Chapter 5 - My Husband’s Second Life
I didn't go home that night.
I stayed at the hospital.
Not because I was afraid of my apartment.
Because I was afraid of what I would find there.
At midnight, Sofía called.
“We found something.”
I answered immediately.
“What?”
“Your husband opened another account.”
“Where?”
“Not a bank.”
She paused.
“A company.”
I sat up.
“What company?”
She gave me the name.
My stomach dropped.
It was registered six years earlier.
The same month Álvaro and I married.
I asked her to send me the documents.
When I opened them, I discovered something worse.
The company had a second director.
A woman.
Camila Ortega.
I knew that name.
I had seen it once.
Years earlier.
On a hotel receipt.
Álvaro had told me Camila was a consultant helping with his business.
I had believed him.
Now I searched my old emails.
There were dozens.
Business meetings.
Dinner reservations.
Flights.
Hotel bookings.
All between Álvaro and Camila.
Some were from years ago.
Some were recent.
My hands trembled.
I called Álvaro.
He answered.
“Mariana.”
“Who is Camila?”
Nothing.
“Your silence is an answer.”
“She was part of the business.”
“Was?”
“Yes.”
“Why did she have access to a company registered before we were even married?”
He didn't respond.
“Were you seeing her?”
“Mariana—”
“Were you?”
Finally:
“Yes.”
The word hit harder than I expected.
I sat there in the dark.
“When?”
“Before we married.”
“Only before?”
Silence.
I closed my eyes.
“That means during our marriage.”
“I ended it.”
“When?”
“Months ago.”
I laughed.
“Months ago?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He didn't answer.
I asked again.
“Why?”
His voice lowered.
“She knew too much.”
About the money.
About the debt.
About the company.
About my identity.
Suddenly everything made sense.
Camila hadn't simply been another woman.
She had been inside the business.
She knew how the money moved.
She knew what Don Ernesto owed.
And she knew why my name had been used.
I asked:
“Where is she?”
Álvaro said nothing.
Then a message arrived on my phone.
From an unknown number.
You want the truth? Come alone.
An address followed.
A small café downtown.
I showed Sofía.
She immediately said no.
“You don't go.”
“I need answers.”
“You need evidence.”
“Then help me get it.”
We agreed she would follow from a distance.
I arrived at the café at eight.
Camila was already there.
She looked nothing like the villain I had imagined.
She looked tired.
Frightened.
She stood when she saw me.
“You're Mariana.”
“Yes.”
She swallowed.
“I owe you an apology.”
“For sleeping with my husband?”
“For that too.”
I sat down.
“What do you know?”
She looked around.
Then whispered:
“Your husband didn't create Norte Alto.”
“Who did?”
“Your father-in-law.”
“When?”
“Before you married Álvaro.”
“Why use my name?”
“Because Don Ernesto needed someone with perfect credit and no connection to the debt.”
My stomach tightened.
“And Álvaro?”
“He agreed.”
I stared at her.
“You're lying.”
“No.”
She reached into her bag.
She placed a small envelope on the table.
“This proves it.”
I didn't touch it.
“What is it?”
“Original documents.”
I opened the envelope.
Inside was a contract.
My name appeared on the last page.
But the signature wasn't mine.
I looked closer.
It was a perfect imitation.
Then Camila whispered:
“There is something else.”
“What?”
She looked toward the café entrance.
“Your husband wasn't the one who ordered me to leave.”
“Who was?”
Her face went pale.
“Your father-in-law.”
May you like
Then the café door opened.
And Don Ernesto walked inside.
