Chapter 6 - Shadows from the Past
Peace, however, is rarely unbroken for long. Three months after Bárbara was thrown out, the tabloid magazines hit the stands with scandalous headlines.
THE MILLIONAIRE AND THE MAID: Ricardo Aranda brainwashed by his own housekeeper! Daughters Held Hostage by Manipulative Nanny? Ex-fiancée Tells All!
Bárbara had gone to the press. She spun a vicious, fabricated tale of how Lupita had used witchcraft and psychological manipulation to steal Ricardo away from her and isolate the children. She painted herself as the victim, a loving stepmother driven out by a jealous, scheming servant.
The paparazzi swarmed the gates of the Lomas de Chapultepec residence. They flashed blinding lights every time the wrought-iron gates opened. Ricardo had to double the security just to get the girls to school.
Lupita was devastated. She was a private, humble woman. Seeing her face plastered on cheap magazines, labeled a "gold-digger" and a "manipulator," broke her spirit. The whispers in the grocery store, the pointing fingers, it was too much.
One rainy afternoon, Ricardo found her in her small room near the laundry quarters. She was packing her worn suitcase.
"What are you doing?" Ricardo asked, panic gripping his chest.
"I have to go, Ricardo," she said, weeping quietly. She had stopped calling him 'Mr. Ricardo' weeks ago. "I am becoming a distraction. I am bringing shame to your family. The girls can't live like this, chased by cameras because of me."
"Because of you?" Ricardo stepped into the room, grabbing her hands. "This is Bárbara's venom, not yours. You didn't do anything wrong."
"In their eyes, I am just a maid," Lupita cried, pulling her hands away. "I am the cliché. The servant trying to climb the ladder. I can't bear the shame, and I won't let Sofía and Regina hear those terrible things about me."
"You are not a maid to us," Ricardo pleaded, his voice thick with emotion. "You are the heart of this house. You are the woman who held us together when I was too weak to do it myself. Please, Lupita. Don't let her win. If you leave, she wins."
May you like
Lupita looked at the half-empty suitcase, tearing up. "I don't know how to fight this kind of war, Ricardo. I don't have power. I don't have a voice."
"I do," Ricardo said, his eyes hardening with resolve. "And I am going to use it."
