Chapter 4 — The Woman Who Lied to Diego
Chapter 4 — The Woman Who Lied to Diego
For three years, Marisol had believed the worst thing her silence had cost her was time.
Three years without Diego.
Three years without a father for Valentina.
Three years of watching her daughter ask questions she could never answer.
She had been wrong.
The truth was much worse.
Her silence had been protecting a lie.
And the woman who created that lie was standing less than twenty feet away.
Paulina entered the mansion at eleven that morning.
She didn't come alone.
Two lawyers followed her.
So did a security consultant.
She walked through the front doors as though she still belonged there.
Diego was waiting in the foyer.
“You weren't invited.”
Paulina smiled.
“I don't need an invitation.”
“You do now.”
Her smile disappeared.
“Diego, we need to talk.”
“We have nothing to discuss.”
“Really?”
She glanced toward the staircase.
“Because I think you do.”
Diego's eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
Paulina took a folder from her handbag.
She held it up.
“I know who Valentina's father is.”
The room went silent.
Diego stared at her.
“You already know.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Paulina's expression remained calm.
“Because I was there.”
Diego stepped closer.
“Where?”
“The night Marisol came to your office.”
His face hardened.
“You weren't there.”
Paulina smiled faintly.
“You're wrong.”
Three years earlier.
Paulina had not yet been engaged to Diego.
But she had already decided she would be.
She had met him at a charity gala.
She knew his family.
She knew his wealth.
She knew the Villaseñor name opened doors.
And she knew something else.
Diego was vulnerable.
His relationship with Marisol had ended badly.
He was lonely.
Angry.
And desperate for someone who understood his world.
Paulina intended to become that person.
But there was one problem.
Marisol.
She wasn't rich.
She wasn't connected.
She wasn't impressive.
But Diego loved her.
Paulina couldn't accept that.
So she began watching.
The first time Paulina saw Marisol at the office, she followed her.
She watched from across the street as Marisol entered the building.
Then she called Gabriel.
“She's here.”
Gabriel sounded annoyed.
“I told you to handle it.”
“I am.”
“Then do it.”
“What about Diego?”
“He can't know.”
Paulina smiled.
“He won't.”
An hour later, Marisol left the office crying.
Paulina watched her disappear down the street.
Then she walked inside.
Gabriel met her near the elevators.
“It's done.”
“Did she believe you?”
“She believes Diego wants nothing to do with her.”
Paulina smiled.
“Good.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“You're taking a risk.”
“No.”
Paulina's voice was calm.
“I'm protecting my future.”
Back in the present, Diego stared at her.
“You lied to me.”
Paulina shrugged.
“I protected you.”
“You told Marisol I didn't want her.”
“I told her what she needed to hear.”
“You told her I was engaged.”
“You were going to be.”
“No.”
Diego's voice became colder.
“You had no right.”
Paulina's expression changed.
“You think I was the only one lying?”
Diego froze.
“What?”
Paulina turned toward Marisol.
“She lied too.”
Marisol's face went pale.
Diego looked at her.
“Is that true?”
Marisol didn't answer.
“Marisol.”
She swallowed.
“There are things I didn't tell you.”
Paulina laughed softly.
“Exactly.”
Diego looked between them.
“Both of you.”
His voice was full of disbelief.
“Three years.”
He stepped backward.
“Three years of lies.”
Marisol's eyes filled with tears.
“I was trying to protect Valentina.”
“From what?”
She couldn't answer.
Paulina interrupted.
“From the truth.”
Diego looked at her.
“You don't get to speak.”
Paulina smiled.
“I think I do.”
She opened the folder.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
A hospital record.
A DNA test.
Diego's eyes narrowed.
“What's this?”
“Proof.”
“Of what?”
“That Marisol wasn't telling you everything.”
Paulina placed the first photograph on the table.
It showed Marisol outside a hospital.
Holding Valentina.
A man stood beside her.
Diego recognized him.
His expression changed.
“Who is that?”
Paulina smiled.
“You tell me.”
Marisol stepped forward.
“That's not what you think.”
Diego turned.
“Then explain.”
“That man helped me.”
“Who is he?”
“I don't know his full name.”
Paulina laughed.
“Of course.”
Marisol looked at her.
“You know exactly who he is.”
Paulina's smile faded.
“Don't.”
“You paid him.”
Diego froze.
“What?”
Paulina stared at Marisol.
“You have no proof.”
Marisol's voice shook.
“I have the receipt.”
Paulina's face changed.
Diego noticed.
“What receipt?”
Marisol reached into her bag.
But before she could remove it, Paulina's attorney stepped forward.
“Enough.”
Diego looked at him.
“You're leaving.”
“Mr. Villaseñor—”
“Now.”
The lawyer hesitated.
Diego pointed toward the door.
“Take her with you.”
Paulina stared at him.
“You'll regret this.”
“No.”
He looked directly at her.
“I regret trusting you.”
Paulina walked out.
But she wasn't finished.
Outside the mansion, she entered her car.
Her hands were shaking.
She immediately called someone.
“He knows.”
A man's voice answered.
“How much?”
“Enough.”
“Then move to the second plan.”
Paulina swallowed.
“And Diego?”
“He won't matter once the documents are released.”
She looked toward the mansion.
“What about the girl?”
Silence.
Then:
“The girl is the leverage.”
Inside the mansion, Diego was furious.
He turned toward Marisol.
“Tell me everything.”
She looked down.
“I will.”
“Now.”
Marisol nodded.
She sat.
“Three years ago, after I discovered I was pregnant, I went to your office.”
“I remember.”
“You weren't there.”
“I know.”
“Someone told me you didn't want me.”
“I never said that.”
“I know now.”
She looked at him.
“But at the time, I believed it.”
“Who told you?”
“Paulina.”
Diego closed his eyes.
“Continue.”
“After Valentina was born, I received a letter.”
“From whom?”
“Your father.”
Diego opened his eyes.
“What did it say?”
“He told me to disappear.”
“Why?”
“He said your family would destroy me if I tried to claim you.”
Diego's jaw tightened.
“Did he threaten you?”
“Yes.”
“Did he threaten Valentina?”
Marisol hesitated.
“Yes.”
Diego stood.
“What exactly did he say?”
Marisol's voice broke.
“He said a child connected to the Villaseñor family could become a bargaining tool.”
Diego looked horrified.
“He called her a liability.”
Marisol nodded.
“He told me that if I wanted her safe, I had to stay away from you.”
“And you believed him.”
“I saw what your family could do.”
She wiped her eyes.
“I was alone.”
Diego's expression softened.
“You should have told me.”
“I tried.”
“I know.”
“I tried again.”
He stepped closer.
“Why didn't you come to me after?”
Marisol looked at him.
“Because Paulina showed me something.”
“What?”
“A photograph.”
She reached into her bag.
She pulled out a faded picture.
Diego stared.
It showed him.
Standing beside another woman.
The woman was pregnant.
Diego's face went blank.
“Who is she?”
“I don't know.”
Paulina had used the photograph to convince Marisol that Diego had another child.
That he had already moved on.
That she was nothing more than an embarrassment.
Diego stared at the image.
“This isn't real.”
“I know.”
“You know?”
Marisol nodded.
“I found the original.”
She pulled out another photograph.
Same location.
Same clothes.
But this time, Diego was alone.
The pregnant woman had been digitally inserted into the first photograph.
Diego stared.
“Paulina.”
“Yes.”
“She fabricated it.”
“Yes.”
He slowly sat down.
The woman he almost married had spent years constructing a false reality around him.
But there was still one question.
Why?
That afternoon, Diego summoned his private investigators.
He gave them three names.
Paulina Robles.
Gabriel.
And his father.
“Find every connection between them.”
The investigators left.
Then Diego received a call.
His lawyer.
“We found something.”
“What?”
“The bank account used to pay Gabriel.”
“Who owned it?”
“Paulina.”
Diego closed his eyes.
“How much?”
“Over the course of three years?”
“Yes.”
“Approximately eight million dollars.”
Silence.
Diego's hand tightened around the phone.
“Eight million?”
“Yes.”
“Where did she get it?”
“That is the interesting part.”
“What?”
“The money came from your family's private trust.”
Diego stopped breathing.
“What?”
“Someone inside the family authorized it.”
“Who?”
“We're still tracing the signatures.”
Diego looked toward Marisol.
She was sitting with Valentina in the garden.
For the first time, he understood.
Paulina hadn't acted alone.
That evening, Diego confronted Paulina.
She agreed to meet him at a private restaurant.
She arrived alone.
“You look angry.”
“I know what you did.”
Paulina smiled.
“No, you don't.”
“I know about the payments.”
Her smile disappeared.
“Which payments?”
“To Gabriel.”
She leaned back.
“You've been investigating.”
“Yes.”
“Good.”
Diego stared.
“You admit it?”
“I admit nothing.”
“Then why aren't you afraid?”
Paulina leaned forward.
“Because you still don't understand who you're fighting.”
“Tell me.”
She whispered:
“Your father.”
Diego froze.
“My father is dead.”
“Yes.”
“He can't control anything.”
Paulina smiled.
“Can you be certain?”
Diego's eyes narrowed.
“What are you saying?”
Paulina took a sip of wine.
“People like your father don't disappear.”
“Enough.”
“He built an empire by making people disappear.”
Diego stood.
“Where is he?”
Paulina looked up.
“I don't know.”
“Liar.”
She smiled.
“Ask Marisol.”
Diego returned to the mansion.
He found Marisol sitting in the nursery.
Valentina was asleep.
He closed the door.
“Paulina says my father is alive.”
Marisol's face went pale.
She didn't answer.
“Is he?”
Marisol looked at him.
“I don't know.”
“You're lying.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I don't know where he is.”
“But you've seen him.”
She closed her eyes.
“Yes.”
Diego stepped back.
“When?”
“Three months ago.”
His face hardened.
“Where?”
“Outside the mansion.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because he told me he would take Valentina.”
Diego's entire body went rigid.
“He threatened to take my daughter?”
“Yes.”
“What did he want?”
Marisol whispered:
“You.”
Diego stared.
“Me?”
“He said he needed you to sign something.”
“What?”
“I don't know.”
“What did you do?”
“I ran.”
Diego looked at her.
“And you never told me.”
“I was afraid.”
He nodded slowly.
Then he looked at Valentina.
“I understand.”
The next morning, a package arrived.
No sender.
No return address.
Inside was a single USB drive.
And a note.
Play this alone.
Diego took it to his office.
He locked the door.
Connected the drive.
A video appeared.
His father sat in a dark room.
Alive.
Older.
But unmistakably him.
Diego stared at the screen.
His father looked directly into the camera.
“Diego.”
His voice was calm.
“You have finally discovered the child.”
Diego's blood ran cold.
The recording continued.
“I knew you would eventually find her.”
A pause.
“I also knew Marisol would eventually tell you about me.”
Diego leaned closer.
“But there is one thing neither of you understands.”
His father's expression hardened.
“Valentina was never the reason I separated you.”
Diego's heart stopped.
“She was the reason I was forced to.”
The screen went black.
Then one final sentence appeared.
Ask Paulina who the child's real mother is.
Diego stared at the screen.
His mind refused to process the words.
“Real mother?”
He turned toward the door.
Marisol was standing there.
She had heard everything.
Diego looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
Marisol's face had gone completely white.
Then she whispered:
“It means…”
May you like
She looked toward the sleeping child.
“…there is one more lie I haven't told you.”
