That was the difference between Santiago and everyone Mariana had known in Los Angeles. Her family spent money to look powerful. Santiago used power to build things that lasted.
Meanwhile, Teresa called every day.
Mariana ignored the first five calls.
On the sixth, she answered.
Teresa’s voice came through sharp and cold.
“Are you enjoying your little farm punishment?”
Mariana looked out across the vineyard where Santiago was helping repair a broken irrigation line.
“Yes,” Mariana said.
Teresa paused.
“What?”
“I said yes.”
Valerie laughed in the background.
“Oh my God, she’s already pretending to be happy with the hay people.”
Mariana’s hand tightened around the phone.
“What do you want?”
Teresa’s tone hardened.
“We want confirmation that the marriage papers were signed. Your father’s will requires the family alliance to be honored before certain shares are transferred. You will sign whatever Santiago gives you, keep your head down, and stop embarrassing us.”
That was the first time Mariana understood.
They had not sent her away only to humiliate her.
They had sent her away because they needed the contract.
“What shares?” Mariana asked.
A silence followed.
Then Teresa said, “Don’t play stupid.”
Mariana felt cold.
“You need me to marry him for money.”
Valerie scoffed.
“We need you to do the one useful thing you were born to do.”
Something inside Mariana went still.
For years, that sentence would have broken her.
Now it simply revealed them.
“I’ll call you when I decide what I’m useful for,” Mariana said.
Then she hung up.
That night, she told Santiago everything.
He listened while she explained the calls, the will, the shares, Teresa’s pressure, Valerie’s cruelty, and her suspicion that there was more hidden in her father’s estate. Santiago leaned back in his chair, fingers resting against his jaw.
“They’re desperate,” he said.
“How do you know?”
“Because your father didn’t leave them full control.”
Mariana stared at him.
“You know about the will?”
“I know part of it. My lawyers reviewed the old alliance documents after your father died. Your father placed a portion of Castaneda Holdings into a conditional trust. If Teresa violated certain terms or attempted to coerce you, the trust could shift.”
“Shift to whom?”
Santiago looked at her.
“To you.”
Mariana went silent.
Castaneda Holdings was her family’s real estate and luxury retail company. For years, Teresa had acted as though she owned everything. She hosted events, sat at the head of the boardroom, signed checks, and let Valerie parade around as the future heiress.
But if her father had protected shares for Mariana, then Teresa’s entire power was built on stolen confidence.
“How much?” Mariana whispered.
Santiago did not soften the answer.
“About 38 percent of the company.”
Her breath disappeared.
“That can’t be right.”
“It is.”
“Teresa told me my father left me a small allowance.”
“She lied.”
Mariana stood and walked to the window, wrapping her arms around herself.
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