Chapter 25 - The Genesis of a Lie
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My father reached into his desk drawer, pulled out a small key, and unlocked a hidden safe behind a painting on the wall. He retrieved an old, yellowed photograph and set it in front of me.
The photo showed three young men standing in front of a Swiss chalet thirty years ago. One was my father. The second was a young, sharp-looking man who looked remarkably like Alejandro. And the third was a imposing man with cold, piercing blue eyes.
"Thirty years ago, your mother was diagnosed with a rare, terminal blood disease," my father began, his voice raspy with ancient grief. "The medical treatments were astronomical. I was just an ambitious mid-level accountant. I had nothing."
"So you went to Zurich," I realized, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place.
"Valentin Vance ran the most powerful private banking syndicate in Europe," Rafael explained, staring at the photo. "He offered me a deal. He would fund your mother's experimental treatments and give me ten million dollars to start Montes Global Group."
"And what did he want in return?" I asked, a knot tightening in my stomach.
"He wanted fifty-percent ownership of everything I ever built," my father confessed, tears running down his weathered cheeks. "And a clause... a terrible clause in the contract."
I felt nauseous. "What clause, Dad?"
"If I ever failed to deliver his share of the profits, or if I tried to cut him out... the ownership of Montes Global Group, and every asset under my family's name, would default to his eldest son."
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My heart stopped. "His eldest son?"
My father looked up at me with eyes full of utter horror. "Alejandro wasn't just my business partner's son, Elena. Alejandro was Valentin Vance’s illegitimate child."
