The meeting room quickly dispersed. Some came over to greet Benjamin, others simply returned to their tasks. I headed straight for Room B. I needed space. Not to hide, but to think calmly.

Less than five minutes had passed when the door burst open.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Benjamin snapped, closing the door behind him so hard that the glass wall shook.

I turned slowly, putting down the pen I was using to review the blueprint.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't tell me you didn't know I'd be working on this project. Did you disappear because of me?"

His voice was full of indignation, but I knew that tone well. It wasn't pain. It was loss of control.

"Benjamin, I didn't disappear because of you," I said coldly. "I left for myself."

"And not even a message? A phone call! An 'I don't want to be with you anymore'! After everything we planned..."

"Planned?" I laughed humorlessly. "You planned. I just followed your ideas because I thought you loved me. I was wrong."

His face tensed.

"Is Roman paying you for this? Is this some kind of blackmail? Did you tell him something about... us?"

I stood up slowly, resting my hands on the table.

"I don't need to tell anyone what you did. Sooner or later, everything comes out."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that if you came to this project expecting the same control as always, you've picked the wrong stage... and the wrong victim. I won't let your shady dealings damage this company."

Benjamin took a deep breath, as if counting to ten.

"This isn't going to end here, Isabella. You can't just cross my path as if nothing had happened. You and I have unfinished business."

"No," I corrected him. "You have debts to settle with the truth. I just came here to build something real."

The door opened again. Eva stood in the doorway, frowning.

"Is there a problem?"

Benjamin straightened his back.

"None," he replied without looking at her. Then he gave me one last threatening look. "You haven't seen anything yet."

And he left.

Eva watched me for a few more seconds, but said nothing. She closed the door gently.

I slumped into the chair. My heart was still pounding.

It wasn't going to be easy.

But I had endured worse. And now, I was stronger.

***

The next two weeks passed amid plans, meetings, and barely concealed tensions. Benjamin and I rarely exchanged words, but his glances were piercing. I knew he was investigating. He was trying to find out where I had been, who I had been talking to, what I was up to.

Roman, for his part, showed no signs of suspicion... but he was watching me more than usual.

One morning, while we were checking the foundations of the north wing during a technical visit, he stopped beside me while Pablo and Daniel discussed a correction.

"Arriaga seems to know you well," he said without preamble. Maybe Eva told him about the tense moments we had during some of the workdays.

I didn't look at him. I just nodded slightly.

"Should I be concerned about that?"

"No, we had a relationship in the past, but that's where it stays, in the past, and it won't affect my work with the company or with Dr. Arriagada," I replied.

Román said nothing more. But the message was clear: he was watching me.

And I didn't blame him.

***

The perfect opportunity came in the third week.

The consulting firm TierraNova, where Benjamin worked, was due to present the preliminary environmental impact reports for the first stage of the Aurea Project. I knew, because I remembered, that those reports had been manipulated.

In my previous life, that corruption went unnoticed until it was too late. This time, I wouldn't let that happen.

Hacking their files would be dangerous. But I didn't need to get in. I just needed to make someone else suspicious.

That's when I contacted Patricio Mendoza, an environmental journalist I used to follow on social media. In the previous timeline, he had reported similar irregularities years later. I remembered it well.

I sent him an anonymous message with the exact words that would set off his radar: "TierraNova falsifies impact data. Coastal project. Look for geotechnical plan 4B in the April report."

The rest... he would take care of.

***

The scandal broke three days later.

"Have you seen this?" Pablo whispered, entering the room with his cell phone held high.

The country's leading environmental news portal had this on its front page:

"Star consulting firm under scrutiny for falsifying environmental reports."

The company TierraNova faces allegations of altering data in at least three coastal projects for its own benefit, one of them linked to a major national construction company. In addition, Mr. Benjamin's brother is being investigated for embezzlement.

Although the name of the Aurea Project was not mentioned, we all knew what it was referring to.

Román called an emergency meeting.

"Until the situation is clarified, collaboration with TierraNova is suspended," he said, looking at each member of the team. "We will not allow this project to be tarnished by the incompetence or corruption of third parties.

Benjamin was not present. According to rumors, he had been "temporarily" removed while his company responded legally.

"What now?" asked Daniel. "Will the consultancy be replaced?"

"Yes. We are in the process of hiring the team recommended by the university. It will be slower, but more transparent," said Román.

After the meeting, he approached me.

"Do you have something to tell me?"

I looked at him calmly.

"Are you talking about Benjamin?"

"I'm asking because you conveniently broke ties with Benjamin and showed up at my company just before your ex-boyfriend ruined my project.

"I assure you that my presence here has nothing to do with TierraNova... I'm not a threat."

"Then what?"

"I'm simply a professional woman who wants a good, stable job, to achieve important things, and to build something big. I will fulfill each and every one of my obligations, and I promise you will be surprised by my abilities."

Román frowned, as if he didn't know whether to reprimand me or trust me.

"We'll see if you deliver."

***

That night, in my apartment, I allowed myself to cry.

Not out of sadness. Out of relief.

I had thrown my first stone, and Benjamin's castle was already beginning to crumble.

I knew he wouldn't go away so easily. That he would try to come back. That he would try to crush me, sink me, make me look like the crazy one, the ungrateful one, the one who "ruined his life."

But this time, he wasn't in control.

This time, I had the pieces.

And I planned to play to the end.