Official.
Alejandro felt it before he heard it—an instinct sharpened by years of warrooms and hostile takeovers. He set his coffee down slowly and stood.
“Elena,” he said calmly, “take the boys upstairs. Now.”
The children froze.
They had learned fear early. Too early.
“Is it the bad lady?” Daniel whispered, clutching Elena’s sleeve.
Alejandro knelt in front of them, placing his hands on their small shoulders.
“No one is taking you anywhere,” he said firmly.
“Not today. Not ever.”
Elena swallowed hard but nodded. She gathered the boys and disappeared up the staircase just as the door opened.
Three people stepped inside.
A man in a gray suit.
A woman holding a tablet.
And behind them—
A court officer.
“We have a temporary custody order,” the woman said crisply.
“Based on allegations of unlawful confinement, emotional manipulation, and identity fraud.”
Alejandro didn’t blink.
“On whose request?” he asked.
The man hesitated.
“Your mother’s estate.”
Alejandro smiled.
It wasn’t a warm smile.
The Accusation
“They’re claiming the children were hidden intentionally,” the woman continued, reading from her screen.
“That Ms. Elena Ramírez coerced them. That you are being manipulated.”
