Silence fell over the boardroom like a tombstone.
Diego blinked.
Once.
Then another one.
As if his brain refused to accept what he was seeing.
—Mendoza…? —murmured Licenciado Robles.
The lawyer stood up abruptly.
—Mr. Mendoza…
Alejandro Mendoza walked slowly towards the table.
His dark suit was perfectly tailored.
His expression was calm.
Too calm.
“Good morning,” he said.
No one answered.
Diego looked at Isabella.
Then on to Mendoza.
Then back to Isabella.
—This… this is a joke.
Isabella said nothing.
He just looked at it.
With a calmness I had never seen in her before.
Alejandro stopped next to his daughter.
—Isabella.
She looked up.
—Are you finished?
—Yes, Dad.
The word landed like a bombshell.
Camila dropped her phone.
Diego stood up abruptly.
-Dad?
Alejandro looked at him.
Not with hate.
Not with anger.
Something worse.
Disinterest.
“Mr. Ramirez,” he said calmly. “Allow me to congratulate you.”
Diego frowned.
—Congratulate me?
-Yeah.
He has just made one of the most expensive financial mistakes of his life.
Robles started to sweat.
—Mr. Mendoza… perhaps we can discuss this calmly…
Alejandro ignored the lawyer.
He took a small remote control out of his pocket.
He pressed a button.
The television screen in the living room turned on.
A graph appeared.
Actions.
Stake.
Investment.
—NovaLink— said Alejandro. —Interesting company.
Diego swallowed hard.
—What does this mean?
Alejandro crossed his hands.
—It means that my investment funds own 47% of your company.
The silence was absolute.
—That… that’s not possible—Diego stammered.
-It is.
And this morning I bought another 12%.
Robles almost fainted.
—That means…
Alejandro looked at him.
—It means that I am now the majority shareholder.
