She called Richard. «Dad, he accepted. He will make the transfer this afternoon.»
«Valentina, are you sure that you want to see this through to the end?»
«Absolutely. It’s the only way to ensure that he never hurts anyone again.»
«All right. I’m going to monitor all the movements of the account. And Dad?»
«Yes.»
«When he makes the transfer, can you call the police?»
«I can. But what about you? Where will you be when it happens?»
«I will be far away. I don’t want to be near when they arrest him.»
In the afternoon, Valentina left the house and went to a cafe in the city center. From there, she called Sophia.
«Today is the day.»
«Are you sure that it’s what you want?»
«Yes. Alexander will try to transfer $100,000 from the company today. When he does it, my dad will call the police.»
«And afterward?»
«Afterward, they will arrest him for fraud. And he can never do this to anyone again.»
«Valentina, and if he tries to take revenge?»
«He won’t be able to. He will be in jail.»
At four in the afternoon, Richard called.
«Daughter, he made the transfer.»
«How much?»
«$100,000 from the corporate account to his personal account. I have all the vouchers.»
«And now?»
«Now I will call the police. Dad, thanks for trusting me.»
«I hope that you know what you are doing.»
One hour later, Richard called again.
«The police went to the company. Alexander was arrested red-handed.»
«How did he react?»
«First, he tried to deny it. Afterward, he said that you had authorized him. But when I showed that the transfer was made with the power of attorney of the company, he could not explain it.»
«And now?»
«Now he will face charges for fraud and undue use of power of attorney. He could pass years in prison.»
Valentina felt a mix of relief and sadness. The plan had functioned, but it was sad to see the person with whom she dreamed to build a family being arrested.
«Dad, can I go home now?»
«You can. But Valentina?»
«Yes.»
«You were very brave and very intelligent. You saved our family from a fraud that could be devastating.»
When Valentina arrived home, she found Julian and Dylan waiting at the door.
«Valentina, we heard about what happened,» said Julian.
«And?»
«We want to apologize,» said Dylan. «We knew that it was wrong, but we didn’t have the courage to do anything.»
«And now what do you want to do?»
«We want to testify against him,» said Julian. «Tell all that we know about his plans.»
«Why?»
«Because it’s the right thing to do and because you showed a courage that we didn’t have.»
Valentina invited them to enter. During two hours, they told everything they knew about Alexander’s plans, his debts, and the previous frauds. Everything was recorded to be used as evidence in the trial.
When they left, Valentina finally stayed alone. She sat on the sofa and cried. Not out of sadness, but of relief. She was free.
Three days later, Ramirez came looking for her. «As we agreed, I came for the payment of the debts.»
«The debts of Alexander?»
«Exactly. You said that you would pay when you had proof against him.»
«It’s true. But now he is arrested. The debts are no longer my responsibility.»
Ramirez smiled. «Girl, you are smarter than I thought.»
«How so?»
«You used us to pressure him. You got the proof you wanted. And now you don’t have to pay anything.»
«That was exactly it.»
«Intelligent. Very intelligent.»
«And you guys? What will you do now?»
«Nothing. Alexander is a prisoner. There is no way he can pay. We will consider the debt settled.»
«How so, settled?»
«The spectacle that you assembled was worth more than any payment. The guy married thinking that he would become rich and ended up in jail. It’s a lesson that he will never forget.»
Ramirez stood up to leave. «Ah, and girl? If someday you want to work with us, look me up. You have talent for this.»
«Thanks, but I’ll pass.»
Two weeks later, Valentina went to visit Alexander in jail. He was thin, dejected, very different from the confident man who had married her.
«Why did you come?» he asked.
«To talk.»
«About what? You already got what you wanted. You ruined me completely.»
«Alexander, you only ruined yourself. I only gave you the opportunity to show who you really were.»
«You knew it from the beginning, right? Since the day of the wedding.»
Alexander shook his head. «How did you realize?»
«I heard you guys talking in the sacristy.»
«And why didn’t you confront me right there?»
«Because I wanted to ensure that you would never hurt anyone again.»
«And you achieved it. Congratulations, Alexander. You had already scammed other families. You could have continued if I hadn’t done something.»
«And what? Each one defends himself as he can.»
«That doesn’t justify ruining innocent lives.»
Alexander kept silence for a moment. «Valentina, did you ever love me?»
«I loved the person that you pretended to be. But that person never existed.»
«And if I changed? If I tried to be better?»
«Alexander, you had many opportunities to be honest. You chose to lie about everything.»
«Yes, I suppose you are right.»
When Valentina came out of the jail, she felt that she closed a chapter of her life forever.
Six months later, Alexander was sentenced to four years in prison. Julian and Dylan testified against him, as did the victims of his previous scams. Valentina asked for a divorce and returned to using her maiden name.
She continued living in the apartment, but she redecorated everything, erasing any trace of that period. Sophia graduated in law and started to work in the office that helped investigate Alexander. Richard expanded his businesses, more cautious, but also more secure after overcoming the attempted fraud.
One year after the disastrous marriage, Valentina was at peace. She had learned to trust her instincts, and never to let herself be carried away only by feelings.
She was in the shopping mall, having coffee in the same food court where she met Alexander, when a young man, well-dressed, tripped over her, spilling coffee.
«Sorry, what a disaster,» said he with a charming smile. «Let me buy you another coffee.»
Valentina looked at him, observed his rehearsed smile, his expensive but slightly worn clothes, and his quick look around as if searching for something.
«It’s not necessary,» she responded simply.
«I insist, it’s the least I can do.»
«No thanks.» Valentina walked away, leaving the man alone in the food court, probably wondering why his tactic hadn’t worked. She had learned to recognize the signs.
Three years later, Valentina met Martin, a veterinarian who took care of the pets of her father’s employees. Martin was a simple, honest worker. He didn’t have much money, but he had something that Alexander never had: character.
They married in a small ceremony, with only close family present. Valentina wore a simple dress. They bought the rings with the money that Martin had saved working weekends. It wasn’t the dream wedding that she had planned with Alexander. It was better. It was real.
Alexander was released after serving two and a half years of his sentence. He tried to search for Valentina, but she had changed her number. She had moved apartments. She didn’t want to see him.
She knew through third parties that he left the city. He tried to start again in another place. She hoped sincerely that he had learned to be honest, but she knew that probably Alexander would continue being Alexander, and that was okay. It wasn’t her problem anymore.
On the night of her second marriage, Martin took her hands and said to her, «Valentina, I promise to be always honest with you, even if it’s difficult, even if the truth hurts. And I promise to trust in you, but also I promise not to turn a blind eye to signs that something is wrong.»
«Deal.»
And this time, she believed him, because this time, it was for real.