Chapter 22
Chapter 22: Unearthing the Shadows
The "War Room" was the nerve center of Renata’s operation—a soundproof, windowless room in the center of her office complex, equipped with encrypted servers and digital whiteboards.
Elias, her lead investigator and a former cybersecurity specialist for the federal police, was already pinning up printed bank statements and drawing red lines between shell companies. He was a quiet, intense man who spoke little but missed nothing.
"The Senator is sloppy," Elias noted, tapping a marker against a printout. "He routed the cartel kickbacks through a holding company in the Caymans, but the secondary transfers went straight into a domestic real estate firm to wash the cash through luxury developments in Las Lomas."
Renata stood with her arms crossed, sipping from a glass of sparkling water. "Which real estate firm?"
Elias clicked a button on his laptop, and a corporate logo appeared on the main digital screen. Grupo Oro.
Renata froze. The glass in her hand stopped halfway to her lips. The sound of a shattering porcelain plate echoed briefly in the back of her mind. She tasted vinaigrette. She saw the flash of a golden shoe.
Grupo Oro belonged to Julian. The man who had humiliated her in that Polanco restaurant all those years ago. The man who had broken her heart and tried to break her spirit, working in tandem with Valeria, the heiress who had worn those golden shoes.
"Renata?" Elias asked, noticing her sudden stillness. "Do you know them?"
May you like
A slow, chilling smile spread across Renata’s face. It was the smile of an apex predator that had just found the scent of its prey.
"I do," Renata said, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Alejandro Vargas isn't just laundering money. He’s doing it with the man who taught me exactly how ruthless the elite of this city can be." She set her glass down. "Elias, I don't just want the Senator's political career. I want the entire network. I want Grupo Oro burned to the ground."
