Chapter 7
Chapter 7: The Cavalry Arrives
Just as Octavio managed to yank the door handle open to flee, he was met by a wall of tactical uniforms.
The hallway was entirely blocked by heavily armed agents from the Nuevo León Attorney General's Office. Standing at the front of the tactical unit was Adriana Vélez, a fiercely intelligent woman who had been Valeria’s mentor and trusted lawyer since their days working together at the Prosecutor’s Office.
Adriana walked into the room carrying a stack of warrants. She didn't look at Rebeca. She looked at the officers.
"Execute the restraining orders, the seizure of all electronic devices, and the arrest warrants," Adriana ordered calmly.
The trap Valeria had spent eight months building finally snapped shut.
She had followed the money. She had documented her mother-in-law’s gambling debts, the illicit transfers from the Alcázar Foundation to Salgado's private accounts, and the psychiatric reports that had been drafted weeks before the doctor had even spoken to her. She had even uncovered that the psychiatric clinic in Saltillo was a shell company owned by Octavio. They never intended to treat her; they intended to imprison her until they could secure permanent guardianship.
The motive was simple: Sebastián’s late grandfather’s will. The birth of the first legitimate grandchild would unlock a trust fund worth over $3.8 billion. Rebeca needed the baby, but Valeria was the obstacle.
"This is all doctored! It’s edited!" Rebeca shrieked as the officers moved in.
No one believed her. The officers handcuffed Octavio first, reading him his rights. Dr. Salgado was next. The nurses were already being detained in the hallway.
Rebeca fought back, thrashing wildly as a female officer restrained her arms. In the struggle, her expensive pearl earring caught on an officer's vest and tore loose, hitting the floor. The pearls scattered, rolling under the very bed she had tried to turn into a prison for her daughter-in-law.
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Sebastián stood frozen, watching his mother being hauled away like a common criminal.
"The trust fund was frozen by a federal judge this morning," Adriana informed a stunned Rebeca as she was dragged out the door. "You have nothing left."
