Chapter 14 - The Lobby Confrontation
By late afternoon, the sheer desperation drove Javier to the hotel. He stormed through the sliding glass doors into the lobby, demanding the receptionist tell him which room Natalia was in, screaming that she had stolen "his" property.
Upstairs, Elena’s phone rang. She answered it, switching the call to video mode, and walked out to the interior balcony overlooking the lobby, holding the phone over the railing so Javier could see the screen.
"Looking for someone, Javier?" Elena called down, her voice echoing in the lobby.
Javier looked up, his face red with fury. He saw Natalia standing calmly next to her lawyer on the screen.
"Come down here right now, Natalia!" Javier bellowed, ignoring the stares of the hotel staff. "You are coming home, and you are returning my company documents!"
"No," Natalia said simply, her voice projected through the phone. "But while I have you, why don't you call your mother and your sisters on speakerphone? Let's have a family meeting."
Javier hesitated, but Elena chimed in. "Do it, Javier. Or the next call we make is to the police for domestic assault."
Trembling, Javier dialed his mother. Graciela answered immediately. "Did you get the ungrateful woman, Javier?" her voice sneered through the speaker.
"Listen to me very carefully, Doña Graciela," Natalia spoke into the camera, her eyes cold as ice. "Let's review the facts. The deed to that mansion is in my name. The title to your luxury SUV is in my name. The furniture you sit on was bought with my money. The private medical treatments you enjoy are covered by my corporate insurance policy. Your daughters survive exclusively on my company's payroll."
Natalia leaned closer to the camera. "Tell me, Doña Graciela. What exactly has your family given me, other than absolute contempt?"
For the first time in her life, the arrogant matriarch could not find a single word to say. The silence on the phone was deafening.
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Javier lowered his head, his voice losing all its power. "Don't do this here, Natalia."
"The next time you speak to me," Natalia said, "it will be through my lawyer." She ended the call.
