Chapter 1: The Man Behind the Door
The moment the door shut behind him, silence swallowed the room whole.
Ricardo Salazar did not raise his voice.
He didn’t need to.
His presence alone bent the air.
“Take your hand off my daughter,” he said calmly.
Santiago froze. For the first time since I had known him, uncertainty flickered across his face.
“W–what is this?” he stammered, glancing between me and the man standing before him.
My father didn’t answer.
Instead, one of the attorneys stepped forward, placing a thick folder on the glass table.
“Mr. Rivas,” he said, “we have evidence of domestic abuse, coercion, fraud, and attempted unlawful institutionalization.”
Beatriz’s wine glass slipped from her fingers, shattering on the marble floor.
“This is absurd,” she snapped. “You have no authority here—”
“Oh, but I do,” my father interrupted, his voice like steel. “You’ve been living on borrowed time—and borrowed money.”
Another document slid across the table.
Loan agreements.
Debts.
Signatures.
Santiago’s name… everywhere.
“Effective tonight,” the attorney continued, “those debts are being called in.”
The color drained from Santiago’s face.
“You’re lying,” he whispered.
My father looked at him—finally, fully.
“I built everything you pretend to be.”
May you like
And just like that…
Santiago Rivas began to fall.
