE FAMILY WAR
Esteban Villaseñor arrived at the mansion that afternoon.
Sixty-two.
Silver-haired.
Expensive suit.
A smile that never reached his eyes.
Diego met him in the library.
“You filed against my daughter.”
Esteban sat comfortably.
“I protected the company.”
“She’s three years old.”
“She’s an inheritance complication.”
Diego’s expression hardened.
“She has a name.”
“Of course.”
Esteban smiled.
“Valentina.”
Diego hated hearing him say it.
Esteban leaned forward.
“Think carefully.”
“If you publicly recognize her, every newspaper in Mexico will investigate Marisol.”
“They’ll investigate your mother.”
“They’ll investigate you.”
Diego didn’t blink.
“Let them.”
Esteban’s smile disappeared.
“You would risk Villaseñor Holdings for a woman who cleaned your floors?”
Diego slowly stood.
“My mother made that mistake.”
Esteban frowned.
“She believed a person’s bank account determined their value.”
Diego walked toward him.
“I won’t.”
Esteban rose.
“Then you’re more foolish than your father.”
A voice came from the doorway.
“No.”
Marisol stood there.
“You’re afraid.”
Esteban looked at her.
Marisol continued.
“You don’t care about the company.”
“You care about control.”
Esteban smiled coldly.
“And you care about money.”
Diego moved forward.
But Marisol stopped him.
She faced Esteban herself.
“I worked four years in this house without asking Diego for one peso beyond my salary.”
“I raised Valentina alone.”
“I never filed for support.”
“I never went to the press.”
“So don’t stand there and tell me what I care about.”
Esteban’s smile vanished.
For the first time, he saw Marisol differently.
Not as a maid.
As an opponent.
He left ten minutes later.
But before getting into his car, he made a phone call.
“To Paulina.”
She answered immediately.
“Did he agree?”
“No.”
“What now?”
Esteban stared back at the mansion.
“Now we make Marisol look dangerous.”
That evening, a story appeared online.
BILLIONAIRE’S SECRET LOVE CHILD REVEALED.
Within an hour, photographs of Marisol were everywhere.
By midnight, another headline appeared.
MAID HID BILLIONAIRE’S DAUGHTER FOR THREE YEARS.
Then another.
WAS IT ALL A PLAN?
Marisol stared at the television.
Diego switched it off.
“Don’t watch.”
“They’re calling me a liar.”
“I know.”
“They’re saying I trapped you.”
“I know.”
“What happens when Valentina grows up and finds this?”
Diego crouched in front of her.
“She’ll find something else too.”
“What?”
“The truth.”
His phone rang.
Security.
“Sir, there’s a woman at the front gate.”
“Who?”
“She says she worked for your mother.”
“What does she want?”
The guard hesitated.
May you like
“She says she has the original letters Marisol sent you.”
Diego stood instantly.
