Chapter 3 - The Midnight BoardroomAfter Teresa and Alejandro finally left the house to "cool down," the quiet of the Lomas de Chapultepec estate returned. But it was no longer a home. To Mariana, it was now simply an asset.
She sat at the heavy mahogany desk in her home office, the glow of her laptop screen illuminating her pale, determined face. She didn't shed a single tear. Instead, her fingers flew across the keyboard. She opened a secure folder containing the legal titles of her properties, her corporate registration documents, and the employment contracts for Ruta Norte Logística.
She pulled up Alejandro’s contract.
When she had hired him, her legal team had drafted a highly restrictive executive agreement. Because of his past business failures, Mariana’s CFO had insisted on clauses that allowed for immediate termination with cause in the event of professional misconduct, reputational risk, or personal actions that compromised the integrity of the company. Furthermore, his corporate vehicle, his company credit cards, and his access to the firm's proprietary logistics software were all contingent upon his active employment status.
Mariana opened her email and attached the video file she had recorded in the kitchen.
She addressed the email to three people: her personal corporate attorney, her Chief Financial Officer, and the head of Human Resources at Ruta Norte.
To: Legal, Finance, HR From: Mariana Vance, CEO & Founder Subject: Immediate Termination and Asset Recovery - Alejandro Vance
Please review the attached video evidence of domestic property destruction, harassment, and verbal abuse taking place within my personal residence, involving an executive officer of this company.
Effective immediately, Alejandro Vance is terminated for cause under Section 9.2 of his executive contract (reputational risk and conduct unbecoming of an officer).
By 9:00 a.m. tomorrow, I want his system access completely revoked. Cancel all corporate cards associated with his name. Dispatch our security team to recover the company-issued SUV.
Furthermore, instruct our contracted locksmiths to change the digital and physical locks on my Lomas de Chapultepec residence by noon tomorrow.
We are cutting all ties.
She paused, her finger hovering over the "Send" button. A small part of her memory drifted back to the early days of their marriage—the promises Alejandro had made, his vows to always protect her, his tears of gratitude when she gave him a second chance at life. But those memories were instantly drowned out by the sound of her white dress ripping apart, and the image of her husband standing by the refrigerator, doing absolutely nothing to stop it.
She clicked Send.
The email vanished into the digital ether. Within ten minutes, her phone buzzed. It was a text from her CFO, a fierce and loyal woman named Valeria who had been with Mariana since the Querétaro days.
Valeria: "My God, Mariana. I just watched the video. That vile woman, and his silence... It's sickening. We are on it. By tomorrow afternoon, he won't even be able to buy a cup of coffee using our name. Are you okay?"
Mariana typed back immediately.
May you like
Mariana: "I have never been better. It's time to take back my life."
She closed her laptop, walked to the bedroom, and packed a single suitcase with her remaining clothes. She had no intention of sleeping in the house tonight. She booked a suite at a luxury hotel in the heart of the city, leaving the empty, ruined garments on the kitchen floor for Alejandro to find when he returned.
Related Stories
