Renata ignored Valeria and looked only at him.

“What an interesting question,” she said. “Would you like to ask it again after I properly introduce myself?”

The table went still.

Everyone knew Renata carried the Salcedo name, an old and powerful  family name in business circles. But most of them did not know the full truth.

Family

Renata was not just Rodrigo’s quiet wife.

She chaired the family trust committee that had kept Grupo Ibarra’s debt alive for four years.

Rodrigo knew that.

His financial director knew that.

Valeria did not.

And now Valeria had struck the one woman who could stop Rodrigo’s biggest deal before sunrise.

PART 2

The humiliation had not started that night.

It had begun months earlier, quietly, when Valeria started acting like she belonged in places that were Renata’s.

First, she changed flowers in Renata’s own dining room.

“Rodrigo prefers white orchids,” Valeria said, removing the bougainvillea Renata had chosen.

Renata looked at her calmly.

“This is my table.”