Chapter 13 - Unraveling the VaultWhile the criminal case against Rodrigo mounted, Victoria Vance turned her attention to the financial disaster left behind at San Pedro Ranch.
Two days after the deposition, Victoria and Teresa met at the ranch’s main office. The house felt eerie and abandoned. Dust motes danced in the shafts of sunlight cutting through the shuttered windows.
Victoria laid out a series of thick bank statements and forensic accounting reports across Mateo’s old oak desk.
"Teresa, we finally cracked the private loan accounts," Victoria said, rubbing her temples. "The situation is complex, but there's a strange silver lining."
Teresa leaned over the desk. "What did you find?"
"Rodrigo took out three million dollars in high-interest loans from a predatory lending group called Apex Holdings in San Antonio," Victoria explained, pointing to a series of fraudulent signature pages. "He used forged powers of attorney bearing your name and Mateo’s old estate seal."
"Where did the money go, Victoria?" Teresa asked, frowning. "Rodrigo didn't buy luxury cars. He didn't buy fancy clothes. The ranch equipment is falling apart."
Victoria turned a page, revealing a complex web of wire transfers.
"He was gambling it away, Teresa," Victoria revealed grimly. "Not at casinos, but on illegal high-stakes commodity futures and offshore agricultural stocks. He thought he could double the money, pay off the ranch’s legitimate debts, and prove he was a bigger man than his father ever was. But he lost every single cent."
Teresa slumped into a leather chair, staring at her husband’s old desk. "So Apex Holdings owns the ranch now?"
"No," Victoria smiled faintly, a sharp, cunning glint in her eye. "Because the loans were procured using forged documents on a property where you hold sole title, the loans are legally void under Texas real estate law. Furthermore, Apex Holdings was operating illegally without a state lending license. I’ve already filed a lawsuit to strike their liens off your title."
Teresa looked up, stunned. "The land... is safe?"
May you like
"The land is entirely yours," Victoria affirmed. "Rodrigo destroyed his own life, but he failed to steal Mateo’s legacy from you."
Teresa looked out the window at the rolling green pastures of San Pedro. For the first time in weeks, a tiny flicker of hope washed over her worn heart.
