Chapter 10 — The First Crack in Victoria
Chapter 10 — The First Crack in Victoria
That night, Alejandro returned home alone.
Elena stayed with Isabel.
For safety.
For distance.
For clarity.
When Alejandro entered the house, Victoria was waiting.
Not surprised.
Not angry.
Prepared.
“You’ve been digging,” she said.
Alejandro didn’t respond.
Victoria walked slowly around him.
“Do you know what happens when you dig too deep into family history?”
He answered quietly:
“You lose illusions.”
She smiled.
“No. You lose people.”
That wasn’t a threat.
It was memory.
Alejandro stepped closer.
“I saw the autopsy file.”
Victoria’s expression changed—just slightly.
First real fracture.
Then she recovered.
“Old documents don’t change the truth.”
Alejandro stared at her.
“Then explain the missing toxicology report.”
Silence.
Longer this time.
Then Victoria said something unexpected.
“You think your father was innocent.”
Alejandro didn’t blink.
“I think he was honest.”
A bitter laugh.
“Honest men are the easiest to control.”
That line hit differently.
Because it wasn’t defensive.
It was instructional.
Alejandro realized something then.
Victoria wasn’t reacting to accusations.
She was managing narrative exposure.
Like a strategist watching a breach widen.
He stepped closer.
“Did you kill him?”
Victoria’s eyes sharpened.
“Be careful what you accuse your mother of.”
Alejandro didn’t move.
“You didn’t answer.”
A long pause.
Then she said softly:
“I kept this family from collapsing.”
“That’s not an answer.”
She leaned in slightly.
“It’s the only one that matters.”
For the first time—
Alejandro saw fear.
Not in her.
In the system she represented.
And that meant one thing:
She was not at the top.
Just the visible layer.
Victoria stepped back.
“You don’t understand what you’re touching.”
Alejandro replied:
“I’m going to find out.”
At that moment—
his phone buzzed.
Elena’s name.
One message.
Only three words:
Don’t trust Isabel.
Alejandro froze.
Victoria smiled faintly.
And for the first time since returning home—
Alejandro realized the war had just changed direction.
May you like
Not who he was fighting.
But who had been feeding him information.
