Chapter 5 - The Challenge Mateo Created
Mateo admitted arranging the public challenge because private complaints had failed for years. He believed only a viral scandal could force authorities to inspect the ranch. Elena stared at him. “You cut my boot?” Mateo shook his head. He had sent the message, but someone else sabotaged her. Harrison used the confession to call the Ruiz family criminals seeking control of a respected American institution. Elena faced the cameras. “When workers steal proof, you call it crime. When billionaires steal wages, you call it tradition.” Federal auditors froze the ranch accounts and found that employee deductions funded Cole’s competitions, private jets and political donations. The worker-share agreement was genuine. Yet one signature transferred all voting rights to Elena. She had never seen it. The document was dated when she was sixteen—and witnessed by her mother, Sofia, who had supposedly abandoned the family.
