Chapter 5 - The Wall of Denial
Despite seeing the raw footage with her own eyes, Isabella’s mind, conditioned by decades of social conditioning and corporate alliances, desperately tried to rationalize the horrific truth. She pushed the phone back toward Alejandro, her hands trembling slightly, though her voice remained stubbornly rigid.
"It could be doctored," Isabella insisted, standing up and pacing the kitchen floor. "With artificial intelligence these days, anyone can make a video look real. Valeria's family is merging their shipping assets with ours next month. Do you understand the billions at stake? Why would she risk all of that?"
"Because she hates Sofía!" Alejandro shouted, losing his temper for the first time with his mother. "She has always resented that I had a child from a previous marriage. She wanted the inheritance, the name, and my attention entirely for herself."
Lucía walked into the kitchen at that moment, carrying an empty tray. She stopped dead in her tracks, sensing the volatile energy in the room.
Isabella immediately turned her sharp gaze on the nanny. "You," she snapped. "How much is Valeria's rival paying you to orchestrate this? Did you plant that camera? Did you swap the pills?"
"Mother, stop it!" Alejandro stepped between them.
"I am not being paid by anyone, Ma'am," Lucía said, her voice surprisingly steady despite the intimidation. "I love Sofía. I would never hurt her, and I would never allow anyone else to hurt her. I saw what I saw."
Isabella narrowed her eyes, assessing the young woman in the beige apron. "You expect me to believe a hired babysitter over a woman of Valeria’s pedigree?"
"Pedigree doesn't determine morality, Isabella," Alejandro said, his tone icy. "I took the food to the hospital. Dr. Aris confirmed it was poison. So unless you think our family doctor of twenty years is also in on this massive conspiracy, you need to accept that the woman you chose for me is a monster."
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Isabella fell silent. The mention of Dr. Aris—a man she implicitly trusted—finally cracked her wall of denial. She sat heavily back into the chair, looking suddenly very old. "If this is true, Alejandro... the scandal will destroy us."
"I don't care about the scandal," Alejandro replied. "I care about my daughter."
