Chapter 56Dinner and DiscoveriesMiguel straightened his tie uncomfortably, standing in the elevator going up to the main floor of one of Mexico City’s most private restaurants. He had tortured himself as to whether to invite Ximena to this crucial business meal, aware that Tania will be there. All in all, professionalism triumphed. That is why the knowledge of Ximena would be critical in the achievement of this deal. When the doors opened he saw Ximena standing in the lobby. It was a black dress which fitted her slim figure perfectly and her hair was styled in a classy manner. For a moment there, Miguel even forgot to breathe. “You look… professional,” he mutely said, ensuring that the distance she put between them was not crossed. Ximena only blinked and just nodded her head without showing any sort of emotion on her face. "Thank you. Shall we?" They walked into the restaurant hand in hand, and from the corner of their eyes. Tania was easily noticeable sitting across the tabl
Chapter 57Ximena felt her heart racing as Tania approached her and the look in her eyes a combination of anger and desperation. Miguel moved swiftly between them and speaking with both women in a calming manner, raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Tania, what is happening?” He said softly but there was tension in the room. Tania’s eyes became small as she looked at Ximena with a lot of anger on her face.Ximena looked at Miguel, then turned to Tania; her throat felt dry and she was thinking fast. “Tania, if you have something you want to tell us you should do it now. ” Ximena’s voice was calm, but inside she could feel her heart beating fast. Tania laughed in bitterness. “Come clean? Oh, honey, you don’t have to worry about me doing any confessing around here.” She then turned to face Miguel, her face now a picture of pure virtue. “Miguel, my love, please trust me, Ximena is out to get us, she’s out to destroy us and all that we have built here.” Miguel’s eyebrows dre
Chapter 58The atmosphere in the office was tense especially for Ximena and Miguel who had to deal with the betrayal of Tania. The company had been put on a temporary lock down and the board of directors was still investigating the matter, thus, the two were managing the crisis with one hand tied behind their backs. Ximena paced up and down her office, with a deep frown on her face. She used to spend days and nights going through financial statements in an attempt to uncover the entire scope of Tania’s fraud. The task was quite challenging, and she was beginning to have a feeling that there was something that they had not noticed. A knock at the door brought her back from her reverie. “Come in,” she said in a voice that was actively anticipating the figure of Miguel. It was her assistant and her face was full of worry when she looked at her. “Ms. Antonio, I am sorry to inform you of this, but there is a reporter from the Diario de Mexico on the line saying that he has received s
Chapter 59Internal AffairsXimena hit the desk with her pen, deep in thought. The tension was evident in the office as the employees went on with their businesses despite the rumors that had been circulating in the company. She looked at Miguel who sat with his eyes fixed on a pile of paperwork in front of him, personnel files. '‘We need to be careful about this,'’ Ximena said. "This time, we should take care of this ourselves and not involve the police or external investigators to avoid further leaks to the press. We cannot afford that."Miguel just nodded, rubbing his face with the palms of his hands. “Yes. This means that we will have to deal with it internally. It is not safe but it is the only way that we can try to contain the issue.” Last few days were dedicated to planning and thinking about how to expose the bad eggs within the company while keeping their findings away from the press. It was a very sensitive process, a process that demanded much secrecy and planning. “F
Chapter 60Playing with FireXimena paced in her office back and forth, with the sound of her heels echoing in the room. The responsibility of the company’s future lay heavily on her shoulders as if a ton of bricks were on top of her. She stood just by the window, looking out at the Mexico City skyline, the glittering lights of the city contrasting sharply with the darkness that loomed over Antonio Group. She was in the middle of very deep thoughts when there was a loud knock on the door. “Come in,” she said as she turned around to see Miguel walk in with his neat looks a little ruffled. He looked a little tired and she could see the dark circles around his eyes.“The board is getting ,” Miguel said without much of a preamble before entering the room and shutting the door. '‘They are considering replacing us if we do not change the course of this company soon.” Ximena sighed, throwing her hand over her head, her blonde hair falling over her shoulders. “Oh, perfect! Just what we n
Chapter 61Ximena felt blood rush to her head as she entered the rich restaurant, looking for Eduardo in the darkened area. Her gaze suddenly fell on him sitting alone at a table in the corner with his silver head of hair shining under the dim light. He got up as she neared and bowed in front of her with a forced smile and empty eyes. “Ximena, my dear,” Eduardo said, and he kissed her on the cheek. “It’s nice to see you. You look beautiful.” ”Thank you, Eduardo,” Ximena said politely, forcing a smile before she could sit down. The hidden microphone that Miguel had put on her felt hot on her neck. Suddenly, a waiter came and served them both with a glass of wine. Ximena took a small sip, observing her opponent closely. “Well,” Eduardo said, pulling back in his chair. “I heard some rumors going around in the office recently, want to tell me what has been happening?” Ximena's mind raced. How informed was he? She decided it would be best to go along with the plan. “Oh, you know h
Chapter 62Digging DeeperXimena woke up with her headache pounding from the events that happened last night during dinner with Eduardo. She dragged herself to the kitchen in the hope of finding coffee when her phone rang with a text from Miguel. “A meeting is set for 2 PM at Javier’s office. I will be around to pick you up.” She sighed, rubbing her temples, ‘What’s the matter with me? What’s wrong with me?’ Ximena moved to her living room with the cup of coffee in one hand and the papers from Eduardo, searching for something that they might have missed. By the time Miguel’s car pulled up outside her apartment, she felt her brain tied in knots. “You look like hell,” Miguel said as she got in the passenger seat. ‘‘Yea?,’’ Ximena snapped back but there was no venom in her tone. “Well, that’s the interesting part. What do you know about this Javier guy?” Miguel turned to her before returning his gaze on the road. “He is an investigative Journalist. He has been conducting a researc
Chapter 63Race Against TimeThe blue rays from the laptop covered her face, her eyes flicking over the numbers on the screen and the accounts and balance sheets in front of her. Ximena had been on this for the past few hours, engulfed with too much caffeine than usual. The board meeting was the following day and time was running out for her. “Come on, come on,” she said to herself while trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. ‘'There must be something here.'’ Her phone rang, it was from Miguel. “Hello, dear, please tell me you have some good news for me,” she said. Miguel's sigh wasn't encouraging.”Good?” She asked, her mind still lost in those land deals that Javier was talking about. “It’s complicated, Xim. Really complicated.” Ximena sighed and dropped back in the chair. “Tell me about it.” “Fine. Do you recall that old industrial area close to your orphanage? Well, it has been sold in bits and pieces within the last few years by different companies, but I am sure they ar
Chapter 165: The Final ReckoningThe night was unusually still, the quiet broken only by the occasional distant car passing by. Ximena had fallen into a light sleep, her body exhausted from the strain of the past few days. But the sudden sound of a floorboard creaking in her apartment jolted her awake.Her heartbeat made a sudden jump to her throat and she glanced toward the living room. The darkness caused by the streetlights outside only appeared to make things even more quiet.The man standing in the doorway leading into the living room was plain to see.Tania.She was standing there, gripping the gun firmly, her eyes were wide open and looked like they had gone mad. Ximena looked paralyzed with a cold feeling running around her body.“Well, well, here we are meeting in person,” Tania spat out her words and was clearly angry. “I knew this would be the moment every time. You never thought that I could do them, did you?”Ximena’s heart beat faster, but she did not allow her tone to
Chapter 164: A Dangerous EncounterMiguel’s fists connected with the first thug’s jaw with a sickening thud, sending the man stumbling back, his head snapping to the side. Ximena watched from her car, her breath caught in her throat. The sound of the scuffle was echoing down the alley, but she couldn't hear anything except for the pure power and perfection in Miguel's movements.He moved like a force of nature: his muscular frame twisting and turning, his every strike landing with purpose. The men surrounding him tried to overpower him, but Miguel was relentless, fury behind each punch.The night air crackled with energy, and Ximena felt a weird mix of terror and awe. She'd never seen this side of him before, yet it didn't faze her.It was the man she'd married once; the man who would go to any length to protect what he loved.In one leap, one of the thugs pounced on him with a crowbar. However, Miguel was quicker, dodging and managing to sweep a leg to drop him to the ground. In o
Chapter 163: The Return of TaniaShe stared at the photo in her hand, her heart racing wildly. How had they gotten this photo? Who watched her? She felt her stomach clench as the creeping feeling of vulnerability clawed at her.Miguel had been supportive, but even his presence could not erase the gnawing anxiety that had settled deep inside her. She could still feel the weight of his comforting words from earlier, but they did little to quell the storm brewing in her mind.Tania had kept silent for too long, and now it was as if the calm had been no more than the quiet before the storm.Miguel had insisted on staying the night, refusing to let Ximena face this alone. Now, as they sat together in her living room, Miguel was talking about taking extra precautions for her safety, adding security to her apartment, increasing surveillance around the office, but Ximena wasn't fully listening.She had heard the same promises before, and while she appreciated them, she couldn’t help but fe
Chapter 162: Shadows ReturnThe next morning, Ximena was back to work, sitting at her desk, her hands fastened on the lid of the portable computer, her fingers drumming the wooden top of the laptop. He had seen her typing away again, probably trying to complete the quarterly reports so that the board meeting in the morning would not consume all the time. Her head was not in the numbers; she was constantly thinking about the peculiarities that had been bothering her all week.The first time she’d noticed it, she thought that perhaps she was imagining it. He had seen a black sedan parked across the street from her building for two consecutive days and the face of the driver was hidden behind the tinted glass. It could have been nothing, but then there were the phone calls; two in the last two days; both of which rang only twice before the line went dead as soon as she picked up.She tried to dismiss it as a mere fluke and went on to telling herself that there was really no need for
Chapter 161: A New NormalXimena sat down comfortably in her chair and looked at the numbers that target the company’s financial performance in the following quarter. The numbers, as he could see, were fine, were good, in fact, were more than good. The Group was on its way up again in Antonio’s life. Things were finally getting a little less insane, and Ximena was able to concentrate.This lack of drama seemed to them in some way wrong, even unnatural. Living on a daily edge, ready to face the next storm, she found the lack of tumult... dangerous. But was this not what she had wanted?Her phone was ringing on the desk and she had to remove herself from her line of thinking. A message from Clara lit up the screen: “Meeting at 11:30. Coffee on the way.”Ximena, still smiling, thanked her. “Thanks, lifesaver.”Clara was not wrong, after a year, the world seemed to have returned to its normal state.Miguel came to see her later in the morning that same day with a box of pastries and a
Chapter 160: Shadows Closing InMiguel paced back and forth, his frustration evident in the sharp clicks of his shoes against the polished floor. “She’s up to something. She always is. But I can’t risk dismissing this if it’s tied to Vega.”Ximena crossed her arms over her chest, easing back into her chair. "You're giving her too much credit. This is Tania we're talking about; a master manipulator. She wants you to believe she's our ally just so she can stay close."Miguel stopped pacing and faced her. "What if this time she's telling the truth?"What if she isn't?" Ximena shot back. "Every time we let her in, she leaves chaos in her wake."______________________________________Late that afternoon, Gregorio joined them in Ximena's office. His arrival brought much-needed clarity, though his face was as tense as theirs."I did some digging after Tania's sudden appearance," Gregorio began, placing a file on the desk. "And it seems she's not bluffing entirely."Ximena's eyes slitted a
Chapter 159: A Desperate MoveTania hesitated for a moment before turning on her heel and walking away, her laughter echoing in the empty street.Miguel turned to Ximena, his jaw tight. “Are you okay?”Ximena nodded, though her hands were still trembling. “Let’s just go.”…………………………………..Ximena was staring out the window of Miguel's car. Her reflection fluttered with the streetlights as they speed-crossed the city.Miguel has his hands clutched tight over the wheel. His knuckles were white. He glanced over to her and his jaw clenched. "You haven't said a word since we left. What is going on inside that head of yours?""What's the word of the day?" Ximena replied in a quiet tone. "That I don't want to play this any longer? That I'm tired of being a target?"Miguel let out a soft breath, his eyes remaining on the road. "You are not alone in this, you know that, right?"Ximena looked at him. "Do I? Because lately, it's feeling like I'm fighting for myself."Miguel was thinking of a come
Chapter 158: Countdown to ChaosSleep was out of the question. Ximena’s instincts told her this was more than another scare tactic.By the time the sun rose, she was already seated at her dining table with her laptop open and a steaming cup of coffee beside her. The clock ticked ominously as if counting down to an unseen disaster.Her phone buzzed, pulling her out of her thoughts. Miguel’s name lit up the screen.“Morning,” she said, trying to mask her exhaustion.“Did you sleep at all?” Miguel’s voice was tinged with concern.“Not really,” she admitted, rubbing her temples. “The message... I can’t stop thinking about it.”“Neither can I,” Miguel said. “But we have a plan, Ximena. We’re ahead of them.”“Are we?” Ximena asked, doubt creeping into her voice. “Or are we just reacting to whatever they throw at us?”Miguel caught himself and responded in a lower tone. "Meet me at Antonio's Group. Gregorio probably has more news for us."______________________________________The middle o
Chapter 157: Tightening the GripXimena sat at her desk, staring blankly at her calendar. She'd spent all morning moving meetings around, trying to make sense of a schedule that had begun to feel utterly meaningless under the mounting threats.A knock at the door pulled her from her thoughts. Clara peeked in, the shine gone now from her face since the events of the past couple of days."Miss Antonio, Gregorio is here," Clara said quietly.Ximena nodded, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Send him in.”Gregorio entered, his ever-practical briefcase in hand. “Morning, Miss Antonio. Miguel should be joining us shortly. We’ve got some developments you’ll want to hear about.”Ximena gestured for him to sit. “Developments?”Before he could answer, Miguel strode into the room, his expression grim but focused.“Let’s hear it,” Miguel said, taking a seat beside Ximena.Gregorio opened his briefcase, pulled out a few files, and laid them across the desk. "We have located Vega's