Chapter 9 - The House of Cards Collapses
The flashbulbs from the press gallery turned the auditorium into a strobing nightmare for Álvaro. He tried to speak, to form words of defense, but his throat was completely locked. The mighty tech mogul, the untouchable philanthropist, the man who had looked down his nose at a grieving mother and her twin geniuses, was reduced to a stuttering wreck under the weight of his own crimes.
"Furthermore," Mateo stepped up to the second microphone, his voice ringing out with terrifying precision, "under Section 4 of the Civil Code, fraudulent abandonment and asset concealment carry no statute of limitations when presented alongside verifiable documentary evidence."
Mateo held up a secondary sheaf of papers—certified copies stamped by the federal prosecutor's office just three days prior.
"The federal tax evasion charges were filed and signed this morning at 8:00 AM," Mateo continued calmly. "Federal marshals are currently freezing all corporate and personal assets associated with the Miller-Vance holding group."
As if on cue, the heavy oak doors at the back of the auditorium burst open.
Four men in dark federal windbreakers marched down the center aisle, their badges gleaming under the hallway lights. The crowd parted instinctively, creating a wide corridor of absolute silence.
Álvaro turned around slowly, his legs trembling beneath him. He looked like a man watching his own executioner approach.
"Álvaro Miller?" the lead federal agent asked, his voice flat and authoritative.
Álvaro couldn't even nod. He simply stared at the steel handcuffs dangling from the agent's belt.
"You are under arrest for securities fraud, perjury, and malicious financial abandonment. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
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The heavy click of the steel cuffs locking around Álvaro's wrists echoed through the silent hall like a gunshot. As the agents hauled him away past the rows of stunned parents and whispering journalists, Álvaro caught one last glimpse of Lucía sitting quietly in the back row, sipping the last drop of her cold coffee.
Verónica grabbed her crying son and fled down the side exit, leaving the Miller empire a smoking ruin behind them.
