Chapter 23 Strategy Plan.
Chapter 23.
Strategy Plan.
Lucas completely ignores Carolina, focusing on getting to Alicia. “I’m turning the corner, honey. I almost see you. Tell me where you are.”
Lucas finds her, pale and trembling, near her car. He immediately helps her inside. “Let’s go home. It’s over.”
The silence on the drive is thick. Upon arriving at the mansion, Alicia collapses. Lucas calms her with contained rage. He listens to the entire story of the humiliation, the videos, the statement, and Rogelio’s betrayal. He doesn’t explode but instead comforts her until she falls asleep.
A few hours later, while Alicia sleeps, Lucas is already in the main living room, moving pieces on the board. His phone is buzzing with calls. He is determined to destroy Rogelio, but his fury is tempered by the need for discretion.
At that moment, in the Jank Tower, Carolina is about to face the crisis. She is in a high-level meeting when security interrupts her.
“Miss Valdés, excuse me. A mob of students is causing a ruckus at the entrance. They are protesting Rogelio’s expulsion.”
Carolina, with an eerie calm, walks out to the lobby. She sees the students with banners. Quickly, she calls Rogelio, who is among the crowd. She pulls him aside.
“Rogelio, what the hell are you doing? You signed a non-disclosure agreement,” Carolina hisses, her voice low and sharp.
Rogelio, with desperate arrogance, says: “This is all I have left! Your family destroyed me. You have no right to ruin my life! And the video wasn't a statement. It was a private message that was leaked... I was the victim!”
Carolina assesses him. A dangerous pawn. If the press learns of the student riot, Lucas’s image will be that of a dictator.
“Listen closely, Rogelio. You have two minutes to stop being useless. I offer you a deal: I withdraw the lawsuit, I get you a place at the University of Dublin so you can finish your degree, and I give you a sum of money to relocate. In exchange, you sign a complete non-disclosure agreement, delete the shame video, and never mention Alicia Jank's name again. Do you accept, or do you prefer to go to court against Lucas's fortune and spend the rest of your life unable to get a job due to defamation?”
Rogelio, faced with the offer to finish his career abroad and the legal threat, surrenders. He signs the documents Carolina prepares for him and leaves.
Carolina returns to her office, calls her press team, and orchestrates a statement: Rogelio retracts, the situation was a ‘misunderstanding,’ and the Jank family, in an act of magnanimity, has decided to pay for his studies abroad. The fire is extinguished before it can spread.
As night falls, Lucas receives Carolina and his lawyer.
“Lucas,” the lawyer says, “Miss Valdés resolved the situation brilliantly. She neutralized the student protest and Rogelio's lawsuit. Her press release turned the video of the ‘provocateur’ into a lie from a scorned student. She did it all in three hours. Her discretion and decisiveness saved Alicia's image from irreparable damage.”
Lucas, with Alicia watching in the doorway, feels obliged to thank her. “Thank you, Carolina. You did very well. I don’t know how to thank you.”
Alicia approaches, her voice low. “Thank you, Carolina. For solving my problem.”
Carolina smiles, but her eyes gleam with triumph. “You don’t have to thank me, Alicia. I did it for the good of the family and for Lucas’s reputation. Next time, just think before you act.”
The scene is set for the great climax. The Uncle, the Jank Patriarch, calls Lucas.
Lucas answers the video call. Alicia and Carolina stand close by, like two subjects before the king. The face of the Patriarch Jank, despite his age, is formidable, chiseled by years of power.
“Lucas, put this on speaker,” the Patriarch orders. His voice is deep and resonant, charged with unshakeable authority.
Lucas puts the call on speaker.
“Is this how you teach your niece, Lucas? To cover up her foolishness and expose the family name?” The Uncle’s voice echoes in the room. “You are lucky to have a fiancée who resolves disasters before they become irreparable. That is the only thing I can commend you for. That woman is the one who will guide Alicia. I always told you, you should have married sooner. She needed a mother to guide her; she lacks a firm hand. You indulge her too much; you even moved pieces so I wouldn’t find out about all this chaos. You know I have eyes and ears everywhere. If I allowed you to keep the girl, it was because that was your brother’s will, but I always knew you couldn’t handle the job of substitute father.”
Alicia feels utterly humiliated, her blood boiling. She steps forward, breaking protocol. “I am not a child and I don’t need a mother! And my uncle doesn't indulge me; he respects me!”
The Patriarch slams his cane against the floor, a sound that cuts through the phone. “Insolent! See what I mean, Lucas? A lack of respect. Where are her manners? And don’t give me stories, Lucas. The evidence exists: the Jank daughter behaving indecently. This woman has only made our surname look ridiculous with her lack of decorum. Make sure she fully understands the weight of carrying our name, or I will! The only good thing you've done recently is getting engaged to Carolina. Girl,” he addresses Carolina, “give her good advice and guide her. I leave everything in your hands. And make sure this does not happen again, or you will both face the Council.”
“As you command, Mr. Jank. I will do everything possible to ensure Alicia knows how to behave like a Jank. I will take care of her,” Carolina replies with a submissive and sweet voice, perfect for the role.
The call ends. Alicia looks at Carolina with contained hatred and deep resentment.
“You played the part of the victim and the savior so well, Carolina. And as a bonus, the tutor,” Alicia spits out.
“Alicia, now is not the time. Don’t attack her,” Lucas intervenes, tired and feeling trapped.
“Are you defending her?”
“She only did what she had to do,” Lucas says, with an expression of total resignation. “She solved the problem; she prevented a bigger scandal that would have compromised your position on the board. We have to credit her for that.”
Alicia looks at him with disbelief. The way Lucas expresses himself, putting strategy above her pain, makes her feel that she is the only problem, and that everything falls on her.
“Whatever you say, Uncle. Excuse me.”