CHAPTER 3: THE REAL REASON
Two days later, Santiago and Lucía sat inside an attorney's office.
Neither had fully recovered from what happened.
But a bigger shock was waiting.
The lawyer slid several documents across the table.
“These explain everything.”
Lucía frowned.
“What do you mean?”
The lawyer pointed to a series of property records.
Three years earlier, Santiago's father had secretly transferred substantial assets into a trust.
Several apartment buildings.
Investment accounts.
Commercial properties.
Their combined value exceeded twenty million dollars.
Lucía blinked.
“What does that have to do with Mercedes?”
The lawyer sighed.
“Everything.”
According to the trust conditions, Mercedes would never control the assets.
If Santiago died, ownership would transfer directly to his legal spouse and children.
Lucía felt her stomach drop.
The room suddenly made sense.
The fake death notice.
The custody papers.
The pressure.
The threats.
Mercedes never wanted custody because of love.
She wanted control.
She needed Lucía declared unstable.
She needed the baby.
She needed legal leverage.
And she had almost gotten it.
Santiago lowered his head.
“My mother knew about the trust.”
Lucía reached for his hand.
For the first time, she saw tears forming in his eyes.
Not because of money.
Because he had finally accepted the truth.
May you like
His mother had not been protecting the family.
She had been hunting an inheritance.
