Chapter 2 – Thirteen Witnesses
Chapter 2 – Thirteen Witnesses
The last note from the mariachi band faded into silence.
No one reached for another drink.
No one spoke.
Every eye in the ballroom followed Alejandro Mendoza as he slowly unfastened the steel watch from his wrist.
He placed it carefully on the table.
Click.
The sound echoed through the room.
Across from him, his son-in-law, Daniel Vargas, still wore the same smug smile.
"You heard me," Daniel said. "She needed to learn some respect."
Alejandro folded his hands.
"Would you mind repeating that?"
Daniel laughed.
"I slapped your daughter."
He shrugged.
"So what?"
"She's my wife."
"I can discipline my own wife."
Several guests shifted uncomfortably.
Daniel mistook their silence for approval.
Instead, Alejandro calmly looked around the room.
"I'd like everyone here to remember exactly what you just heard."
He slowly counted.
"Family."
"Friends."
"The wedding planner."
"The musicians."
"The catering manager."
"The photographers."
He stopped.
"Thirteen witnesses."
Daniel's smile faltered.
"What are you talking about?"
Alejandro stood.
"You just confessed to assaulting my daughter in front of every one of them."
The ballroom became so quiet that even the kitchen staff stopped moving.
Daniel finally noticed the expressions around him.
No one was smiling anymore.
Not even his own parents.
At that moment, the wedding photographer quietly stepped forward.
"Mr. Mendoza..."
"I was recording video when he admitted it."
He held up his camera.
"The audio is clear."
Daniel's confidence disappeared.
"Delete it."
The photographer shook his head.
"I don't work for you."
He handed a memory card to Alejandro.
"I think this belongs with the evidence."
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For the first time that afternoon...
Daniel realized the celebration was over.
