CHAPTER 6 RODRIGO’S EMPIRE OF LIES
CHAPTER 6
RODRIGO’S EMPIRE OF LIES
The world knew Rodrigo Salcedo as a genius.
A visionary.
A man who built an empire from nothing.
Business magazines called him a self-made billionaire.
Politicians called him a great leader.
Charities called him a man with a generous heart.
Millions of people admired him.
Millions of people trusted him.
And Mariana finally understood the truth.
They were all looking at a carefully designed illusion.
Rodrigo Salcedo did not build an empire.
He stole one.
The document remained open on the laptop.
THE FIRST BETRAYAL.
The title alone felt like a warning.
Mariana read every line.
Every signature.
Every hidden agreement.
The more she learned, the more she realized something terrifying.
Her entire life was not just built on lies.
It was built on stolen lives.
Adrian Vale.
Sofia Alvarez.
And even herself.
"Explain everything."
Mariana looked at Adrian.
No anger.
No tears.
Just determination.
She had cried enough.
Now she wanted answers.
Adrian sat down.
For a moment, he looked like a man carrying thirty years of regret.
"Before Rodrigo Salcedo became powerful, he was desperate."
"Desperate enough to steal?"
"Desperate enough to become someone else."
Adrian opened another file.
An old photograph appeared.
Three young men.
Rodrigo.
Adrian.
And a third person.
A man Mariana had never seen.
"Who is he?"
Adrian's expression darkened.
"Mateo Salcedo."
Mariana frowned.
"Another Salcedo?"
"Rodrigo's older brother."
Daniel looked surprised.
"I thought Mateo died before Salcedo Industries was created."
Adrian shook his head.
"That's what everyone was told."
Thirty years ago, the Salcedo brothers were completely different.
Mateo was the idealist.
Rodrigo was the survivor.
Mateo believed business should create something meaningful.
Rodrigo believed business was war.
When their father's company began collapsing, Mateo searched for legal solutions.
Rodrigo searched for shortcuts.
And the biggest shortcut was Adrian Vale.
Adrian had the knowledge.
The connections.
The ability to transform a dying company into an international corporation.
But Adrian had one condition.
"Honesty."
Mariana almost laughed.
"That was his mistake."
Adrian looked at her.
"Yes."
"He trusted Rodrigo."
Adrian nodded.
"And Rodrigo used that trust."
The first betrayal happened with a contract.
A hidden contract.
A document that transferred ownership of the company from Mateo to Rodrigo.
A document Mateo never signed.
Rodrigo forged it.
Then he made sure Mateo disappeared.
"Disappeared?"
Adrian looked away.
"Mateo discovered the fraud."
"What happened?"
"Rodrigo destroyed his reputation first."
Mariana understood.
The same strategy.
Destroy the person.
Then nobody believes them.
"Everyone thought Mateo was unstable."
Adrian continued.
"They said he was paranoid."
Mariana felt sick.
The same words they were now using against her.
The Salcedo method.
It never changed.
"Where is Mateo now?"
Nobody answered.
The silence said everything.
Mariana looked at Adrian.
"He's dead."
Adrian nodded.
"Officially."
She closed her eyes.
Another person erased.
Another truth buried.
"How many people?"
Adrian looked at the floor.
"Too many."
That evening, Mariana returned to the cloud.
She searched for Mateo Salcedo.
At first, nothing appeared.
Then she found a hidden folder.
Not created by Rodrigo.
Created by Adrian.
Inside were recordings.
The first video showed Mateo.
Older.
Tired.
Afraid.
"If someone finds this..."
He looked directly into the camera.
"Rodrigo won."
Mariana leaned closer.
"He took everything."
Mateo continued.
"My name. My company. My family."
A pause.
"But there is one thing he cannot take."
His expression changed.
"The truth."
Mateo revealed something shocking.
Rodrigo's biggest secret was not the stolen company.
It was the origin of his wealth.
Before Salcedo Industries became successful, Rodrigo discovered an underground financial network.
A network used by powerful families.
Politicians.
Corporations.
People who wanted money moved without questions.
Rodrigo didn't create the system.
He inherited it.
And then he controlled it.
"The Salcedo empire was built on silence," Mateo said.
"Everyone who knew the truth was either bought or destroyed."
The video ended.
Mariana sat back.
Everything made sense now.
Why Rodrigo controlled the media.
Why he controlled the police.
Why everyone believed his story.
He didn't just have money.
He had protection.
A network.
A machine.
And she was standing against the entire machine alone.
Except...
She wasn't alone.
The next morning, Mariana received a message.
Unknown number.
One sentence.
YOU WANT TO DESTROY RODRIGO? YOU NEED THE LEDGER.
She stared.
She replied:
Who are you?
The answer came:
Someone who knows where he buried his sins.
Another message followed.
But finding it will cost you.
Mariana frowned.
What cost?
A few seconds later:
Your trust.
Daniel recognized the message.
When Mariana showed him, his face changed.
"You know who this is?"
Daniel hesitated.
"I think so."
"Who?"
"A person who worked for Rodrigo."
"Someone loyal?"
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
His voice lowered.
"Someone who survived him."
That night, Mariana received a location.
An abandoned warehouse near the old port.
Daniel warned her not to go.
"It could be a trap."
Mariana looked at him.
"Everything is a trap now."
"Mariana."
She looked at Nico sleeping in the next room.
"I need the truth."
Daniel sighed.
"I know."
The warehouse was empty.
Too empty.
Mariana entered carefully.
A voice came from the darkness.
"You look exactly like Sofia."
Mariana turned.
A woman stepped forward.
She was around fifty years old.
Confident.
Cold.
Someone who had learned how to survive.
"Who are you?"
The woman smiled slightly.
"My name is Clara Mendes."
Mariana waited.
"I was Rodrigo Salcedo's private accountant."
That caught her attention.
"Then you know everything."
Clara laughed.
"No."
She looked around the warehouse.
"Nobody knows everything about Rodrigo."
She stepped closer.
"But I know where he keeps the one thing he fears."
"The ledger."
Clara nodded.
"The original records."
"What records?"
"The proof of every crime Rodrigo committed."
Mariana stared.
"Where?"
Clara's expression became serious.
"Hidden inside Salcedo Tower."
Mariana froze.
"The building?"
"Yes."
"Impossible."
Clara smiled.
"That is why he chose it."
Before Mariana could ask more, Clara handed her a small device.
"A key."
"For what?"
"The final backup."
Mariana looked confused.
"Final?"
Clara nodded.
"The yacht cloud is not the only backup."
Her voice became quiet.
"Rodrigo created three."
"Why?"
"Because Rodrigo trusts nobody."
A pause.
"Not even himself."
Back at the Salcedo mansion, Rodrigo received a report.
His security team had found Clara's signal.
His expression changed.
"She's alive?"
The guard nodded.
Rodrigo slowly stood.
After thirty years...
Another ghost had returned.
First Adrian.
Then Sofia.
Now Clara.
Too many people who knew the truth.
Elena watched him.
"What happens now?"
Rodrigo looked at the city outside.
The empire he built.
The empire he stole.
"We stop playing defense."
He opened a drawer.
Inside was an old photograph.
A baby.
Mariana.
He stared at it.
For a moment, there was something almost human in his eyes.
Then it disappeared.
"She wants the truth?"
He closed the drawer.
"Fine."
A cold smile appeared.
"I'll give her the truth."
Mariana thought she was uncovering Rodrigo's secrets.
She didn't know Rodrigo had been waiting thirty years for someone to find them.
Because the biggest secret was not hidden from Mariana.
It was hidden for her.
And when she discovered it...
She would finally understand why Rodrigo had chosen her.
Why he had stolen her.
May you like
And why he had tried to kill her.
END OF CHAPTER 6
