Chapter 4 - The Husband Behind the Mask
Mariana did not go alone.
She only made Rodrigo believe she did.
Herrera arranged private security two blocks from the mansion. Sofia remained in a monitoring vehicle with police already informed of the situation.
Mariana wore a discreet microphone beneath her blouse.
The transmitter felt strangely heavy against her skin.
“You do not confront him physically,” Herrera said.
“I know.”
“You leave if he becomes aggressive.”
“I know.”
“You do not improvise.”
Mariana looked at him.
He raised an eyebrow.
“Your father used to make that exact face when he planned to ignore my advice.”
Despite everything, Mariana smiled faintly.
“That sounds like him.”
Herrera’s expression softened.
“He would be terrified for you right now.”
“He would also want the truth.”
“Yes.”
Mariana entered the mansion at 9:20 p.m.
Most lights were off.
The marble hall looked different without servants and family members moving through it.
Empty.
Almost dead.
Rodrigo stood near the living room windows.
He wore the same navy blazer from earlier.
A whisky sat untouched on the table.
“You came.”
“You asked.”
He looked behind her.
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
It was technically true.
Nobody had entered with her.
Rodrigo smiled.
“You always were bad at lying.”
Mariana’s heart tightened.
But she remained still.
“What happened to my father?”
He walked toward the bar.
“You really believe I killed him?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t need to.”
He poured whisky.
“Ernesto hated me.”
“He supported your company.”
“To control me.”
“To protect me.”
Rodrigo laughed.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The saint Ernesto.”
Mariana’s jaw tightened.
“Don’t.”
“He wasn’t a saint.”
“No. He was a man.”
“He manipulated everyone.”
“Maybe.”
Rodrigo looked surprised.
She continued.
“But he never locked a grieving woman inside a house and told her to crawl under a dog.”
His face hardened.
“I was drunk.”
“No.”
“What?”
“You were cruel.”
Silence.
For years Mariana had helped him rename his behavior.
Stress.
Alcohol.
Pressure.
Misunderstanding.
Tonight she would not.
Rodrigo sat.
“Do you know what it was like being married to you?”
She stared.
He laughed bitterly.
“Everyone saw Aguilar when they looked at you.”
“I never used my family name against you.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“You told people my father was broke.”
“Because that’s what he wanted people to believe!”
“And you enjoyed believing it.”
Rodrigo stood again.
“You acted like you didn’t care about money.”
“I didn’t.”
“That’s easy when you secretly own everything!”
Mariana’s expression remained calm.
“You thought I owned nothing. That didn’t stop you from marrying me.”
Rodrigo paused.
That hit something.
“What happened after your meeting with my father?”
He turned away.
“He threatened me.”
“With exposure?”
“With destruction.”
“Because you stole from the company.”
Rodrigo spun around.
“Who told you that?”
Mariana saw fear.
There.
Again.
“I asked you a question.”
He stared at her.
“Camila?”
Mariana said nothing.
Rodrigo walked closer.
“Did she call you?”
Mariana remained silent.
“Where is she?”
“I don’t know.”
He grabbed her arm.
The monitoring team heard it.
Herrera’s voice came through the tiny earpiece.
“Mariana, leave.”
She looked at Rodrigo’s hand.
“Let go.”
He did.
Slowly.
“Camila stole from me.”
Mariana nearly laughed.
“She stole?”
“Yes.”
“The shell company is hers.”
“She set it up.”
“At your request?”
Rodrigo’s jaw moved.
“Why are you protecting her?”
“I’m not.”
“You slept with her.”
Silence.
There it was.
No denial.
Mariana expected pain.
Strangely, she felt almost nothing.
Maybe betrayal stopped hurting after enough repetitions.
“You loved her?”
Rodrigo looked away.
“That’s irrelevant.”
“It’s relevant to me.”
“We’re talking about your father.”
“Then talk.”
He poured another whisky but did not drink.
“Ernesto discovered the transfers.”
“I know.”
“He demanded my resignation.”
“I know.”
“He said he would take control of the company.”
“I know.”
Rodrigo’s expression tightened.
“How much do you know?”
“Enough.”
He studied her.
Then he smiled.
“You always were smarter than I gave you credit for.”
“That isn’t a compliment.”
“No.”
He sat again.
“I met Ernesto at six.”
“What happened?”
“He showed me documents.”
“What documents?”
“Payments. Contracts.”
“And?”
“He wanted me to sign a confession.”
Mariana’s pulse quickened.
“A confession?”
“He wanted me to admit financial misconduct and resign.”
“Did you?”
“Of course not.”
“What happened next?”
“We argued.”
“Did you threaten him?”
“Yes.”
Mariana’s breath caught.
Rodrigo shrugged.
“I said things.”
“What things?”
“That I would expose him too.”
“For what?”
“Tax structures. Political relationships. Whatever I could find.”
“And then?”
“He left.”
“Alive?”
Rodrigo stared.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“He said he was going home.”
“Did you follow him?”
“No.”
“Did Salgado?”
Rodrigo went completely still.
There.
Mariana had him.
“How do you know about Salgado?”
“Answer.”
Rodrigo stepped closer.
“What did Camila give you?”
“Why are you afraid of her?”
“She’s unstable.”
“What did she know?”
“Nothing.”
“Then why did somebody search her apartment?”
His face changed.
Mariana felt the danger immediately.
Rodrigo realized he had said too much merely by reacting.
“Who told you that?”
Mariana backed slightly toward the door.
“You did.”
His voice dropped.
“Where is Camila?”
“I told you. I don’t know.”
“Give me your phone.”
“No.”
“Mariana.”
“No.”
He moved.
She moved faster.
Rodrigo blocked the door.
Again.
The memory hit her with brutal force.
The key above his head.
Bruno.
The laughter.
Her father dead.
But Mariana was not barefoot and trapped tonight.
She was prepared.
“Move.”
Rodrigo laughed softly.
“You really think you’re different because your father left you money?”
“No.”
“What changed?”
“I finally believe what people do more than what they say.”
Rodrigo stared.
Then he reached for her.
Mariana stepped back.
“Don’t.”
“Give me the phone.”
“No.”
He grabbed her handbag.
She pulled away.
A seam tore.
The phone fell onto the marble.
Rodrigo picked it up.
Then his expression shifted.
A small red light glowed on the screen.
Recording.
He looked at Mariana.
“You’re recording me?”
Mariana’s blood went cold.
From the earpiece:
“Police moving.”
Rodrigo heard the faint sound.
His face transformed.
“What is that?”
He grabbed her collar.
Mariana shoved him.
“Get away!”
Outside, footsteps.
Rodrigo looked toward the door.
Then he ran.
Not toward the front.
Toward the garage.
Mariana shouted.
“Rodrigo!”
He disappeared.
Police entered seconds later.
By the time they reached the garage, a black SUV was gone.
Herrera arrived.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.”
“You’re shaking.”
“I’m fine.”
“You are not fine.”
Mariana looked toward the empty driveway.
“He ran.”
“They’ll find him.”
Sofia entered holding a laptop.
“Maybe sooner than he thinks.”
“What?”
“Bruno’s collar GPS synchronized with Rodrigo’s vehicle account.”
Mariana stared.
“You can track the SUV?”
“Old location data, maybe current if the vehicle system is active.”
A signal appeared.
Rodrigo was heading south.
Not toward the airport.
Not toward a hotel.
Toward one of Grupo Mendoza’s storage facilities.
Herrera frowned.
“What’s there?”
Sofia searched records.
“Construction archives.”
Mariana understood immediately.
“He’s destroying evidence.”
Police were notified.
Meanwhile, Mariana sat in the mansion surrounded by investigators.
Beatriz called repeatedly.
Mariana eventually answered.
“Where is my son?”
“I don’t know.”
“You did this!”
“Your son did this.”
“He is a good man!”
Mariana closed her eyes.
“Do you know about Camila?”
Silence.
That answered everything.
“You knew.”
Beatriz’s voice became defensive.
“Men make mistakes.”
“For four years?”
“Marriage requires forgiveness.”
Mariana almost laughed.
“So does family, apparently. But somehow everyone expected forgiveness from me and never from Rodrigo.”
Beatriz snapped, “You’re destroying his life because your feelings were hurt!”
“My father died.”
“That is not Rodrigo’s fault!”
“Maybe not.”
The possibility still hung there.
Mariana continued.
“But the fraud is.”
Silence.
Then Beatriz said something unexpected.
“What fraud?”
Mariana paused.
“You don’t know?”
“Rodrigo said the company was having temporary cash problems.”
“He moved millions.”
Beatriz’s voice became smaller.
“What?”
“To companies connected to Camila.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“That can’t be.”
Mariana realized Beatriz was genuinely shocked.
Cruelty did not always mean knowledge.
Beatriz had enabled Rodrigo.
She had humiliated Mariana.
But perhaps she had not known the full scale.
Then Beatriz whispered:
“Ask Renata.”
Mariana sat straighter.
“What?”
“Ask Renata about the accounts.”
The call ended.
Mariana immediately dialed Renata.
No answer.
Again.
Nothing.
Police searched the mansion.
Renata’s room was empty.
Her suitcases were gone.
So was her passport.
Sofia accessed the corporate records.
Renata’s name appeared on several vendor authorizations.
“She was approving payments.”
“How many?”
Sofia’s eyes widened.
“Many.”
Mariana stared.
Rodrigo was not the only one.
Then another call arrived.
Unknown number.
Mariana answered cautiously.
A woman whispered.
“Mariana?”
“Camila?”
“Yes.”
Mariana stood.
“Where are you?”
“I’m safe.”
“What happened?”
“I left before the men entered.”
“Whose men?”
“I don’t know.”
“Rodrigo?”
“Maybe Salgado.”
Mariana looked at Herrera.
“Why did you tell me to look at Bruno?”
Camila laughed nervously.
“Because Rodrigo recorded everyone.”
“I know.”
“He forgot I knew about the collar.”
“What else do you know?”
A pause.
“Your father wasn’t alone after the restaurant.”
Mariana froze.
“What?”
“I saw him.”
“Where?”
“At the parking garage.”
“With who?”
Camila whispered a name.
“Renata.”
Mariana’s heart stopped.
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“What happened?”
“They argued.”
“About what?”
“I couldn’t hear everything.”
“Did she hurt him?”
“No.”
“Then why does it matter?”
“Because after Ernesto left, Renata called Rodrigo.”
Mariana gripped the phone.
“And?”
Camila’s voice trembled.
“She said, ‘He knows about us.’”
Us.
Not him.
Us.
The fraud was bigger than Rodrigo.
And Mariana had just discovered that the sister who had spent years stealing her handbags might have been stealing millions.
Before she could respond, Sofia shouted from across the room.
“Mariana!”
She looked up.
Police radio chatter filled the hall.
Rodrigo’s SUV had been found.
Abandoned.
At the construction archive facility.
A fire was burning inside.
And investigators had just discovered someone unconscious near the rear entrance.
Mariana’s breath caught.
“Who?”
Sofia looked at the incoming report.
May you like
Then raised her eyes.
“Renata.”
