Chapter Six [Manipulating the Truth]
1153 Words
The longer Antonio toyed with his secret, the bolder he became.
The power to destroy someone, he’d learned, could be more intoxicating than money itself.
The DNA Suspicion
By the time Isabella turned two, Alejandro’s friends had started to whisper.
“She’s beautiful,” they’d say, “but she doesn’t look much like you.”
He laughed it off at first proud, indulgent laughter but doubt is a quiet poison, and Antonio knew exactly how to feed it.
At a board dinner one night, Antonio poured his father a drink and said, almost casually,
“You’ve still got strong genes, Papá. I mean, look at Rafa and me. But, have you ever wondered?”
Alejandro raised an eyebrow. “Wondered what?”
Antonio shrugged. “Just that Camila’s so young. Biology can be strange at your age. I’d get a test, if only to prove people wrong.”
Alejandro’s expression hardened. “You’re implying something dangerous.”
“Not at all,” Antonio replied, his voice smooth. “But rumors can ruin families. Better to silence them with proof than let them grow.”
That night, the seed of doubt took root. By morning, Alejandro called the family doctor.
Camila’s Panic
When Alejandro told her, Camila’s blood turned to ice. “A DNA test?” she repeated, forcing a smile. “Why?”
“People talk,” he said gently. “And I don’t want my daughter to grow up with their poison. Once it’s done, there’ll be no more whispers.”
Camila’s throat tightened. “Of course,” she managed to say. “If it makes you feel at peace.”
But inside, she was breaking. She knew exactly who had planted this. Antonio.
That night, she called him, her voice shaking. “You did this.”
“Did what?” he said, amused. “You convinced him to do the test.”
“Relax,” Antonio said. “It’s already taken care of.” “What do you mean?”
“I have a friend at the lab. The results will say what I want them to say.”
She froze. “You can do that?” “I can do anything, Camila. You should know that by now.”
The Manipulation
Two days later, the nurse came to collect samples a small swab from Isabella’s cheek, another from Alejandro’s. Camila held her child tightly, heart pounding with every touch.
When the nurse left, she collapsed onto the couch, trembling. She prayed for a miracle, even though miracles had long stopped visiting her.
Antonio made a single phone call that afternoon. His voice was calm, cold, commanding.
“When the De La Vega samples come in,” he told the lab manager, “you’ll deliver the report I send you. Do not question it. There’s a bonus waiting for your silence.”
By the next week, the report was ready. The envelope sat on Alejandro’s desk, heavy as judgment.
He opened it slowly. “Paternity Result: 99.9% Positive Match.”
He exhaled deeply, relief flooding his face. “You see?” he said, smiling. “She’s mine. I knew it.”
Camila forced a tearful laugh and nodded. “Of course she is.”
Antonio stood in the corner of the room, pretending to share their joy. Inside, he grinned. The trap had worked perfectly.
The Puppet Strings,That night, Antonio sent Camila a message:
You owe me again.
She stared at it for a long time, then deleted it. But deleting a message doesn’t erase what’s already inside you.
From that moment, Antonio controlled her completely. He didn’t need to shout, didn’t even need to threaten anymore. A glance from him across the dinner table was enough to remind her what hung in the balance.
He began to appear everywhere in the garden, in the study, even in the nursery, pretending to play with Isabella.
“She looks like her father,” he’d say softly, just loud enough for Camila to hear. “Don’t you think?”
Her heart would race each time, torn between fury and fear.
Rafael’s Unease
Meanwhile, Rafael sensed the shift in the house. He noticed his brother’s smugness, his stepmother’s growing silence, his father’s newfound joy. It didn’t add up.
During a board meeting, Rafael confronted Antonio.
“You’ve been too involved lately,” he said. “Father trusts you again, but I don’t. What are you planning?”
Antonio smiled. “You worry too much, hermano. Maybe I just enjoy helping the family again.”
“Since when do you help anyone without expecting a reward?”
Antonio leaned closer. “Since I realized I don’t have to ask. Everything I want is already mine.”
Rafael didn’t understand then. But he remembered those words later — when the empire began to crumble.
Alejandro’s Announcement
With his confidence restored, Alejandro began preparing for retirement. He told Camila one evening, “I’ll soon step down from the board. It’s time for my sons to lead.”
Her blood ran cold. She knew what that meant , Antonio would use this moment to demand his inheritance.
“Have you decided who will take over?” she asked.
He smiled. “I have ideas, but I’ll announce it soon. They both deserve a fair chance.”
Camila wanted to beg him to choose Rafael. But fear sealed her lips.
The Blackmail Deepens
Two nights later, Antonio visited her again, uninvited as always. He found her in the nursery, humming softly to Isabella.
“He’s retiring,” he said, lighting a cigarette. “And I’ll be the one to take over. You’ll make sure of that.”
Camila turned, her voice low. “He’s considering Rafael.” “Then change his mind.”
“I can’t”
“You can,” he interrupted. “And you will. Or maybe I’ll bring Father a copy of those love letters he never saw. Or better yet, a photo of his darling daughter next to her real father, Diego.”
Her knees went weak. “You’re a monster.” Antonio smiled. “I’m a realist. And I always get what I want.”
He stubbed out his cigarette on the balcony railing and left, leaving behind the smell of smoke . and ruin.
Camila’s Breaking Point
That night, she watched Isabella sleep, her small chest rising and falling in innocence. The guilt had grown into something unbearable a living, breathing thing inside her.
She thought of ending it all of confessing, of letting the empire burn, of freeing herself. But every time she pictured Alejandro’s face, full of faith and love, she couldn’t do it.
She whispered to the darkness, “What have I become?”
In the hallway, unseen, Antonio paused by the door, smiling at the sound of her voice breaking.
The empire was his now. He could feel it.
All that remained was the signature and his father’s blessing.
- Writer
