Chapter 5 - The Glass House
Two months later.
The afternoon sun blazed over the hills of Santiago, Nuevo León, painting the rugged mountain cliffs in vibrant hues of orange and gold.
Valeria stood at the center of a vast, sprawling construction site located on a private cliffside parcel overlooking the valley. The foundation had already been poured, and steel beams were rising toward the sky.
It was the design she had been working on the night she collapsed—the modern, glass-fronted sanctuary she had dreamed of building for years, but had never possessed the capital to realize.
Santiago had purchased the entire sixty-acre estate three weeks after she left the hospital, transferring the property title solely into Valeria’s name, and hiring her as the chief architect of the project with full creative autonomy.
A black SUV pulled up the winding gravel driveway, stopping near the site office.
Lucía and Renata jumped out of the back seat, wearing matching yellow hard hats over their school uniforms, laughing as they ran across the grass toward their mother.
"Mom! Look!" Lucía shouted, holding up a polished wooden drafting box. "Dad bought us our own drawing kits!"
Valeria smiled, kneeling down to hug both girls, kissing their cheeks. "Are you going to help me design the garden?"
"Renata wants a pool with a slide," Lucía reported, "but I told her we need a library first!"
Santiago stepped out of the SUV, wearing a relaxed linen shirt and jeans, a dark jacket draped over his arm. He walked over to Valeria, leaning down to press a soft, loving kiss to her lips in full view of the construction crew.
Valeria blushed, leaning against his chest. "You're corrupting my workforce, Santiago."
"I'm investing in the future principal architects of Villaseñor-Castañeda Enterprises," Santiago laughed, wrapping his arm securely around her waist as they watched the girls run toward the foundation edge under the watchful eye of a security guard.
Elena Castañeda stepped out of the second vehicle, wearing a simple blue dress. Over the past two months, Santiago had ensured that Valeria's mother was provided with an elegant, permanent townhouse near the girls' new private academy, completely forgiving the old family debts and treating her with the dignity she had long lost.
Elena walked over to Santiago and Valeria, looking at the rising steel framework.
May you like
"It's beautiful, Valeria," Elena said quietly, her voice full of genuine pride. "Your father would have been proud of your work."
Valeria looked at her mother, then up at Santiago, feeling the last cold traces of grief and resentment evaporate into the warm mountain breeze.
