Chapter 6 - A DIFFERENT KIND OF WEALTH
Carmen paused at the threshold, looking at him with eyes that had seen too much hardship to be easily impressed by a man with a black card.
"I misjudged you," Ricardo admitted, the words tasting bitter and foreign in his mouth. "I misjudged everyone. I spent my whole life believing that money brings out the worst in people, that everyone is waiting to steal from you if given half a chance."
"Money doesn't change people, Mr. Garza," Carmen replied softly, shifting her bag on her shoulder. "It just unmasks them. You left five million dollars out like bait because you wanted to prove the world was ugly. You got your proof. But you looked in the wrong direction."
She turned to walk away, but Ricardo stepped forward, his hand hovering awkwardly before dropping to his side.
"I want to make it right," he said urgently. "Name your price, Carmen. A house, a college fund for your children, a managerial position—anything. You shouldn't have to commute three hours a day scrubbing floors for a man who didn't even know your last name."
Carmen stopped. She turned back slowly, a faint, sad smile touching the corners of her lips.
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"My name is Carmen Silva," she said softly. "And I don't want your guilt money, Mr. Garza. What I want is respect. What I want is for my children to grow up knowing that hard work and dignity are worth more than any stack of paper on a silk bed."
She gave him a polite, final nod and walked out the door, leaving the billionaire standing alone in his glass-walled fortress.
