CHAPTER 7 — The Hidden Enemy Inside the Mansion
The sentence stayed inside Diego’s mind.
“Someone deleted them.”
Not ignored.
Not forgotten.
Deleted.
For three years, he had believed Marisol disappeared because she wanted to.
He believed she left without saying goodbye.
He believed she chose to raise their child without him.
But now…
A terrifying possibility was standing in front of him.
Someone had stolen three years from him.
Three years with his daughter.
Three years of memories he would never get back.
Diego stared at Marisol.
The woman standing in front of him was no longer just the maid who worked in his mansion.
She was the woman who had carried his child.
The woman who had suffered alone.
The woman who had been trying to tell him the truth.
And someone had stopped her.
“Who knew about the pregnancy?”
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
Marisol knew that tone.
It was the same tone Diego used before destroying business rivals.
But this time…
His enemy was inside his own home.
“I told only one person.”
Diego’s eyes sharpened.
“Who?”
Marisol hesitated.
And that hesitation told him everything.
“Marisol.”
She looked down.
“Please understand. At the time, I was scared.”
“Who did you tell?”
A long silence.
Then she whispered:
“Your assistant.”
Diego froze.
“My assistant?”
Marisol nodded.
“Yes.”
Three years earlier.
When Marisol discovered she was pregnant, she did not know how to reach Diego.
His life had already changed.
He was constantly traveling.
His company was expanding.
Security surrounded him everywhere.
So she went to the only person who could help her.
His personal assistant.
She remembered standing outside the Villaseñor headquarters.
Holding her pregnancy results.
Holding hope.
She remembered saying:
“Please tell Diego I need to speak with him.”
But the assistant looked at her differently.
Not surprised.
Not confused.
Afraid.
And that was the moment Marisol should have realized something was wrong.
Back in the garden, Diego’s expression became darker.
“What was his name?”
Marisol swallowed.
“Adrian.”
The name hit him.
Because Adrian had worked for him for seven years.
He was not just an employee.
He was someone Diego trusted.
Someone who knew his schedule.
His private information.
His personal life.
Someone who had access to everything.
Including his messages.
That night, Diego called Adrian.
No warning.
No explanation.
Just one command.
“Come to the mansion.”
Thirty minutes later, Adrian arrived.
Confident.
Calm.
Almost too calm.
“Mr. Villaseñor.”
Diego stood in his office.
The room was dark.
Only the city lights entered through the windows.
“Close the door.”
Adrian did.
Then noticed something.
A small child’s drawing on the desk.
A picture of Diego holding hands with Valentina.
Adrian’s face changed for half a second.
But Diego noticed.
“You know her.”
It was not a question.
Adrian looked confused.
“I’m sorry?”
“You know my daughter.”
Silence.
A dangerous silence.
Adrian forced a smile.
“I knew there was a child in the house.”
Diego stepped forward.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
“And you never told me?”
Adrian looked away.
“I assumed it was not my place.”
That answer was wrong.
Very wrong.
Because Diego knew Adrian.
He knew when someone was hiding something.
And right now…
Adrian was hiding everything.
“You received messages from Marisol.”
Adrian’s face remained still.
But his hands tightened slightly.
Diego saw it.
“Yes or no?”
A pause.
Then:
“I don’t remember.”
The room became colder.
Diego slowly placed a folder on the table.
Inside were copies of old communication records.
Phone logs.
Email confirmations.
Security reports.
“I asked my legal team to recover everything.”
Adrian’s face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
“You deleted them.”
Adrian immediately looked up.
“That’s an accusation.”
“No.”
Diego’s voice was quiet.
“It’s a fact.”
Outside the office…
Paulina stood in the hallway.
Listening.
She had not expected this.
She thought Adrian would protect her.
She thought the secret would stay buried.
But now…
Diego was getting closer.
Too close.
Inside the office, Adrian finally lost his calm.
“You don’t understand what you’re doing.”
Diego stared at him.
“Explain.”
Adrian hesitated.
“You think you found the truth.”
A pause.
“But you only found the first layer.”
Diego’s eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
Adrian looked toward the door.
Toward the entire mansion.
Then whispered:
“There are people who don’t want that girl to inherit anything.”
The room went silent.
Diego’s expression changed.
Because this was no longer about a forgotten relationship.
No longer about a hidden daughter.
This was about his empire.
His family.
His legacy.
“Who?”
Adrian said nothing.
“Who is behind this?”
Still nothing.
Then Diego stepped closer.
“Answer me.”
Adrian finally whispered:
“Someone who has been planning this since before Valentina was born.”
At that exact moment…
A glass fell somewhere outside.
Both men turned.
Diego opened the door.
Nobody was there.
Only a piece of paper lying on the floor.
He picked it up.
One sentence was written on it.
“Some secrets are protected because the truth destroys everyone.”
Diego looked at the message.
Then slowly looked toward the second floor.
Toward Paulina’s room.
For the first time…
A terrifying thought entered his mind.
What if the person he was about to marry…
Was the person who destroyed his family?
Meanwhile, inside her room…
Paulina deleted the last message on her phone.
The one from Adrian.
“He knows too much. We need a new plan.”
She stared at the engagement ring on her finger.
Then at her reflection in the mirror.
Her expression was no longer sweet.
No longer elegant.
Only cold.
“Marisol took three years from me.”
She whispered.
“So I’ll take everything from her.”
But Paulina didn’t know…
Diego had already made his decision.
The next morning, he would do something nobody expected.
He would open the investigation.
May you like
And the first person he would question…
Would be the woman wearing his engagement ring.
