Chapter 10 - THE WOMAN WHO EXPECTED RENATA TO RETURN
Rodrigo came home at four in the morning.
Renata was packing.
He stood in the bedroom doorway.
“You’re leaving?”
“Yes.”
“This is our home.”
“The penthouse belongs to Grupo Ibarra. If the company defaults, it belongs to the creditors.”
He flinched.
“Can we speak without lawyers and investors listening?”
“They were not listening when you betrayed me.”
“It ended.”
“The affair may have ended. Your protection of her did not.”
Rodrigo sat on the edge of the bed.
“I was drowning.”
“So you reached for the woman helping you hide the water level.”
“I didn’t know she was working with Mercer Ridge.”
“You knew she owned Orion.”
“I learned tonight.”
“You knew she signed through you.”
“I trusted her.”
Renata closed her suitcase.
“You trusted her with the company. You expected me to provide the money.”
“I expected my wife to help me.”
“I did help you. For ten years.”
Rodrigo looked toward the empty ring tray.
“What happens now?”
“The trust begins a forensic audit.”
“And if they find misconduct?”
“Your current financing agreement contains a control provision.”
He stared at her.
“What provision?”
“The one you signed three years ago when the trust refinanced your warehouse debt.”
Rodrigo stood.
“I don’t remember giving the trust control.”
“You did not give it automatic control. You agreed that fraud, concealed related-party transactions, or deliberate misrepresentation would transfer temporary voting authority to an independent receiver.”
“Chaired by you?”
“No. I recused myself when we married.”
Relief crossed his face too quickly.
Renata continued.
“But the committee can appoint me if the board determines I was deceived as both spouse and trustee.”
His relief disappeared.
“You would take my company.”
“I would protect the employees from the people draining it.”
“Valeria drained it.”
“You signed.”
“I didn’t read everything.”
“That is not a defense for a chief executive.”
Rodrigo stood between her and the door.
Renata’s expression changed.
He stepped aside immediately.
“I’m sorry.”
“For which part?”
He could not answer.
She walked past him.
At the elevator, Rodrigo said, “Valeria will be fired tomorrow.”
Renata looked back.
“That decision is six months late.”
When the elevator doors opened downstairs, Daniel was waiting.
He handed Renata a preliminary bank report.
Orion had transferred millions into a holding company called Red Meridian Partners.
The beneficial owner was concealed.
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But one wire carried a reference number connected to Rodrigo’s private account.
👉 The audit suggested Valeria had used Rodrigo’s own money to fund the plan against him, raising the question of whether he was victim, partner, or both.
