Chapter 5
The woman was Clara, Carmen’s former personal assistant.
She walked straight to the judge’s bench and laid the folder down.
“I quit two days ago,” she said. “I couldn’t keep lying.”
Inside were audio files and transcripts.
Carmen telling Sofia what to say in court.
Carmen telling her to cry when she talked about me.
Carmen threatening to take away her favorite toys if she didn’t obey.
The judge listened to thirty seconds of one clip.
He looked at Carmen, his expression hard.
“This is extremely serious,” he said.
Carmen slumped in her chair. All her composure was gone.
“I did it for her,” she said weakly. “I thought Elena would hurt her.”
“There is no proof of that,” the judge said. “Only proof that you lied, blocked contact, and manipulated a child.”
He turned to Sofia.
“Come here, please,” he said gently.
Sofia looked at me. I nodded. She walked forward.
“Who do you want to live with?” the judge asked.
Sofia looked at Carmen. Then at me.
“Mommy,” she said, reaching for my hand. “I want to go home with Mommy.”
The judge nodded.
“Custody is awarded to Elena Bennett,” he said. “Ms. Robles is granted supervised visits only, pending further investigation.”
Carmen burst into tears.
Mrs. Hale packed her papers and left without a word.
Javier stood up, looking at us. He didn’t look angry anymore. Just tired.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I didn’t know how far she would go.”
We walked out of the courthouse together.
The reporters were still there, but this time they were quiet. Some even smiled.
Sofia held my hand tight all the way to the car.
That evening, we gathered at Alexander’s home office.
But the relief didn’t last long.
Alexander pulled up a live feed on his screen.
“Robert didn’t give up,” he said. “He’s already speaking to the Langford board.”
On the screen, Robert stood in front of the board members.
“Elena is unstable,” he said. “She has no experience running a company this size. If we let her take over, we’ll lose billions.”
A murmur went through the room.
“Langford built this industry,” Robert said. “We need someone who knows how to lead. Someone who has been here for decades.”
“Who does he mean?” I asked.
“Myself,” Alexander said. “He’s going to try to get himself named temporary CEO until he can prove the shares are invalid.”
“When is the vote?”
“Tomorrow morning,” he said. “We have less than twenty-four hours.”
I looked at the files spread across the table.
“We have the proof of fraud,” I said. “We can present that.”
“It won’t be enough,” Alexander said. “Half the board is loyal to him. They’ll call it a family dispute.”
He tapped a file marked “Acquisition Offers.”
“Robert has been secretly selling parts of Langford to foreign investors,” he said. “If we can prove that, we can stop the vote.”
“Where is the proof?”
“On a secure server in his office,” he said. “But he changed the passwords yesterday.”
Just then, my phone buzzed.
It was a message from Javier.
May you like
*I have the new passwords. And I have the list of buyers. Meet me at the old warehouse at midnight. Come alone.*
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