Chapter 6 - RODRIGO

Rodrigo Velasco wasn’t a gangster.

That would have been simpler.

He was something worse for Daniel.

A legitimate businessman with expensive lawyers, political connections, and absolutely no loyalty.

He owned a logistics company that Daniel had been trying to impress for years.

DVA Consulting had been created to broker procurement contracts.

Daniel had promised Rodrigo access to clients from my advertising network.

Clients I had spent twelve years building.

He had also promised something else.

My investment.

Without asking me.

“He told Rodrigo you agreed to put in three million pesos,” Laura said.

“I didn’t agree to one peso.”

“I know.”

“How much is still owed?”

“Roughly 1.2 million.”

I laughed once.

It sounded empty.

“So Daniel stole almost two million and still owes another million?”

“Yes.”

“That’s almost impressive.”

Laura didn’t smile.

“There’s another problem.”

“Of course there is.”

“Rodrigo claims Daniel gave him copies of confidential client proposals from your company.”

I went still.

“What?”

“He may have accessed your work files.”

“That could destroy me.”

“Only if we don’t get ahead of it.”

I immediately called my business partners.

No lies.

No excuses.

I told them there had been unauthorized access by a family member and that lawyers and cybersecurity specialists were investigating.

It was humiliating.

But secrecy would have been worse.

By evening, two clients had paused campaigns.

One threatened legal action.

Daniel hadn’t just stolen money.

He had put my career at risk.

When I returned to the temporary apartment where Camila and I were staying, she was sitting on the floor building a tower.

“Mommy.”

I knelt.

She wrapped her arms around me.

“Did you eat?”

She nodded proudly.

“Chicken. Rice. Two carrots.”

“Two?”

“Big ones.”

I kissed her hair.

That tiny answer nearly broke me.

For years I had thought providing meant paying every bill.

Now I understood something painful.

Money could fill a refrigerator.

It could not make people kind.

That night, someone knocked.

Laura had told me not to open the door without checking.

I looked through the peephole.

Carmen.

I opened the door only with the security chain attached.

“You’re not allowed around Camila unsupervised.”

“I know.”

“Then leave.”

Her eyes were swollen.

“I need to talk to you.”

“No.”

“Please.”

That word sounded unnatural in her mouth.

I almost closed the door.

Then she said,

“Daniel lied to me too.”

I paused.

“About what?”

“The money.”

“I don’t care.”

“You should.”

She looked over her shoulder.

“I thought the transfers were gifts.”

“They were stolen.”

“I know that now.”

“Congratulations.”

She lowered her voice.

“But Daniel did something else.”

“What?”

Carmen’s expression changed.

For the first time, she looked scared.

“He opened accounts in my name.”

I stared at her.

“When?”

“I don’t know.”

“How much?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why are you telling me?”

“Because this afternoon two men came to my house asking for him.”

“Rodrigo’s people?”

She shook her head.

“No.”

“Then who?”

Carmen pulled a folded piece of paper from her purse.

“I found this in Daniel’s desk.”

It was a loan agreement.

My name was on it.

My signature.

Again.

But this time the amount was not 450,000 pesos.

It was 4.5 million.

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And the repayment deadline had expired three days ago.

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