Chapter 7: The Counteroffensive
Back at the corporate tower, the atmosphere was stifling. Forty-eight hours remained until the board meeting, and Alejandro had already begun pulling strings, leaking rumors to the financial press about Valeria's supposed mental instability following the family scandal.
"The stock has fallen three percent this morning," Gabriel warned, pacing the hallway nervously. "International investment funds are scared. If Alejandro gets the minority shareholders' votes, you've lost operational control of the company, trust or no trust."
Valeria stared at the crib where her son slept, oblivious to the war raging around him. She wiped away a tear of rage and turned to Gabriel, her gaze radiating icy fury.
"I'm not going to let that monster win. My father didn't die of a natural heart attack, Gabriel. I'm sure of it. Alejandro pressured him, isolated him... and now he wants to do the same to me."
"What do you plan to do?" We don't have enough evidence to put him in jail before Monday.
"I don't need to put him in jail on Monday, Gabriel," she replied with a ruthless smile. "I need to destroy him publicly where it hurts most: his reputation. Call the former CFO. I want to know what was hidden in the wooden box my father left behind. You said there were patents and agreements... What kind of patents?"
Gabriel's eyes widened as he grasped the concept.
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"Project Phoenix... The clean energy technology your father worked on for the last five years. Alejandro tried to sell it to a foreign consortium in a shady deal."
"Exactly. If Alejandro sells the company, he's selling smoke and mirrors, because the intellectual property of that technology doesn't belong to the company... it belongs to my son."
