“Valeria, we can still contain this. I return the money. You tell the board it was an accounting dispute. We divorce quietly. Your family survives.”
“My family already survived you.”
“You think Diego will recover from this? Everyone will know his wife betrayed him. Everyone will know you were sleeping beside the man stealing from your company.”
“I was deceived. That is painful, not shameful.”
His smile disappeared.
I placed copies of the clinic letters on the table.
“Why?”
He looked away.
I waited.
For once, I did not fill the silence for him.
Finally, he said, “Your grandfather’s trust was designed to exclude spouses. I gave five years to that family, and I was still treated like an employee with a wedding ring.”
“You were paid more than every executive except me.”
“It was never mine.”
“So you destroyed my embryos?”
“I delayed a decision.”
The room went completely still.
“You signed an order to destroy them.”
“You were obsessed. You talked about babies every day. If you had a child, the shares would have moved beyond my reach forever.”
There it was, spoken in his own voice.
Not a misunderstanding.
Not Mariana’s manipulation.
A calculation.
I pressed the intercom button Andrés had told me about.
“Did you hear enough?” I asked.
The investigator entered with another officer.
Sebastián’s face twisted.
“You set me up.”
“No,” I said. “I gave you a chance to tell the truth.”
As they took him away, he called my name.
I did not turn around.
The legal process lasted fourteen months. Sebastián’s attorneys blamed Mauricio, Mariana, and the clinic, but his messages connected every part of the scheme. He was convicted of financial fraud, forgery, breach of trust, and unlawful disclosure of confidential business information. He received a lengthy prison sentence and was ordered to repay what could be recovered. His apartment, cars, and watches were seized.
Mariana pleaded guilty to conspiracy, unauthorized access, and falsification of records. Her cooperation reduced her sentence, but it did not keep her out of prison. She surrendered every asset purchased through Marea Azul.
