Ashes of San Miguel

A lesson in Loyalty 2

Walter Velázquez’s villa was more of a monument than a home. Suspended on the hillside, its sleek glass walls and white marble floors shimmered in the dying sunlight. The place reeked of wealth and power—every edge too sharp, every corner too clean. Elena Hernández stood by the balcony, her posture stiff, eyes lost in the orange-pink haze of the horizon.

She barely registered the sound of expensive shoes clicking on the floor until Walter handed her a glass of red wine.

“You look stunning,” he said with a calculated smile. “That color… brings out your fire.”

Elena accepted the glass without a word, her fingers barely touching his. She didn’t drink. She hadn’t touched a drop since she arrived.

Walter chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. “Still silent after all these years. Back in university, you used to talk my ears off.”

“That was a long time ago,” she murmured.

He stepped closer. “Not for me.”

Elena turned her gaze back to the skyline. “Why am I here, Walter? Just say what you want.”

Walter didn’t hesitate. “I want you.”

She blinked, once, slowly. “You want to buy me.”

“I’m offering you a future,” he said. “One with no debts. No humiliation. No Alejandro.”

At the sound of her husband’s name, Elena’s jaw tightened.

Walter continued, voice smooth like oil. “You’re drowning, Elena. Your family's collapsing. I’m giving you a way out.”

“You’re giving them a way out,” she said, her voice sharp. “You don’t care about me. You just want to win. You want to take back what you lost to Alejandro all those years ago.”

Walter laughed bitterly. “I lost you to a man who pretended to be someone he wasn’t. A construction worker playing prince. And now? He’s nothing. A discarded husband, humiliated in public. Even your mother sees it.”

Elena turned sharply. “Don’t talk about my mother.”

“I’m trying to help,” Walter said, stepping in. “Look at me, Elena. I’ve got influence. Wealth. I can make all of this go away. The debts, the shame, the failure. All you have to do is choose.”

His hand wrapped around hers, firm—possessive.

“Let go,” she whispered.

Walter held tighter. “Just say yes, and everything changes.”

“I said let go!” she shouted, yanking her hand free.

Just then—

The front doors slammed open.

Alejandro stepped into the villa like a storm on legs.

Wearing a tailored black suit, his hair slicked back, his eyes were dark and unreadable. Elena froze. Walter’s confident smile dropped.

“You’re not invited,” Walter growled, stepping forward.

Alejandro didn’t even blink. “I wasn’t asking for an invitation.”

“What are you doing here?” Elena asked, heart pounding.

“I came to take back what’s mine,” he said, voice calm, low.

Walter scoffed. “You don’t own anything anymore, Alejandro. Not even her.”

Alejandro’s gaze cut through him like ice. “Then let’s see if you still think that after tonight.”

Walter stepped in front of Elena, protective, arrogant. “You really don’t know when to quit.”

Alejandro looked past him at Elena. “You said you wouldn’t see him again.”

“I came here to talk,” she replied, her voice trembling slightly. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You had a choice,” he said coldly. “You always had a choice.”

Walter rolled his eyes. “Spare us the romantic guilt. She made the right one.”

Alejandro turned slowly to him. “The right one?”

Walter smirked. “She left a broke loser who couldn’t pay his own bills for a man with a future.”

Alejandro reached into his coat, pulled out a folder, and tossed it onto the pristine white table.

Walter glanced down at it, confused. “What is this?”

“Your future,” Alejandro said.

Walter opened it and began flipping through the pages. At first, his eyes narrowed in annoyance. But as he read, his expression turned to horror.

Documents. Stock transfers. Corporate acquisitions. Memos tied to hidden accounts and board votes.

“You’re Luz Holdings,” Walter whispered. “No. That’s not possible.”

Alejandro took a step forward, voice sharp. “It’s not just possible. It’s done. I now own controlling shares in two of your parent companies and I’ve already started acquiring Cuatro Mares’ subsidiaries.”

Elena gasped. “You… what?”

“You think I was just a construction worker?” Alejandro said, turning to her. “You think I was poor because I had no ambition?”

She looked at him, stunned. “Then why… why did you live like that?”

“Because hiding was safer than fighting,” he answered. “Until you gave me a reason to fight again.”

Walter’s fists clenched. “You son of a—”

He lunged forward, trying to grab Alejandro, but Alejandro dodged and slammed him into the wall with brutal precision. The glass of wine flew across the room, shattering against the marble.

Elena screamed. “Stop it! Alejandro, stop!”

Walter groaned, blood leaking from his lip.

Alejandro stared down at him, unmoved. “I warned you. I told you I’d make you regret ever touching her.”

“Alejandro, please,” Elena pleaded, running to him. “This isn’t the way—”

He turned on her. “You want to talk about ways? You left me for thirty million pesos. You watched your family humiliate me and said nothing. And now that the scales are tipping, you want me to be the bigger person?”

Her eyes welled up with tears. “You’re not like this. You’re not… cruel.”

“No,” he said. “But maybe I should be.”

Walter coughed, struggling to sit up. “This is far from over.”

Alejandro smirked. “No, Walter. For you, this is just the beginning.”

He turned to leave.

But just as he reached the door, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, expecting Carlos’s usual report.

Carlos [encrypted line]: “Alejandro… we’ve got a situation.”

Alejandro’s brow furrowed. “Talk.”

Carlos’s voice was tight. Urgent. “The Velázquez accounts have been frozen. We’ve destabilized their board. But…”

“But what?”

Carlos hesitated. “Someone else is buying into your family's debt. Fast. They’ve already taken over three of your holding companies.”

Alejandro’s grip on the phone tightened. “Who?”

There was static on the line. Then:

“It’s Joaquín Salgado. He’s making his move.”

Alejandro’s blood went cold.

The Cuatro Mares CEO. Ruthless. Strategic. And the man responsible for hiding the truth about his family’s attempted murder.

“Elena,” he said slowly, turning to her. “You’re not the only one who betrayed me.”

“What are you talking about?” she whispered.

But Alejandro didn’t answer.

He walked out into the night, the city lights flickering like stars beneath him. The game had just changed.

He wasn’t just fighting Walter now.

He was facing the one man who’d tried to erase him from existence.

And this time…

He wouldn’t be hiding.