Two Hours Before My Wedding, My Fiancé Let His Best Friend Butcher My Mother’s Waist-Length Hair—When He Told Me Not to Make a Scene, I Took Off My Ring and Walked Away… / Chapter 64 / 68

Chapter 64 - The Legal Vanguard

The federal police arrived within twenty minutes, accompanied by our family attorney, Valeria, who arrived in her trench coat, carrying a briefcase and radiating the razor-sharp intensity that had brought down Eduardo's conspirators in Mexico City.

The intruder, identified as a Swiss-licensed private security contractor hired through a Luxembourg proxy firm, was taken into federal custody under charges of corporate espionage, burglary, and attempted destruction of protected national cultural patrimony.

In the brightly lit kitchen, Valeria spread out the international summons.

"The arbitration tribunal convenes at the Palais du Commerce in Lyon in exactly four days," Valeria explained, sipping black coffee. "Under the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) expedited dispute protocol, whoever presents their primary physical evidence first establishes the presumption of validity."

"Can we send the scans digitally?" Elena asked, holding an ice pack to her wrist, which had been jarred during the commotion.

"No," Valeria shook her head grimly. "The syndicate’s attorneys have already filed an objection claiming our digital scans are AI-generated forgeries fabricated to block foreign investment. The tribunal requires the original, physical historical ledgers, the raw swatches, and the oral testimony of the lineage elders."

Mateo looked across the table at me, his eyes resolute. "Then we don't send courier packets. We carry them ourselves."

"It's risky, Mateo," Valeria warned. "They’re using every dirty trick in corporate international law. If they can tie you up in European customs or challenge your transit visas, they can cause you to miss the 9:00 AM filing deadline on Tuesday. If you miss that docket, the provisional patent converts into an irreversible five-year commercial monopoly."

Paloma stepped forward, her voice ringing with youthful clarity. "My grandfather gave me the blessing of the village council before I left Oaxaca. I carry the elder seal. I will go with you."

"We all go," Elena declared, setting her cup down with a firm, unmistakable tap against the saucer. "My grandmother wrote those ledgers while her brothers hid in the mountains. I will not have her memory judged by men in suits in a foreign hall without looking them in the eye."

I reached out and covered my mother’s hand with mine. The scars from the day Eduardo had tried to shear away her dignity had long healed into pale, quiet lines, but the strength underneath them had only grown deeper, harder, and unbreakable.