Chapter 5: The Flashbulbs and the Fire
The lobby of the Villaseñor Tower was a sea of flashing cameras and shouting reporters. The polished marble walls echoed with the frenzied chatter of journalists hungry for the scandal of the decade. Security guards formed a tight barricade around the podium.
Backstage, in a private holding room, Marisol was trembling. She was dressed in a stunning, tailored emerald green dress that Diego’s stylist had brought in that morning. Her hair was styled, her makeup flawless, but inside, she still felt like the girl washing dishes.
On her left hand rested a diamond ring that felt heavier than a boulder. She had said yes. Not just for Valentina’s security, but because looking at Diego, she realized she had never stopped loving him.
Valentina was holding Diego's hand, wearing a beautiful little white dress, looking completely unfazed by the noise outside. To her, as long as her mother and this nice man were here, she was safe.
"Ready?" Diego asked, his voice a steady anchor in the storm.
Marisol took a deep breath, lifted her chin, and nodded. "Ready."
The moment the doors opened and Diego stepped out, holding Valentina in one arm and guiding Marisol with his other hand, the lobby erupted into a deafening roar of questions. The flashbulbs were blinding.
Diego stepped up to the microphone, gently setting Valentina down so she could stand between him and Marisol. He raised a hand, and the sheer authority radiating from him commanded instant silence.
"Good morning," Diego said, his voice echoing through the massive lobby. "I will not be taking questions today. I am simply here to make a statement, and I will only make it once."
He held up the medical document. "Yesterday, my former fiancée, Paulina Robles, made defamatory and malicious claims on national television regarding the woman standing next to me. Let me be unequivocally clear: Marisol is not a fraud. She is the love of my life."
A collective gasp echoed through the press corps.
"Three years ago, due to circumstances outside of our control, we were separated," Diego continued, his eyes scanning the cameras coldly. "During that time, she raised my daughter single-handedly. This document proves what I already know in my heart. Valentina is my biological daughter. She is the sole heir to the Villaseñor estate."
More frantic flashing of cameras. Reporters were furiously typing on their phones.
"Furthermore," Diego said, taking Marisol’s hand and holding it up so the cameras could catch the glare of the diamond. "Marisol and I are officially engaged. Anyone who prints another word of slander against my future wife or my daughter will face the full, unmitigated wrath of my legal team. The Villaseñor family is finally whole. Good day."
As he turned to leave, a shrill voice cut through the clamor.
"It's a lie!"
The crowd parted, and Paulina Robles shoved her way to the front, looking entirely unhinged. She had bypassed security through a side entrance.
"He's lying to you!" Paulina screamed at the cameras. "She manipulated the DNA test! She paid off the doctor! Diego, you are making a fool of yourself!"
Diego stopped. He turned around, his eyes locking onto Paulina with the intensity of a predator. He leaned back into the microphone.
"Security," Diego said softly, though the speakers amplified it perfectly. "Escort Miss Robles off the premises. And Arturo? Call the authorities. It seems Miss Robles is trespassing, and I believe the federal prosecutors will be very interested in the financial files I'm turning over to them regarding her father's offshore accounts."
Paulina’s eyes widened in sheer terror as two massive security guards grabbed her arms. "Diego, no! You can't!" she shrieked, but her voice faded as she was forcefully dragged out of the building.
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Diego looked down at Valentina, who was watching the commotion with mild curiosity. He smiled, picked her up, and kissed her cheek. "Let's go home."
As they walked back toward the private elevators, shielded by security, Marisol looked at the man holding their daughter. The nightmare was finally over. The maid’s uniform was gone forever. She was walking into a new world, a terrifying, beautiful world, and for the first time in her life, she wasn't walking alone.
