Chapter 3 - THE CAUGHT PREDATOR
"Ricardo..." Valeria breathed, her voice cracking into a desperate, high-pitched whimper. Her hands fluttered uselessly in the air, trembling violently as she tried to find a lie, any lie, to stitch the shattered reality back together. "R-Ricardo, darling, I can explain. It’s... it’s not what it looks like."
Ricardo didn't move. He slowly sat up, the five million dollars shifting around him like an ocean of green and white paper. The cold, calculating billionaire persona he wore like armor was gone, replaced by a terrifying, dark fury that made Valeria instinctively step backward until her legs hit the mahogany dresser.
"Tell me," Ricardo said, his voice terrifyingly quiet, carrying the weight of a avalanche. "What exactly does it look like, Valeria?"
"I was... I was just protecting it!" she stammered, her eyes darting toward the hidden camera lens embedded in the smoke detector above them. "You left millions lying out in the open! Anyone could have walked in! The—the servants! Carmen! I was moving it to the safe for you. Yes! That’s it! I was saving you from being robbed by your own staff!"
Carmen stood near the doorway, her face pale, her hands gripping her cleaning cart as if it were a shield. She didn't say a word. She didn't need to. The sheer absurdity of Valeria’s excuse hung in the heavy air, smelling of desperation and panic.
"My staff," Ricardo repeated, his tone dropping an octave. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, stepping onto the floor amidst the scattered bills. He didn't look at Valeria; he looked at Carmen. The woman he had judged, the woman he had treated like a criminal in his own mind, stood there with more dignity in her tattered work uniform than Valeria possessed in her entire tailored soul.
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"Carmen," Ricardo said, his voice softening just a fraction. "Did you touch this money?"
Carmen lifted her chin, looking him dead in the eye without an ounce of fear, only a deep, profound sadness. "No, Mr. Garza. I came in to clean your room, like I do every Friday. I saw the money, and I prayed you were safe, because nobody leaves five million dollars unprotected unless they’re looking for a tragedy. Then she ran in."
