Chapter 9 - EXILE AND ASHES
The cathedral descended into absolute madness. The cartel bosses, men who held respect for family above all else, stood up in disgust. The senator, Renata’s father, collapsed back into his pew, clutching his chest, his political career turning to ash before his eyes.
Renata stood at the altar, her face as white as her dress, trembling uncontrollably. She looked at the screens, then at the furious crowd, and finally at Damián.
"Damián... please," she sobbed, falling to her knees, grasping at his trousers, the perfect facade utterly shattered. "It's a fake! It's AI! Someone is trying to frame me!"
"Don't insult my intelligence, Renata," Damián said coldly, stepping away from her grasp so she fell forward onto the marble floor. "You brought a rat into my house. You plotted to steal my money. But your fatal mistake—the one thing that sealed your fate—was laying your hand on my mother."
At the front pew, Tomás tried to make a run for the side exit. Ramiro was there in a heartbeat, grabbing the accountant by the collar and throwing him brutally to the floor at Damián’s feet.
Damián looked out at the furious crowd. He raised a hand, and the room instantly silenced.
"This woman and this man have conspired to steal from the Santoro family and have abused my blood," Damián announced, his voice echoing with absolute, terrifying authority. He looked directly at the senator. "Your daughter is no longer under my protection. And if you attempt to retaliate, I will release the financial ledgers showing exactly how much cartel money funded your last campaign."
The senator bowed his head, abandoning his daughter to save his own life.
Damián looked down at the weeping, pathetic pair on the floor. "I am not going to kill you in a house of God. But you are both dead to Mexico."
He signaled to Ramiro. "Strip them of everything. Take Tomás’s passports, his money, his identity. Put him on a freight ship to Somalia. Let him see how well he handles finances in a pirate port."
Tomás screamed, begging for mercy as two massive guards dragged him out the side door.
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Damián then looked at Renata, who was weeping so hard she was choking on her own breath. "As for you, Renata. You wanted to be a queen. You wanted the wealth. Ramiro is going to drop you at the southern border with nothing but the dress on your back. If you ever show your face in Mexico City again, if you ever speak my name, you will disappear into the desert forever."
Guards hoisted Renata to her feet. The beautiful white dress was stained with dirt from the floor, her makeup running down her face in dark, ugly rivers. She reached for Damián one last time, but he turned his back on her, walking down the aisle, leaving the burning ruins of a false love behind him.
