Ernesto pulled out his phone and called him.
Mauricio answered on the fourth ring.
“Father-in-law…” he said in a broken, theatrical voice. “I’m destroyed. I can’t handle this.”
Music played in the background.
Not chapel music.
Low reggaeton. Laughter. Glasses clinking. A woman shouting something playfully nearby.
“I’m at the hospital,” Ernesto said. “The chair beside my daughter is empty. Where are you?”
“In the chapel,” Mauricio answered quickly. “On my knees. Begging God to save Vale. I couldn’t stand seeing her connected to those machines. I was dying inside.”
Then a clear female laugh sounded near him.
Ernesto closed his eyes.
“Stay there,” he said. “Keep praying.”
Then he hung up.
Beside him, Iván Torres, his head of security, already had a tablet in his hand.
“Track him,” Ernesto ordered.
Iván needed less than thirty seconds.
“He’s not in any chapel, sir. He’s at Marina Puerto Cancún. On the yacht.”
Ernesto stared at the blinking blue dot on the screen.
“Alone?”
“No. There’s a party. Around twenty people. Music, alcohol, catering… and a woman with him.”
At that moment, the neurosurgeon rushed into the corridor.
“Mr. Aguilar, we need to operate immediately. Your daughter’s condition is worsening. If we wait, the damage could become irreversible.”
“Then operate,” Ernesto said.
The doctor took a tense breath.
“We need her husband’s authorization. Mr. Serrano called ten minutes ago and told us to pause the procedure until he could speak with his lawyer. He said he wanted to review the risks.”
The world went silent.
Ernesto understood everything in two seconds.
Mauricio was not hiding from grief.
He was delaying.
He wanted Valentina to die.
“How long has she been here?” Ernesto asked.
“Less than an hour.”
Ernesto took a silver pen from his jacket.
“Bring me the documents.”
The doctor hesitated.
“Legally…”
Ernesto looked at him with the kind of coldness that had made bankers, politicians, and enemies tremble for forty years.
“Doctor, my daughter will not die because a parasite wearing a wedding ring is waiting to collect insurance money. Prepare the operating room. I will sign, pay, and accept responsibility for whatever is necessary.”
As they pushed Valentina toward surgery, Ernesto made a call.
