Chapter 10 - THE POLICY
The insurance company had flagged the application.
It was never fully activated.
That mattered.
Still, someone had tried.
Samantha denied knowing about it.
Eduardo blamed a financial adviser.
The adviser blamed Luisa.
Luisa laughed when police told her.
“Not me.”
Then she remembered a name.
Dr. Paulo Mendes.
Private physician to the Vale family.
He had access to Heitor’s medical records after a charity sports physical.
Paulo admitted selling the records.
Cash.
Fifty thousand.
Buyer.
Eduardo Vale.
Not Samantha.
That changed the shape again.
Eduardo had wanted the policy.
Why?
He claimed collateral insurance for the family’s exposure.
Without Heitor’s consent.
Illegal.
Disturbing.
But not proof of murder.
Then police searched Eduardo’s office.
They found a draft contingency plan.
If Heitor died before the wedding, Samantha would have no claim.
So the policy made little sense unless the wedding happened first.
Aline read the summary in Mariana’s office.
“Were they planning to kill him?”
“We don’t know.”
“I hate that sentence.”
“Good lawyers use it a lot.”
At the arraignment, Samantha pleaded not guilty.
Outside, she told reporters she had been manipulated by her father.
Eduardo called her a liar.
Their alliance broke publicly.
Then Eduardo offered prosecutors cooperation.
He said Samantha created the forged side agreement without him.
She retaliated.
Through counsel, she produced emails proving Eduardo ordered the attempt to plant fraud money in Bernardo’s name.
Father and daughter began destroying each other.
Heitor watched from a distance.
Aline refused interviews.
Her business, strangely, improved.
People came because of the story.
She hated that too.
Some bought cake and asked invasive questions.
One woman said.
“Which one does Heitor like?”
Aline answered.
“Cake.”
The woman laughed.
Aline didn’t.
Then she got an offer from a national bakery chain.
Buyout.
$1.8 million.
Lucas screamed when he saw the number.
Aline said no.
“Are you insane?”
“Probably.”
“Why?”
“Because they want the scandal.”
“They’ll rename everything.”
“I don’t want my worst year to become packaging.”
Lucas stared.
“Okay.”
Then.
“Can we at least get a better oven?”
“Yes.”
Heitor heard about the offer from Bernardo and said nothing.
That was progress.
Then the city revoked Aline’s new kitchen permit.
Reason.
Undisclosed ownership conflict.
The property owner had changed overnight.
Buyer.
A shell company.
Beneficial owner.
Samantha Vale.
From jail, Samantha had purchased the building that housed Aline’s new bakery kitchen through a trust.
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And she had ordered the lease terminated.
