Chapter 10 - The True Heir
Renata was still holding tightly to Mauricio's neck, looking around the massive, quiet dining hall.
The terrifying, protective father completely melted away, leaving only a deeply loving, profoundly grateful dad. He carried her over to the absolute head of the long dining table—the seat that Carmen had occupied just twenty minutes ago.
He gently sat Renata down in the massive, velvet-lined chair.
"Are we the only ones left, Daddy?" Renata asked softly, her innocent eyes looking at the half-eaten Christmas dinner on the table.
"Yes, sweetheart," Mauricio smiled warmly, genuine tears of pure relief falling from his dark eyes. "It's just you and me now. The bad lady is never, ever coming back."
Renata beamed, a bright, beautiful smile returning to her face. She looked down at her stunning dark emerald velvet dress, feeling like a true princess.
"Can I sit at the table now?" Renata asked innocently.
"You can sit wherever you want in this entire house," Mauricio promised, kissing her forehead. "Because this entire house belongs to you."
In the months that followed, Carmen was sentenced to thirty years in a maximum-security federal prison without the possibility of parole, completely stripped of her stolen wealth and abandoned by high society.
Mauricio officially took over as the CEO of the family empire, managing the massive wealth entirely as a secure trust for Renata's future. They lived peacefully in the grand mansion, filling the echoing halls with genuine love, loud laughter, and absolute safety.
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A year later, the dining hall was beautifully decorated for Christmas once again. Mauricio and Renata sat at the head of the table, surrounded by loyal friends, proving that true family isn't defined by blood—it is defined by the people who will burn the world down to protect you.
Do you think thirty years in prison was enough justice for Carmen, or did the cruel grandmother deserve a harsher punishment for forcing a child to eat from the trash?
