Chapter 2 - THE PERFUME OF BETRAYAL
Ricardo kept his eyes tightly shut, his pulse hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. The scent of Chanel No. 5 was unmistakable. It was the fragrance he bought Valeria by the crate, a luxury she wore like a second skin. He felt the mattress dip sharply as she leaned over him, her breath hitching in her throat as she shoved heavy stacks of hundred-dollar bills into a leather designer tote bag she had clearly brought specifically for this moment.
"St St..." Valeria muttered under her breath, a nervous stammer escaping her lips as she fumbled with a particularly thick brick of cash. "Damn it, hurry..."
Every movement she made was rushed, sloppy, and soaked in panic. This wasn’t the composed, elegant woman who hosted high-society galas on his arm; this was a thief in the night, stealing from the very man who showered her in gold. Ricardo’s mind raced, replaying the last six months. The missing emerald necklace. The sudden, unverified withdrawals from his subsidiary accounts. Valeria wasn’t just a gold-digger; she was an embezzler, systematically bleeding his empire dry while planting the blame on innocent staff members like Carmen.
Then, the bedroom door creaked open further. A quiet gasp broke the silence.
Ricardo opened his eyes just a fraction. Standing a few feet away, frozen in absolute horror with a dusting cloth in her hand, was Carmen. Her eyes darted from the mountain of cash on the bed to Valeria, who was elbow-deep in the remaining bundles, and finally locked onto Ricardo’s wide, glaring eyes.
May you like
For a second, nobody breathed.
Valeria froze, slowly lifting her head. When she saw Ricardo staring directly at her, wide awake and unblinking, the blood drained entirely from her face. The designer tote slipped from her fingers, spilling thousands of dollars onto the Persian rug.
