Chapter 4: The Net Closes
The afternoon sun beat down heavily on the glass facade of the Banco del Bajío building in the affluent district of Juriquilla. Inside the private, luxurious office of Regional Director Alejandro Mendoza, the atmosphere was thick with tension.
Carmen sat in a leather armchair, sipping a cup of espresso, while Veronica paced back and forth near the window, her wine-colored nails digging into her leather purse.
On the other side of the desk, Mendoza was staring intensely at his computer monitor, typing rapidly. The beige file containing the forged signatures and backdated power of attorney lay open between them.
"Is there a problem, Alejandro?" Carmen asked, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness, though her eyes were sharp and predatory. "It shouldn't take this long to move a simple trust fund to my daughter’s commercial account."
Mendoza frowned, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. "It’s strange, Carmen. The primary user, Regina, seems to have activated a high-level security flag on the account two days ago. The system is requiring a triple administrative bypass. I’m forcing the authorization through using my master credentials, but the server is running an unusually slow validation script. It says 'Processing: 8 minutes remaining.'"
"Just make it happen," Veronica hissed, stepping closer to the desk. "We don't have time for your slow servers. That girl is in the hospital, and if her husband’s lawyers get involved, this whole thing gets complicated."
Mendoza looked up, a flash of professional unease crossing his face. "You told me Regina agreed to this transfer to fund your shop, Veronica. Why would her husband’s lawyers get involved?"
"Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to, Alejandro," Carmen interrupted coldly, her maternal elegance completely vanishing to reveal the ruthless socialite underneath. "Just remember who helped fund your campaign for this directorship. Process the transfer."
Mendoza swallowed hard and hit the enter key. The screen changed: TRANSFER PENDING: 4 MINUTES TO COMPLETION.
What neither Carmen, Veronica, nor Mendoza knew was that outside the bank, three unmarked black SUVs had just screeched to a halt, blocking the main exit. Detective Reyes, flanked by four armed federal officers and a digital forensics specialist, moved swiftly through the lobby, ignoring the startled looks of the bank tellers.
They took the private elevator directly to the executive suites on the third floor.
Inside the office, the countdown clock on Mendoza’s screen reached 1:00 minute.
"Excellent," Carmen smiled, standing up and smoothing her designer skirt. "Once the funds clear, Veronica, we head straight to the airport. We’ll spend a few months in San Antonio until the dust settles and Daniel realizes that what’s done is done."
"The money is clearing now—" Mendoza started.
BOOM.
The heavy oak door of the office was kicked open with such force that it slammed against the wall, shattering the glass frame next to it.
"Federal Police! Nobody move! Step away from the terminal!" Detective Reyes shouted, his service weapon drawn and aimed directly at Carmen.
Veronica shrieked, dropping her handbag as two officers immediately moved in, pinning her arms behind her back. "Let go of me! Do you know who I am? This is a mistake!"
Carmen stood frozen, her face turning an ashen, deathly white as she looked into the cold eyes of Detective Reyes. "What is the meaning of this? I am a prominent citizen of this city! This is a private business transaction!"
"Private business?" Detective Reyes scoffed, stepping forward and placing a pair of heavy steel handcuffs on Carmen’s wrists. "Carmen Valenzuela, you are under arrest for attempted homicide, aggravated assault on a pregnant woman, grand larceny, and corporate fraud."
"You have no proof!" Carmen yelled, her composure finally breaking into a hysterical scream. "My son will destroy you for this! He owns this town!"
"Your son is the one who gave us the evidence," Detective Reyes said calmly. He signaled to the digital forensics specialist, who immediately plugged a secure drive into Mendoza’s terminal, freezing the transfer at exactly three seconds before completion.
Reyes then pulled out his tablet and turned the screen toward Carmen and Veronica. On it, the high-definition cloud video from Regina’s kitchen began to play. Carmen watched herself say, 'We leave through the garage... we’ll say she fell down the stairs.' Veronica watched herself kick the phone under the sink.
The room fell into a dead, horrifying silence.
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Mendoza raised his hands in the air, his face pale. "I knew nothing about this! They brought me notarized documents! I was just processing a request!"
"Save it for the judge, Mr. Mendoza," Reyes said as his officers dragged a weeping, screaming Veronica and a completely catatonic Carmen out of the office in full view of the entire bank staff. "You’re all going down together."
