Chapter 4 - The Blueprint for RevengeThe rain drummed a steady, relentless rhythm against the apartment windows as Rowena laid out her plans across our modest kitchen table. Spread out before us were not just legal documents, but a masterclass in corporate warfare.
“Eduardo thinks he’s untouchable,” Rowena explained, tapping a finger against a corporate flowchart detailing the Varden Real Estate conglomerate. “Tomorrow morning at 9:00 AM, the annual shareholder meeting of Varden Holdings takes place at the grand hotel downtown. Eduardo is planning to announce his retirement and hand the CEO title over to Adrián as a wedding gift.”
She looked up at me, her dark eyes flashing with cold satisfaction.
“Imagine the headline in the El Informador business section tomorrow: ‘Varden Heir Dumped at the Altar While Family Empire Faces Federal Fraud Investigation.’”
Mom wrung her hands, looking anxiously between Rowena and me. “Rowena, Eduardo is dangerous. If we go after them publicly without absolute proof, they’ll bury us in legal fees. They have the best lawyers in Jalisco.”
“They had the best lawyers,” Rowena corrected smoothly, pulling a flash drive from her pocket and placing it beside my coffee cup. “Every single bank account Eduardo used to stash embezzled funds from the municipal housing contracts is right here on this drive. Routed through shell companies in the Cayman Islands under Adrián’s name as well. Which means when the federal tax police move in tomorrow morning, Adrián goes down right alongside his father.”
I looked down at the flash drive. My hand hovered over the cold plastic casing.
If I did this—if I stepped into that boardroom tomorrow morning alongside Rowena Varden—there would be no going back. I would be declaring open war against the most powerful family in the city. The social fallout would be catastrophic. Friends would whisper, acquaintances would cross the street, and Adrián would try every dirty trick in the book to destroy my reputation.
Then I touched my stomach.
I thought about my unborn child growing up in a world where men like Adrián could crush working-class women under their heels without a second thought. I thought about my mother’s hair, hacked off like she was a stray animal, and the way Eduardo had laughed while dismissing our pain.
No. I wouldn't hide. I wouldn't run.
“I’ll do it,” I said softly, my voice steadying with every word.
Rowena’s smile widened, approving and fierce. “That’s my girl. But first... we need to look the part.”
She reached into her handbag and pulled out a heavy black velvet jewelry box, sliding it across the table toward me. When I popped the clasp and lifted the lid, Mom gasped aloud.
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Resting inside the dark velvet was a magnificent, heavy diamond-and-sapphire choker necklace that practically glowed under the kitchen light—an heirloom piece belonging to the original Varden family matriarch, worth more than our entire apartment building combined.
“Put that on tomorrow morning,” Rowena said, standing up and leaning heavily on her cane. “Let Eduardo and Clara see what real Varden power looks like when it walks through their front doors.”
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