Chapter 10 - THE MAN WHO LEFT A MESSAGE FOR ME
Gregory Lane was alive.
We discovered that forty-eight hours later.
He had moved to Santa Fe under his own name and was living with his sister.
No kidnapping.
No murder.
No dramatic disappearance.
He had simply run.
Rebecca contacted him.
At first, Gregory refused to speak.
Then she mentioned the forged power of attorney.
Everything changed.
He agreed to a video conference.
The man who appeared on the screen barely resembled my father’s polished adviser.
He had lost weight.
His hair had gone almost completely white.
“I’m sorry, Camila.”
I hated those words.
Everyone who betrayed me suddenly had the same opening sentence.
“What exactly are you sorry for?”
He closed his eyes.
“Helping Alejandro.”
“How long?”
“After your father died.”
My father had never trusted Alejandro.
Gregory revealed that Dad privately worried my husband was too interested in money.
But after Dad’s death, Alejandro approached Gregory.
He claimed he wanted to understand how to protect me financially.
Gregory believed him.
Then greed changed things.
Alejandro offered him money for advice on legally moving separate assets into joint structures.
“At first, everything we discussed was legal.”
“And later?”
Gregory looked ashamed.
“Later, he started bringing documents you hadn’t signed.”
“Did you know?”
“Eventually.”
“But you stayed.”
“Yes.”
“How much did he pay you?”
“Nearly four hundred thousand dollars over several years.”
Sofia cursed under her breath.
Gregory continued.
Then my tumor diagnosis happened.
Alejandro called him that same week.
“He asked what would happen if you became cognitively impaired.”
My skin went cold.
Gregory told him the trust would likely rely on successor trustees and medical evaluations.
Alejandro became frustrated.
Then he asked whether a power of attorney could give him temporary control over outside accounts.
“That’s when I realized what he was preparing.”
“So you left.”
“Not immediately.”
Again, shame.
Gregory helped draft early documents before refusing to continue.
Then he discovered Claudia had impersonated me for notarization.
He threatened to report Alejandro.
Alejandro threatened to expose Gregory’s own involvement.
So Gregory ran.
“Cowardly,” he said quietly.
“Yes.”
He nodded.
“I know.”
Then he told us something valuable.
Before leaving Chicago, Gregory made copies.
Emails.
Drafts.
Messages.
Financial spreadsheets.
He had hidden them with his sister because he feared Alejandro would destroy the originals.
Rebecca asked the question that mattered.
“Will you provide them?”
Gregory looked directly at me.
“Yes.”
Three days later, an encrypted drive arrived.
It contained hundreds of files.
One email stood out.
Sent from Alejandro to Gregory eight months earlier.
If surgery causes permanent impairment, we move immediately. If she recovers fully, I’ll proceed with the divorce before she has time to review anything.
I read it twice.
My husband had created two plans.
One if I became disabled.
One if I survived intact.
Either way, he expected to benefit.
Then Rebecca opened another email.
Subject:
CLAUDIA.
Alejandro wrote:
She thinks the end goal is marriage. Keep it that way.
I stared at the screen.
Claudia had betrayed me.
But Alejandro had been lying to her too.
May you like
The next line explained why.
Once the assets are secured, I don’t need either woman controlling my decisions.
