Chapter 4 - MARISOL VEGA
Diego arrived at the hospital shortly after nine in the morning.
He did not come voluntarily.
His attorney came with him.
The deputies had allowed him to leave the retreat because they had not yet received authorization for an arrest.
He walked into the hospital lobby wearing a dark coat and the expression of a worried husband.
Anyone who had not seen the footage might have believed him.
Elena's security team did not.
Two men stopped him before the elevators.
“My wife is upstairs.”
“You are not authorized to visit.”
Diego's attorney stepped forward.
“She is his legal spouse.”
“And she has specifically requested he be denied access.”
Diego stared at the elevator doors.
“I need five minutes.”
“No.”
He lowered his voice.
“Tell Elena I love her.”
Alvin had just stepped out of the elevator.
He heard every word.
Diego looked at him.
“Alvin.”
Alvin walked closer.
For decades, Diego had watched wealthy men shout, threaten, and bluff across conference tables.
Alvin did none of those things.
“You will not speak to my daughter unless she chooses to speak to you.”
“You saw an argument.”
“I saw attempted coercion.”
“She slipped.”
“I saw your hand on her back.”
Diego's jaw tightened.
“She is my wife.”
Alvin's eyes became colder.
“That sentence will never protect you again.”
Diego's attorney intervened.
“We should go.”
Diego did not move.
“Your daughter is going to destroy this family because she is angry.”
“No.”
Alvin looked directly at him.
“You destroyed it because you believed marriage made her property.”
A woman standing near the entrance stopped walking.
She was perhaps thirty-five.
Dark hair.
Red wool coat.
Expensive boots.
She had been staring at Diego.
Elena's private investigator, who happened to be standing near the security desk, noticed her immediately.
The woman turned away.
Diego saw her.
His face changed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
The investigator followed her outside.
“Ms. Vega?”
The woman stopped.
Marisol slowly turned.
“I don't know you.”
“My name is Aaron Blake.”
“I work for Alvin Sterling.”
Marisol's eyes moved toward the hospital entrance.
“I have nothing to say.”
“Then why are you here?”
“I heard Elena was hurt.”
“How?”
Marisol said nothing.
Aaron took one step closer.
“North Crown Holdings.”
Every trace of color disappeared from her face.
“You need to leave me alone.”
“Did Diego ask you to hold assets for him?”
Marisol walked faster toward the parking garage.
Aaron followed at a distance.
Before she reached her car, she stopped.
“He told me they were his.”
Aaron waited.
Marisol turned around.
“The properties.”
“The company.”
“The money.”
“He said Elena wanted everything structured privately before the baby arrived.”
“Did you believe him?”
“At first.”
“And later?”
Marisol's eyes filled with fear.
“Later I realized he was preparing for something.”
“What?”
She looked again toward the hospital.
“I don't know.”
“That isn't true.”
Marisol swallowed.
“Three weeks ago, Diego asked me whether a spouse could take control of a trust if the other spouse had a nervous breakdown.”
Aaron remained silent.
Marisol wrapped her arms around herself.
“Then his mother asked me something worse.”
“What did Brenna ask?”
May you like
Marisol whispered the answer.
“She asked how long someone had to be unconscious before doctors could declare them incapable of making financial decisions.”
