Part 6

He shook his head.

“You can’t let them do this to your own son!”

I felt a pain that had nothing to do with the illness I’d been fighting.

“I should have listened when Lucía tried to warn me,” I said. “I won’t make that mistake again.”

His expression hardened.

“So you’re choosing her over me?”

“I’m choosing to protect the people you’ve hurt.”

I turned away before he could respond.

Inside the hospital, Rosa and Manuel were still waiting for news.

At 3:17 that morning, we finally heard a baby’s cry.

Lucía had given birth to a boy.

She named him Mateo.

He weighed 2.8 kilograms and, because he’d arrived early, needed additional medical observation. The doctors assured us that Lucía was stable, although exhausted.

When I was finally allowed into her room, she smiled weakly.

“Would you like to hold him, Don Ernesto?”

I looked at the tiny bundle in her arms.

My hands trembled as I reached for him.

This time, the trembling had nothing to do with the substance doctors had found in my body.

Mateo wrapped his tiny fingers around one of mine.

I thought about how close I’d come to losing the chance to meet him.

The following months were difficult.

My medical treatment continued, and some symptoms took time to improve. The criminal proceedings also required extensive testimony, expert evaluations, and additional hearings.

Eventually, the evidence supported convictions against Adrián and Verónica for their established involvement in the crimes.

Their lawyers challenged the allegations, but the documented transactions, medical findings, and witness statements proved decisive.

The company recovered part of the stolen money through legal proceedings and began pursuing the remaining funds.

But restoring our finances wasn’t enough.

I still had to confront the damage I’d caused by trusting Adrián without questioning him.

I asked Patricia and Rebeca to reopen the cases involving Luis Mendoza and Rafael Torres, the employees I’d dismissed after my son accused them of theft.

The review confirmed that both men had been wrongfully implicated.

I invited them to my office.

They arrived looking understandably suspicious.

“I owe both of you an apology,” I began. “I believed accusations without giving you a fair opportunity to defend yourselves.”

Neither man spoke immediately.

I explained that the company would provide the appropriate compensation, publicly correct the accusations, and offer them their former positions.

Luis eventually agreed to return.

Rafael had already found another job and preferred to remain there.

I respected his decision.

Afterward, we introduced independent financial controls so that no executive, including anyone bearing my surname, could dismiss an employee or authorize suspicious transactions without proper review.

One afternoon, I visited Lucía and Mateo.

She was recovering well and beginning to think about returning to work.

I’d been considering something for weeks.

“Lucía, when you’re ready, I’d like you to lead our compliance and auditing department.”

She looked surprised.

“Why me?”

“Because you identified financial misconduct that people inside my company ignored.”

She thought for a moment.

Then she gave me one condition.

“If I accept, you can never ask me to stay quiet just to protect the family’s reputation.”