Part 3: The Trap Closes
By sunrise, every member of the Luján legal team was already inside the family headquarters overlooking Mexico City.
Jimena had barely slept.
She still wore the same jeans and gray hoodie she had changed into after crawling out from beneath the hotel bed. Her wedding ring rested on the conference table instead of her finger.
Across from her sat Ernesto Luján.
For nearly thirty years he had negotiated with presidents, billionaires, and international investors.
But nothing had prepared him for hearing his daughter quietly replay the recording she had made on her wedding night.
Aurora's voice filled the room.
"Give it one year. The apartment will be ours."
Then Rodrigo's.
"Tonight I still have to pretend I'm dying to be with her."
Then the sentence that made every attorney exchange glances.
"Brenda moves in after the divorce. The baby deserves a proper bedroom."
Silence settled over the room.
Finally Ernesto spoke.
"They never loved you."
Jimena nodded once.
"I know."
"But they made one mistake."
She looked at him.
"They assumed they understood everything you owned."
One attorney opened several folders.
"The apartment was never transferred into marital property."
Another pushed forward a document.
"The transportation company remains entirely outside community assets."
A third smiled slightly.
"And they have absolutely no idea who technically owns the condominium where Brenda currently lives."
Jimena frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Ernesto folded his hands.
"Three years ago Brenda couldn't qualify for a mortgage."
"I remember."
"I bought the building through one of our investment companies."
Jimena stared.
"So..."
"The apartment she thinks belongs to her?"
He nodded.
"Is ours."
For the first time since leaving the hotel, Jimena smiled.
Very slowly.
Very coldly.
"We're not throwing them out."
"No."
"We're going to let them feel completely safe first."
By noon Rodrigo had called thirty-seven times.
Jimena ignored every call.
His text messages became increasingly desperate.
Where are you?
Everyone thinks you disappeared.
Mom is worried.
Please answer.
Finally another message appeared.
Brenda says she saw your father's driver outside the hotel. Are you with your family?
Jimena looked at Ernesto.
"They're nervous."
"They should be."
At three o'clock that afternoon, Aurora held an emergency family meeting inside her luxurious house.
Rodrigo paced across the living room.
"This isn't normal."
Aurora waved dismissively.
"She's emotional."
"She disappeared on our wedding night."
"Good."
Rodrigo stopped.
"What?"
Aurora smiled.
"If she leaves first, everything becomes easier."
Brenda sat quietly on the sofa, one hand resting on her growing stomach.
"I still don't like this."
Aurora looked at her.
"You'll like owning that apartment."
Brenda nodded.
"True."
Rodrigo rubbed his forehead.
"I just wish she'd answer."
Aurora laughed.
"She always comes back."
"You don't know Jimena."
"I know women."
Her confidence lasted exactly twelve minutes.
The housekeeper entered carrying an envelope.
"It arrived by courier."
Aurora opened it immediately.
Inside were three documents.
The first was a copy of Jimena's marriage certificate.
The second was a notice from the Luján legal office requesting that all communication now go through attorneys.
The third made Aurora's smile disappear.
It was a photograph.
Brenda standing outside her apartment building.
Across the bottom someone had written:
Tenant only.
Aurora frowned.
"What is this supposed to mean?"
Rodrigo stared at the picture.
Before anyone answered, Brenda's phone rang.
She smiled.
"It's probably maintenance."
She answered cheerfully.
"Hello?"
Her expression changed almost instantly.
"What?"
Silence.
"No... there has to be some mistake."
Another pause.
"I'm living here."
She slowly lowered the phone.
Rodrigo looked at her.
"What happened?"
Brenda swallowed.
"My lease..."
"What about it?"
"The building was sold."
Aurora frowned.
"So?"
"The new owner wants every unit inspected."
"Fine."
Brenda looked terrified.
"They're coming tomorrow."
Rodrigo still didn't understand.
"Why are you scared?"
"Because..."
She hesitated.
"I told the landlord I lived alone."
Aurora stiffened.
"So?"
Brenda whispered.
"I've been collecting maternity assistance as a single mother."
The room became silent.
Rodrigo stared at her.
"You said everything was legal."
"It mostly is."
Aurora closed her eyes.
"No."
Brenda's voice shook.
"I didn't think anyone would check."
Before another word could be spoken, Rodrigo's phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
He answered.
"Hello?"
A calm female voice spoke.
"Mr. Mendoza?"
"Yes."
"My name is Isabel Ortega."
Rodrigo recognized the name immediately.
Jimena's attorney.
His stomach tightened.
"Mrs. Luján has instructed me to inform you that all conversations from your wedding evening have been preserved."
Rodrigo felt the blood drain from his face.
"What conversations?"
"The ones recorded in Suite 1807."
His knees nearly gave out.
Aurora watched him carefully.
"What is she talking about?"
Rodrigo couldn't answer.
The attorney continued.
"We have clear audio discussing fraudulent property acquisition..."
Rodrigo closed his eyes.
"...planned emotional abuse..."
Aurora slowly stood.
"...adultery..."
Brenda covered her mouth.
"...and a conspiracy to manipulate future divorce proceedings."
Aurora whispered,
"No..."
The attorney's voice remained perfectly calm.
"My client is prepared to pursue both criminal and civil remedies."
Rodrigo finally found his voice.
"What does Jimena want?"
A brief silence followed.
Then came the answer.
"Nothing."
He frowned.
"What?"
"Mrs. Luján no longer wants your marriage."
Another pause.
"She only wants justice."
The call ended.
No one moved.
No one spoke.
Aurora looked from Rodrigo...
...to Brenda...
...then back again.
"You told her?"
Rodrigo shook his head.
"I didn't know she was recording."
Aurora slapped him hard across the face.
"You idiot!"
Brenda suddenly burst into tears.
"This is all falling apart."
Aurora rounded on her.
"You were supposed to stay invisible!"
"I tried!"
Rodrigo shouted over both of them.
"Stop!"
Nobody listened.
The family that had spent months planning Jimena's destruction had begun destroying itself instead.
Hundreds of miles away, Jimena stood beside the enormous windows of her father's office overlooking the city skyline.
Her phone buzzed once.
A message from Isabel Ortega.
They're panicking. Exactly as planned.
Jimena smiled faintly.
Then she looked at the framed wedding photograph someone had retrieved from the hotel.
She studied Rodrigo's smiling face for several long seconds.
Without hesitation...
...she dropped the photograph into the office fireplace.
The flames curled around the picture until nothing remained except black ash.
Her marriage had lasted less than twenty-four hours.
May you like
The real battle...
...was only beginning.
