—Yes, you did it—Mariana said. —What you didn’t know was where you were.
Arturo clenched his jaw.
“Mariana, this is not the place.”
He looked at the restaurant, the lights, the dishes, the emblem on the walls.
“You’re wrong. This is exactly the place.”
Octavio handed him a folder.
Mariana placed it next to Arturo’s wine glass.
“You are sitting at my table, in my restaurant, inside my hotel.”
Arturo let out a dry laugh.
“Your hotel?”
Mariana didn’t blink.
“The Gran Hotel Alvarado belongs to the Alvarado Group. It was founded by my father. And after separating the accounts, correcting its transactions, and restoring legal control, it is once again completely under my authority.”
Camila covered her mouth.
Arturo lowered his voice. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”
—I know dates, signatures, transfers, contracts and recordings —Mariana replied.
Then he opened the folder.
She made a list of everything.
Expired powers of attorney.
Unauthorized capital movement.
Private debts backed by the Alvarado surname.
He lies to his partners.
A presidential suite was booked with an employee from his own company while he claimed to be in Monterrey.
Camila looked at Arturo, hoping he would defend her.
He didn’t even look at her.
That silence shattered the fantasy.
Sergio stepped forward.
“Miss Rios, a car is waiting for you by the side exit. You will receive a formal notification from the Human Resources department on Monday.”
Camila picked up her bag with trembling hands.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Mariana said nothing.
Camila left without glamour, without victory, and without the illusion that Arturo had sold her.
Then Mariana took out another folder.
“These are the divorce papers.”
Arturo glared at her.
“You planned to humiliate me.”
“No,” Mariana said. “You were planning to betray me. I simply stopped protecting you.”
He tried to request a private conversation.
“For years, you used my discretion as a shield,” she said. “Today, you live without it.”
Before leaving, Mariana placed one last sheet on the table.
Arturo looked at him.
Her face changed.
It was proof that he had used one of his father’s properties as collateral for a personal debt.
