Chapter 5 - The Audit of Truth
Mauricio couldn't move. He stood glued to the floor, his eyes darting frantically between my face, the senior partners sitting silently around the table, and the massive Horizonte Capital emblem engraved on the wall behind me.
"Valeria..." his voice was barely a whisper now, completely stripped of the arrogant authority he had used in his hallway the night before. "Valeria, please... can we speak in private for a moment?"
"This is an official investment review board, Mr. Ortega," I replied flatly, my tone entirely devoid of emotion. "We do not hold private conversations during due diligence. Please take your seat."
Beatriz reached out, clutching Mauricio’s arm with trembling fingers. "Mauricio... what is going on? Is she telling the truth? Is she... is she rich?"
"Mother, sit down and shut up!" Mauricio hissed under his breath, his composure entirely crumbling. He collapsed into the leather chair across from me, his hands shaking as he tried to unclasp his briefcase.
"Let us begin with your company's balance sheet," I said, sliding a document across the table toward Marcus, who projected it onto the large wall monitor. "NexoWare submitted an application requesting MXN 120,000,000 for infrastructure expansion. However, our forensic audit completed early this morning revealed three significant irregularities."
Mauricio swallowed hard. "Irregularities? There must be a misunderstanding... our accounting firm—"
"Your accounting firm is owned by your cousin," I interrupted, leaning forward slightly. "And according to the cross-referenced banking records we pulled at 6:00 AM, NexoWare has defaulted on two private loans in the past ninety days. Loans that were intentionally excluded from your disclosure filings."
Mauricio’s legal advisor leaned over to whisper frantically in his ear, but Mauricio pushed him away, his eyes fixed entirely on me. "Valeria, I can explain that. It was a temporary cash flow delay... we were expecting secondary capital..."
"Furthermore," I continued smoothly, turning to the next page, "you pledged your family’s residential estate as collateral for a high-interest line of credit with an offshore firm three months ago. An estate that, according to public land records, is partially owned by your mother."
Beatriz gasped, turning her head violently toward her son. "What?! Mauricio, you pledged our house?!"
"Mother, quiet!" Mauricio yelled, sweat glistening on his forehead. "Valeria, please... we are family! We are married! You can't do this to me in front of these people!"
"Family?" I raised an eyebrow, my voice quiet, precise, and lethal. "Is that what we are, Mauricio? Because twenty-four hours ago, when your mother threw dirty laundry at my feet and demanded I serve the men of your house, you told me I was nothing. When I refused to be degraded, you struck me in the face and told me to remember where I came from."
Gasps rippled across the table from the senior partners. Marcus’s jaw tightened, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Mauricio with undisguised contempt.
Mauricio’s legal counsel closed his binder immediately, recognizing that this was no longer a standard business negotiation—it was an execution.
"I... I was angry," Mauricio stammered, his face pale and blotchy. "I made a mistake, Valeria! I was under immense pressure because of the company! I didn't mean to hurt you! Please... let’s go home and talk about this like husband and wife!"
"You don't have a home to go back to with me, Mauricio," I said.
Right on cue, the double doors opened again. Daniel walked in, carrying a stack of sealed legal envelopes, accompanied by two uniformed court bailiffs.
Daniel walked directly up to Mauricio, placing a thick folder squarely on top of his pitch deck.
"Mauricio Ortega," Daniel announced loudly. "You are officially served with a petition for emergency dissolution of marriage, an asset freeze petition, and a temporary restraining order issued by the First District Court. You are required to remain at least five hundred meters away from Miss Valeria Vance at all times."
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Mauricio stared at the legal papers as if they were poisonous. "A restraining order? Valeria... no, you can't do this! You're my wife!"
"Not anymore," I said, closing my laptop with a sharp click. "As for NexoWare's investment application... it is officially denied due to material fraud and unethical leadership."
