“You took a market stall from a woman who raised her daughter alone.”
Rosalie’s face hardened. “And what did she do with it? She kept selling soup to strangers while I turned it into a profitable property.”
“You turned it into rental offices.”
“Exactly.”
“You never paid her.”
“She had no legal claim.”
Charles pushed himself upright. “She had every claim.”
Rosalie turned on him. “You signed the transfer.”
“I signed under pressure.”
“You signed because you wanted to keep Luke in the family business.”
Luke stared at his father. “What does that mean?”
Rosalie laughed, but the sound shook. “Ask him why he was so eager to make you his heir.”
Charles’s face went gray.
Hannah looked between them. “What does that mean?”
Charles reached inside his jacket and withdrew a small key. His fingers struggled around it.
“Your mother discovered that Rosalie had been diverting money from the company,” he said. “She threatened to expose her. I gave Rosalie the property in exchange for the company records and her promise to stop.”
Rosalie’s eyes widened.
“You said you destroyed those records.”
“I copied them first.”
A phone buzzed somewhere near the bar.
No one reached for it.
Charles continued. “When Rosalie realized Lucía might still challenge the transfer, she used the company to make the market look insolvent. She forced the vendors out. She sold the building years later for nearly four times what Lucía paid.”
Hannah’s knees weakened.
Luke caught her elbow. She stiffened at the touch, then allowed his hand to remain.
“How much?” she asked.
Charles said the amount.
The number was larger than any sum Hannah had ever held in her account.
Rosalie’s voice rose. “You have no proof.”
Charles pointed toward the envelope. “The deed is there. The bank records are there. The copies of the accounts are there.”
“Copies are meaningless.”
