Chapter 144 Rosalina Diaz is alive.
CHAPTER 144
Rosalina Diaz is alive.
ROMAN – POINT OF VIEW
“Who is Rosalina Isabel Diaz?” Damian asks the question we all want answers to.
My head throbs with a painful headache from looking at screens all day. I connect the printer to my phone and print out the marriage certificate for clarity and more exposure.
CONFIDENTIAL UNION AGREEMENT
Private Civil Record — Restricted Archive
Date of Agreement: August 22, 2015
Jurisdiction: Veracruz Registry Annex, Mexico
PARTIES INVOLVED
Bride (Designated):
Rosalina Isabela Diaz
Date of Birth: July 17, 2000
Groom:
Emiliano Vargas Calderón
Date of Birth: March 3, 1980
TERMS OF UNION
The Bride is hereby designated and reserved for union with the Groom under binding familial and contractual obligation.
Formal marriage shall be executed upon the Bride reaching legal age, with no requirement for renegotiation.
The Groom retains exclusive rights of claim over the Bride’s person, inheritance, and affiliated assets.
AMENDMENT CLAUSE — ENFORCEMENT
Any attempt to dissolve, delay, or withdraw from this agreement by the Diaz estate shall be considered:
breach of contract
act of hostility
In such a case, the agreement remains legally and operationally binding, enforceable without further consent.
AUTHORIZATION
Signed:
Rafeal Diaz
Signed:
Emiliano Vargas Calderón
WITNESS / AUTHORIZATION SEAL
ANNOTATION
“Union remains valid. Asset secured regardless of compliance.”
“What the fuck is this? A marriage certificate?” I am confused.
I pass it around until everyone has had a closer look at it, then we lay it on the table for closer inspection.
“Diaz? Rafael Diaz is … he was the Cartel Boss before Emiliano, but Rafael would never have sold his daughter to him.” Luca explains in disbelief.
“So, you know these people?” Bastian stares at the certificate.
“Diaz is dead. His wife and daughter are dead. Emiliano burned them alive. Why did Percy send this? How is this connected to Scarlett?” Luca falls over his words and runs his hand through his hair in confusion.
“Are we backing up the wrong tree? Is this a diversion?” I murmur, pull out my phone to call Percy.
“Hold on one second, Roman,” Damian leans down, “This is not a marriage certificate, this is an ownership claim. Just … look at the certificate for one second and tell me what you see.”
We lean down and take closer looks.
“Rosalina was fifteen when she was promised to a thirty-five-year-old man. Are these people all savage monsters?” I pick up on the dates, disgust coursing through me.
“The Cartels are dangerous, you know that already. Emiliano is a monster, but Rafael … Dad always spoke of him highly, calling him an honourable man. Which honourable man would sell his fifteen-year-old daughter to a man thrice her age, a man known for slaughtering people, the cartel’s enforcer?” Luca's words are sharp and coated in rage.
We don’t know who Rosalina is, but we are pissed on her behalf.
“There’s every possibility that her father backed out once he realised who Emiliano was, and he drafted a different contract, forged signatures. There are a lot of inconsistencies here,” Damian points at it, “The signature, the added excerpt, the smudged ink, the threats beneath the words. Why on earth would that bastard want to marry a child? He was going to forcefully marry her when she turned eighteen, and he was almost forty.”
“That child was the future of the Mexican Cartels, the princess of Mexico, a Diaz. She was the legacy, their future, and Emiliano knew. Rafael probably entertained the idea at first because he didn’t want his daughter marrying a white man, God forbid, an American, or worse, a man from other criminal organisations, and of course, he realised his mistake quickly, but it was too late.” Luca’s words are precise and deliberate.
“Emiliano has been insane for a very long time, and there has to be a reason Percy sent this to us.” Damian states.
“What reason?” Luca argues, “The entire Diaz family were wiped out in a fire two years ago.”
I look at Luca, “How old was she? The daughter, Rosalina.”
“She would be twenty-six today.” Bastian answers.
“Meaning she died when she was twenty-four, six years after she was supposed to marry him, but didn’t. Why didn’t she marry him? If Emiliano was so hellbent on marrying a child, why didn’t he? Why did he kill her at twenty-four?” I rest against my desk, taking note of the sunset in the distance.
“Was there a wedding? Anything?” Damian asks.
Luca shakes his head, “No, no, we would have known.”
“And, you told me that there is every possibility she might be alive.” I remind him, my heart racing.
It settles between us. If Rosalina Diaz is alive, she will be our key to shattering everything.
“But, how can she be alive? Her parents have been dead for two years. How has she hidden herself from him and us? How did she escape marrying him for six years?” Luca murmurs.
“Let’s find out,” Bastian says and goes back to typing.
He fixates on her surname – Diaz, filtering the search bar, trying to find anything that leads to her. Unsurprisingly, there are no pictures of them online, not the parents or the daughter. As much as I want to believe it’s because of mafia protection, this feels more than that; it feels like everything about them was scrubbed off the internet.
We come across old articles and reports, talking about the family’s deaths, and even there, the pictures are in black and white, blurred and distorted.
All we have now is that Scarlett was Elena Rossi. Elena Rossi received a lot of money from shell companies in Mexico. Percy receives money from similar shell companies, with one tracing back to Emiliano. Somehow, Scarlett is connected to Emiliano and Diaz, but how?
This is a chain.
We dig deeper, looking into Rafael's tight private life. Luca’s experience as the Don helps us push past encryption.
After an hour, Rafael Diaz’s face fills the computer screen.
My heart skips a beat immediately.
He is Mexican to the core, he has dark hair and brown eyes, yet there is something about him.
We find a picture of his wife, too. Gloria Diaz. She looks way out of his league, but there is something about her I cannot put my finger on. Her hair is brown, and her eyes are green. She is smiling, and I see something in her eyes. I see … someone.
Abruptly, Scarlett’s picture comes up. She is younger, smiling. Her hair is dark,r and her green eyes are bright.
I frown, “What’s this? Why are you showing us a picture of Scarlett as Elena Rossi?” I snap, my body wound tight.
“Uh … one second.” Bastian types away, trying to correct the obvious error.
“No,” Luca gasps, horrified, having come to his own conclusion.
“What?” I look at him, my pulse throbbing loudly in my ears.
“This … this,” Bastian stammers, “This is Rosalina Diaz.”
But it is still a picture of Scarlett.
“Scarlett is Rosalina Diaz.” Luca sits down in shock.
Blood roars through my ears, and my stomach drops. The woman who has been sharing my bed is the Cartel Queen.