Chapter 3 - The Domineering FallBy noon, the Ortega family home was in absolute chaos.
Beatriz stood in the center of her living room, screaming into her mobile phone while her husband, Hector, paced back and forth, furiously trying to call his bank.
"What do you mean the contract is cancelled?!" Beatriz yelled into the receiver. "Gonzalo’s company has serviced your commercial buildings for three years! You can't just terminate a master service agreement without sixty days notice!"
"Read Clause 14-B of your service agreement, Mrs. Ortega," a cold voice answered from the other end of the line. "The contract permits immediate cancellation in the event of ethical violations or reputational risk associated with the vendor's principal officers. Good day."
The line went dead. Beatriz stared at her phone in horror just as the front door burst open.
Gonzalo, Mauricio’s younger brother, stumbled into the house, his shirt unbuttoned, his face pale with sweat. "Mom! Dad! Something is wrong! The bank just froze my corporate operating account! They said a senior lien holder placed an emergency freeze on our assets due to an outstanding audit!"
"What is happening?!" Hector bellowed, slamming his fist onto the kitchen table. "My warehouse mortgage holder called ten minutes ago! They refused my monthly payment and declared the entire principal balance immediately due under a default acceleration clause! We don't have five million pesos liquid!"
Before anyone could answer, the front door slammed open again.
Mauricio walked in. He was no longer wearing his pristine jacket. His silk tie was pulled loose, his hair was disheveled, and he carried a single cardboard box containing his desk items from Trans-National Freight.
Beatriz rushed over to him, her voice shrill with panic. "Mauricio! Thank God you're home! Everything is falling apart! Gonzalo lost his contracts, your father’s warehouse is being foreclosed on—you need to call your bosses at Trans-National! Use your influence!"
Mauricio dropped the cardboard box onto the floor. He looked at his mother with hollow, glassy eyes.
"Trans-National fired me, Mom," he whispered.
Beatriz froze. "What?"
"They fired me. They're filing criminal fraud charges against me for my expense reports," Mauricio said, his voice cracking as he slumped onto the sofa, burying his face in his hands. "It’s over. Everything is gone."
Hector grabbed his son by the collar, dragging him up. "What are you talking about?! How could this happen all in one morning?!"
"It’s Valeria," Mauricio sobbed, tears finally spilling over his cheeks. "It’s Valeria Cruz."
"That orphan girl?" Beatriz spat, her face twisting in rage. "What does she have to do with this?! She doesn't have the power to do anything! She’s probably sitting in some dirty motel weeping right now!"
"She isn't an orphan, Mom!" Mauricio screamed, pulling away from his father. "Her name isn't just Valeria Cruz! She’s Valeria Vance! She owns Horizon Capital! She owns my company! She owns Gonzalo’s contracts! She owns Dad’s mortgage! She owns everything!"
The living room went deathly silent.
Beatriz’s jaw dropped. "She... she owns Horizon Capital? The billion-peso fund?"
"Yes!" Mauricio yelled, pulling at his hair. "She hid it! She lived simply to see if I loved her for her, and last night... last night you made me hit her! You made me throw her out over a bucket of dirty underwear!"
Beatriz stumbled backward, clutching her chest as if she had been struck by lightning. "No... no, that can't be... She was wearing cheap clothes! She didn't have jewelry!"
"Because she was testing us!" Gonzalo shouted, realizing the full scope of the disaster. "And you failed! You made her wash our dirty clothes on her wedding night!"
Suddenly, the loud sound of heavy vehicles pulling up outside interrupted their fighting.
Hector rushed to the window and pulled back the curtains. Parked along the quiet suburban street were three sleek, black armored SUVs with tinted windows. Four tall men dressed in dark tactical suits stepped out, followed by a woman in a high-end cream-colored trench coat holding a silver-tipped walking stick.
It was Sofia Vance, accompanied by a team of private enforcement officers.
The front door opened without a knock. Two security officers stepped inside, securing the entryway, before Sofia walked in, her heels clicking crisply against the tile floor.
"Good afternoon, Ortega family," Sofia said smoothly, glancing around the living room with disdain.
Hector stepped forward, his voice trembling. "Ms. Vance... please. There has been a terrible misunderstanding—"
"There is no misunderstanding, Mr. Ortega," Sofia interrupted, holding up a sleek tablet. "I am here to deliver formal notice regarding the immediate asset seizure of this residential property."
Beatriz gasped. "This house?! You can't take our house! We’ve lived here for twenty years!"
"Correction," Sofia noted calmly. "You took out a second mortgage on this home three years ago to finance Gonzalo’s business expansion. That loan was purchased by Horizon Capital four months ago. Due to the cross-default clauses triggered by Gonzalo’s corporate insolvency, this property is now in immediate foreclosure. You have forty-eight hours to vacate."
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"You monster!" Beatriz shrieked, lunging toward Sofia, but one of the massive security guards stepped in front of her, his icy glare freezing her in her tracks. "Where is she?! Where is Valeria?! Let me speak to her! She’s my daughter-in-law!"
Sofia smiled—a cold, razor-sharp expression. "She was your daughter-in-law for approximately four hours, Mrs. Ortega. Now, she is your primary creditor. If you wish to speak with her, she will be receiving guests at the Horizon Capital Tower tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. I suggest you dress appropriately."
