Part 3: The Unmasking
Renata’s smile froze as the screen lit up with high-definition security footage from the Lomas de Chapultepec house, time-stamped 3:12 AM that very morning.
The room gasped. Clear as day, the video showed Renata entering Mercedes’s bedroom, holding a pair of hair clippers and a pair of dress shears. The audio from the restaurant bathroom night before played loudly over the speakers:
“There are 2,400 million reasons to put up with one more day… After the transfer, we’ll talk to a doctor to declare the old lady unable to manage her money.”
Santiago went deathly pale, dropping his champagne glass. It shattered on the marble floor.
“Mom… what is this?” Santiago stammered, looking from the screen to his bride.
Renata’s face flushed deep crimson. “Santiago, it’s a fake! She manipulated the audio! She’s crazy, I told you she was losing her mind!”
Mercedes reached up to her head. In front of three hundred high-society guests, government officials, and business partners, she slowly removed her silver wig—revealing her completely shaved head and the faint red razor burns left behind.
