Chapter 5 - The Trap is SetThe next three days were a frantic race against time. Inside the Villareal headquarters, the tension was palpable. The news of Banco Occidental threatening to freeze the Villareal Group’s credit line had leaked to the stock market, causing their shares to plummet by fifteen percent in forty-eight hours.
The board of directors called an emergency meeting. Alejandro stood at the head of the long glass table, surrounded by older men in expensive suits whose faces were filled with panic and hidden malice.
"Alejandro, this is unacceptable!" Federico Luna, one of the board members bought by the Monteros, shouted, slamming his hand on the table. "Your domestic scandal is dragging the company into the abyss! The Montero family is threatening to pull all their logistics contracts from our commercial plazas, and now the bank is freezing our liquid assets! We demand your resignation!"
Alejandro looked at Federico with a gaze so piercing the older man actually took a step back. "My resignation, Federico? Or are you just eager to hand the keys of this company over to Fernando Montero?"
"I am thinking of the shareholders!" Federico countered quickly, though a flash of nervousness crossed his eyes.
"The shareholders will be fine," Alejandro said calmly, sitting back down. "The credit line will be resolved. I have called a press conference for tomorrow morning at nine o'clock. I will lay out the truth, and the market will adjust."
"A press conference will only make it worse!" Federico argued. "You're bringing down the entire house!"
"Meeting adjourned," Alejandro said, ignoring the protests as he stood up and walked out of the room.
Back in his private office, Mariela was waiting for him, her face pale, surrounded by printouts of financial transactions.
"Don Alejandro, we have a major problem," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I was tracking the Banco Occidental internal communications through a secure backdoor code I managed to retrieve from the foundation's server. The regional director who is freezing your credit line, Sergio Vargas... he didn't just decide to do this. Look at his personal offshore accounts."
Alejandro looked over her shoulder. On the screen was a transaction history showing a payment of four million dollars into a shell company owned by Vargas's wife, originating from a Montero-controlled entity.
"It's bribery," Alejandro murmured, his jaw clenching. "They didn't just convince the bank; they bought the director."
"Yes," Mariela said, her eyes flashing with sudden intensity. "But they made a critical error. The account they used to pay the bribe is the exact same account Isabela used to funnel the stolen charity money from the Villareal Foundation. The digital signature matches perfectly. They used stolen money from your own charity to buy off the bank director who is trying to destroy your company."
Alejandro let out a low, dangerous laugh. The puzzle pieces had finally fallen into place. The Monteros thought they were trapping him, but they had just walked right into their own execution chamber.
"Mariela," Alejandro said, his voice dropping to a commanding whisper. "Can you trace the exact IP addresses and transaction keys for this specific transfer?"
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"I already have," she smiled, holding up a small, secure flash drive. "It's encrypted, verified, and completely irrefutable. It will stand up in any federal court."
"Excellent," Alejandro said, reaching for his phone. "Call Roberto Silva. Tell him to prepare the federal warrants. We aren't going to a standard press conference tomorrow. We are going to a public execution."
