Chapter 2 - The Stolen Future
To understand the sheer terror on Diego's face, you have to understand exactly what happened ten years ago.
I was a fiercely loyal and hopelessly naive woman, deeply in love with a rising real estate developer.
Diego had proposed to me under the stars, promising me a beautiful life filled with unconditional love.
I spent months planning every single detail of our dream wedding.
Valeria was chosen as my maid of honor, constantly helping me pick out floral arrangements and catering menus.
I thought her tears during my dress fitting were tears of genuine sisterly joy.
I had absolutely no idea they were tears of guilt, or perhaps just the thrill of her own wicked deception.
Two weeks before I was supposed to walk down the aisle, I went to Diego's apartment to surprise him with dinner.
I used my spare key and walked quietly down the hallway, hearing muffled whispers coming from the master bedroom.
I pushed the heavy oak door open and felt my entire world violently shatter into a million pieces.
Valeria and Diego were frantically getting dressed, their faces pale with the undeniable guilt of their betrayal.
"It is not what it looks like, Lucía," Diego had lied smoothly, stepping in front of my sister to protect her.
But Valeria had simply smirked at me over his shoulder, a look of pure, malicious triumph in her eyes.
"He loves me, Lucía," Valeria declared proudly, pulling her designer coat tightly around her shoulders.
"He needs a woman who can elevate his status, not a boring accountant who clips grocery coupons."
I did not scream, and I did not throw a dramatic tantrum.
I simply placed my engagement ring on the dresser and walked out of the apartment in complete, devastated silence.
The very next morning, they publicly announced their engagement, effectively painting me as the crazy, jealous ex-fiancée.
My family, blinded by Diego's immense wealth, subtly encouraged me to forgive them for the sake of family peace.
I moved to another city, changed my phone number, and completely vanished from their glamorous lives.
But before I left Diego's apartment that terrible night, I had taken something far more valuable than a diamond ring.
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I had slipped a heavily encrypted USB drive from his home office desk into my coat pocket.
That small piece of plastic contained the undeniable proof that Diego's entire empire was funded by a violent underground mafia syndicate.
