Chapter 3
As he entered the boardroom, the murmur of the twelve major shareholders died away. Mateo walked with a hesitant gait, tapping his cane on the floor, perfectly embodying the broken and blind man. Don Arturo helped him sit at the head of the immense glass table. To his right, he caught a whiff of Valeria's expensive perfume. To his left, he saw the arrogant smile of his brother Diego, who was already in the CEO's chair.
“Gentlemen,” Diego began, his voice feigning compassion. “This is a tragic day for our family and our company. As you can see, my brother Mateo’s condition has deteriorated drastically. His mind can no longer distinguish reality from fantasy. He has started letting homeless people into his house. For the sake of our estate and his investments, I ask that you approve the motion to declare him permanently incapacitated and transfer absolute power to me.”
Valeria slid a thick folder onto the glass table.
“Here are the psychiatric reports and the financial statement that prove how the recruitment department collapsed under Mateo’s leadership,” she added in a soft, venomous voice. “It’s time to let him rest.”
The shareholders, manipulated and deceived, began to nod in agreement. One of them took his pen to sign the dismissal document.
It was at that precise moment that Mateo let out a low, deep laugh that froze the blood of everyone present in the room.
Slowly, Mateo brought his hands to his face. He took off his dark glasses and placed them on the glass table with a sharp thud. Then he opened his eyes. Sharp, bright eyes, filled with righteous fury. His gaze locked directly onto Diego's.
The color drained from her brother's face. Valeria let out a strangled scream and dropped her cell phone to the floor.
“What’s wrong, Diego?” Mateo asked, his voice booming like thunder in the room. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”
Mateo stood up, no longer using his cane. He walked confidently around the table, picked up the folder Valeria had presented, and quickly skimmed through it in front of the astonished eyes of the 12 shareholders.
“Fascinating,” Mateo said, reading aloud. “A psychiatric report signed by a doctor to whom you transferred 3 million pesos from an account in the Cayman Islands two weeks ago, Diego. And look at this… a financial statement that conceals the diversion of more than 45 million pesos from our organizational development and recruitment fund to shell companies in Valeria’s name.”
The room erupted in absolute chaos. The shareholders stood up, demanding answers. Diego stammered, backing away against the wall, sweating profusely.
“It’s a trick! He’s faking it!” Valeria shouted hysterically, trying to snatch the papers from Mateo’s hands.
But Mateo didn't move. With deathly calm, he pulled a storage device from his inside pocket.
“I didn’t just regain my sight through a miracle from God,” Mateo declared to everyone. “I spent the last four hours with my trusted private investigators and auditors. All the fraud, the forged signatures, and the attempted psychiatric kidnapping are documented here. Federal authorities are already downstairs.”
The boardroom doors burst open. Four federal police officers entered with arrest warrants. Valeria burst into tears, screaming that she had been forced, while Diego, utterly defeated and humiliated, was handcuffed in front of the men he had tried to deceive. The empire of lies they had built crumbled in less than five minutes. Divine justice, combined with the businessman's cunning, had come crashing down on them with its full force.
A month later, the air in Lincoln Park felt different. It was warm and full of life.
Mateo was sitting on the same wrought-iron bench, but this time he wasn't wearing sunglasses. He was wearing a casual shirt, and his eyes reflected the sunlight filtering through the trees. Beside him, there was no longer a scared, dirty street child. There was Leo, dressed in impeccable clothes, laughing heartily as he ate a chocolate ice cream.
The process had been lengthy, but Mateo's power and determination expedited it. Leo was no longer an orphan. He was officially his son, his heir, and his greatest salvation. The company flourished once again under a leadership that valued people more than numbers, radically transforming the way its human resources operated.
Leo took his mother's old Bible out of his small new backpack. He carefully opened it and placed it on Mateo's lap.
“Would you like to read a little, Dad?” the boy asked, with a smile that lit up the whole world.
Mateo stroked the worn cover, feeling a lump of happiness rise in his throat. He looked at the boy who had restored his faith, his hope, and the light in his eyes.
“For nothing is impossible with God. Luke 1, verse 37,” Mateo recited from memory, hugging his son tightly.
