MY WIFE WAS FORCED TO WORK AT THE RICHEST MANSION IN MONTERREY... WHAT DID THAT FAMILY DO TO HER BEFORE SHE DIED? THEY FORCED ME TO INFILTRATE THEIR HOUSE TO DESTROY IT.

Chapter 8: The Scapegoat

That night, utter chaos consumed the mansion. The phones rang incessantly. Bernardo—the patriarch of the family—had taken an emergency private jet back from Mexico City.

I hid in the service courtyard, the glass windows of the living room cracked open just enough for me to hear the entire argument.

"I told you to keep that brat on a leash, Victoria!" Bernardo roared, loosening his tie. "The governor just called me. He said this is too big. Social media is exploding, protests are forming outside the hospital. He can't bury the arrest warrant!"

"Then get Mauricio out of the country! Call the helicopter and fly him to Texas tonight!" Victoria shrieked, her voice high-pitched with desperation.

"The federal prosecutors already issued a travel ban, you idiot! The press has surrounded all the airports!" Bernardo slammed his fist on the table. "They need a sacrificial lamb. If nobody takes the fall, this entire family goes down, our company stocks will become toilet paper!"

A thick, deadly silence fell over the room. Then, I heard Victoria's cold, venomous voice.

"Then give them someone to take the fall. We have the driver. Mateo."

My heart skipped a beat.

"Are you insane? He'll talk!"

"Not if we give him enough money," Victoria calculated. "We tell the police he stole the car for a joyride and caused the accident. We pay him two million pesos. If he refuses, we frame him for stealing my jewelry and threaten the life of his sick daughter in the slums. One way or another, he goes to prison. That is what servants are born for, Bernardo. To be our shields."

Ten minutes later, the back door opened. Bernardo stepped out into the courtyard, waving me over.