Victoria Mendoza did not get where she is by being blind to signals. For fifteen years climbing the ranks in worlds dominated by men who assumed her appearance was her only asset, she learned to read what people don’t say as much as what they do. She learned to detect subtle shifts in behavioral patterns, to identify when someone is lying not by what they claim but by what they avoid, to recognize danger before it has a name.
And right now, watching Adrián from across the hall where they are supposedly attending a panel on innovation in sustainable packaging, every internal alarm she has is going off.
He is physically present. Sitting in his chair with that controlled posture he maintains even when exhausted. But his gaze is not on the speaker gesturing passionately about biodegradabilit
