Chapter 52 Chapter 52.

Chapter 52 Chapter 52.
Chapter 52.

He knows he has put her in this position, and the desire to protect her mixes with frustration over her carelessness, real or fabricated.

“We need to rewrite the logistics plan from scratch,” Alicia says, her eyes red from lack of sleep, typing with inhuman speed. “Vertice’s strategy is a weak imitation of ours. We have to get ahead with a bold move in the cryptocurrency market.”

Lucas looks at her, admiration for her professional brilliance competing with the physical need that still vibrates between them.

“Don’t stop, honey,” Lucas encourages her, but the “honey” is choked back before it is completed, coming out as a barely perceptible whisper, a secret between them.

Carolina enters and leaves the study under the pretext of bringing coffee or documents. Her smile is kind, but her eyes are sharp and observant. She senses the sexual tension radiating from the pair. She notices the way Lucas passes a coffee cup to Alicia without looking at her, a gesture of intimate familiarity. She sees how Alicia avoids touching him, not out of disinterest, but from an awareness of the volatile chemistry that binds them. Carolina knows a stressed and jealous man is dangerous, but a stressed, jealous, and enamored man is unpredictable. The protection Lucas radiates toward Alicia is not that of an uncle; it is that of a lover.

Revealed Devotion

The hours drag into the early morning. Alicia collapses. Her head falls onto the desk, surrounded by charts and notes. She falls asleep instantly, exhausted.

Lucas finishes a call with his lawyer, his voice low and bitter. He turns and sees her. The fury evaporates, replaced by a tender, vulnerable devotion. He approaches her, his movements slow and careful.

He kneels by her side. With a gentle hand, he brushes a lock of hair from her pale face. He looks at her with an intensity that is a silent and complete declaration of love. He kisses her on the forehead, a paternal and protective gesture.

Then, the tension and passion of the previous night take over. He leans in again, his lips grazing hers in a chaste kiss, which quickly deepens into a stolen exchange, full of desire and guilt. It is a reckless act, an acknowledgment that, despite the chaos, she is his only anchor.

Lucas lifts her into his arms. Alicia snuggles against his chest with a sigh. He carries her with reverent softness, as if she were made of glass. He heads toward the staircase leading to the bedroom section.

Carolina, who was not sleeping but lurking in the hallway, listening, covers her mouth with both hands, hidden in the shadow. Her eyes widen in disbelief. She had suspected Alicia’s infatuation, but she thought Lucas only tolerated her. Seeing him carry her with such devotion, kissing her with that intensity, confirms everything: she is not just the niece. Lucas reciprocates that love.

The impact is seismic. The relationship is not a jealous woman's fantasy; it is an incestuous and corporate infidelity. The magnitude of the potential scandal is so great that it shakes Carolina’s confidence in her own plan.

Carolina retreats to her room, her heart pounding. “It can’t be. It’s impossible,” she tells herself. The idea of Lucas risking his empire for Alicia is inconceivable and terrifying. This jeopardizes her title as the “Mrs. Jank” and her future fortune. She has to act. Bringing this to light is too much; it cannot come directly from her without looking spiteful. She needs irrefutable proof.

At noon, under the pretext of a doctor's appointment, Carolina meets with a private detective in a discreet café.

“I want you to follow Lucas Jank,” Carolina instructs, her voice cold and controlled. “In particular, any meeting he has outside the house, especially with Miss Alicia.”

The detective, a middle-aged man named Vargas, takes notes. In less than 48 hours, Vargas hands Carolina an envelope containing a set of photographs and a detailed report.

The photos are pure gold. They capture Lucas and Alicia, late at night, in front of an anonymous building on the outskirts of the city: the secret loft. In one of the images, they are seen kissing passionately as they get out of the car. In another, Lucas embraces her from behind before entering the doorway, their bodies pressed together with an intimacy that leaves no room for doubt.

Carolina spreads the evidence across her study table. Her breathing quickens. It is the confirmation of her nightmare, but also her greatest weapon. “This is gold,” she whispers.

The plan to destabilize Alicia out of jealousy now seems small. This evidence makes everything controversial. Lucas’s secret is big enough to shatter not only their lives but his position in the company.

Plan in Motion

The next day, Alicia is at the university. The pressure of graduation and the reconstruction project consumes her. She is distant, focused on her cell phone, furiously typing the lines of the new plan.

Lucas calls, his voice already recovered from the crisis but still tense.

“I want to let you know I won’t be coming home tonight,” Alicia says, her tone professional.

The words immediately grab Lucas's attention. He stops. “Why? You know the rules, you can't stay out of the house.”

“I have to meet with a group of friends for the university project closing,” Alicia explains. “Graduation is only weeks away, and we are very behind. We need an all-night work session.”

“A group of friends?” Lucas inquires, his voice turning cold. “Why don’t they come to the house? We have plenty of space, and it’s safer.”

“They can’t. We’re all going to Sofía’s house, the one with the philosophy thesis. It was the agreement, Lucas.”

Lucas’s next question is direct, tense. “Are there men in that group?”

“Yes, there are,” Alicia replies, without providing more details.

Lucas clenches his jaw, focusing on the silence on the line. The image of Alicia, attractive and brilliant, working all night with other men, overwhelms him. The possessive businessman combines with the jealous lover.

Carolina, who is nearby in the study, listens to the conversation through Lucas’s phone speaker, which was turned on as they were discussing a document. She quickly approaches, offering a seemingly innocent comment to gauge Lucas’s reaction.

“Lucas, my love, Alicia is not a child. She doesn’t have to…”

Lucas interrupts Carolina with brutal abruptness, which has nothing to do with work.

“Don’t interfere, Carolina. This is an issue between her and me.”