Chapter 6 - Blood on the Catwalk
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While Elena rested, two police detectives arrived at the hospital, accompanied by a court-appointed family advocate.
Victoria arrived shortly after, looking ten years older, carrying a thick leather-bound folder she had retrieved from a hidden safe in her private quarters at the mansion.
She walked into Elena’s room, her eyes swollen from crying.
“Victoria,” Elena said, her voice guarded and cold. “Why are you here?”
Victoria set the leather folder on the bedside table.
“Because I am a coward, Elena,” Victoria said honestly, her voice barely a whisper. “I spent five years convincing myself that if I just protected Alejandro’s reputation, he would magically become the honorable man his father was.”
She opened the folder, revealing stack after stack of medical records, legal non-disclosure agreements, and bank transfer receipts dating back six years.
“These are the settlement documents from Laura,” Victoria explained, her fingers trembling over the paper. “When Laura threatened to go to the police five years ago, Alejandro came to me on his knees. I used our family trust to pay Laura three million dollars to sign an NDA and leave the country.”
Elena looked at the documents in utter disgust. “You bought her silence.”
“I bought my son’s freedom,” Victoria corrected, tears streaming down her face. “And in doing so, I handed you over to a monster. I gave him the confidence to believe he was untouchable.”
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Detective Miller, the lead investigator, leaned over and picked up the folder, scanning the non-disclosure agreements.
“This changes everything,” Detective Miller noted crisply. “This establishes a clear, documented pattern of domestic abuse and systemic cover-up.”
