He possessed all the wealth that could be desired, but his chest held a hidden truth that haunted him daily. When he decided to visit that orphanage to make a donation, he would never have imagined that a little girl of five would run to him screaming “Dad!” in front of all the cameras. What happened after that moment transformed his destiny irrevocably.

Leonardo Valente was 42 years old and had a fortune that most people couldn’t even conceive. His technology companies had revolutionized the Latin American market. His investments were spread across the continent, and his name was regularly listed among Mexico’s wealthiest men.

Yet that March morning, as he dressed in his penthouse in Mexico City, his thoughts were not about money. They were focused on something he had been avoiding for five years: confronting his past. His personal assistant, Daniel, had arrived early, as usual, with the day’s agenda meticulously arranged. “Mr. Valente, the car is waiting for you downstairs. The visit to the Esperança Children’s Home is scheduled for 11 a.m.”

“The press will be present to cover the donation.” Leonardo adjusted his tie in front of the mirror. He was a tall man, with black hair perfectly combed back, with green eyes that had starred on the cover of more magazines than he could count.

But in the reflection, he saw something that no one else could perceive: the specter of guilt that had haunted him for five years. “What is the value of the donation?” he asked, although he already knew the answer. “Two million pesos, sir. To renovate the facilities and create an educational program.” “Good.” But nothing was right. Nothing had been right since that December night, five years ago, when he had made the most cowardly decision of his existence.

The journey to the orphanage passed in silence. Leonardo was looking at the city’s buildings through the window of the Mercedes, but his mind was elsewhere. He was in a small apartment in Colonia Condesa, where a 23-year-old woman had given him news that changed everything. “I’m pregnant, Leonardo.”

Those words had come from Juliana’s lips as a confession, as a hope, as a question that he did not know how to answer. At that time, Leonardo was 37 years old and had just closed the most important business of his career. He was at the top of his life, single, free, with the whole future ahead of him. Juliana was… complicated.

She was the daughter of his maid, an intelligent girl who was studying pedagogy at university while working part-time cleaning offices to help her mother. They met one day when he came home early and found her organizing her library. She was reading one of his economics books, completely absorbed, with that peculiar concentration of people who genuinely yearn to learn.

When he noticed his presence, he blushed and began to apologize. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Valente. I shouldn’t be touching your books.” “Do you like economics?” he asked. “It fascinates me. I’m studying to be a teacher, but I think understanding how money works is important for everything.” That conversation led to outras.

Juliana came twice a week to clean and, gradually, Leonardo began to wait for those days. She was different from the women in her social circle. His money didn’t matter to him. In fact, she seemed almost uncomfortable when he mentioned his business dealings. He spoke of his trainees as if they were his own children. He had simple, but beautiful dreams.

He wanted to open a school in his neighborhood. He wanted to help his mother buy a little house. I wanted to make a difference in the world, little by little. The attraction was inevitable and the romance… romance was the most authentic thing Leonardo had ever felt in his entire life.

But when Juliana told him she was pregnant, the whole perfect world collapsed. Panic invaded him. His company was about to go public. The media followed his every move. What would they say when they found out that he had impregnated the daughter of his maid? How would he explain that he had fallen in love with a 23-year-old girl who cleaned offices? Cowardice prevailed.

He told Juliana that he needed time to think. He said it was a complex situation. He uttered all the phrases that a man uses when he does not have the courage to assume his responsibilities… and then he disappeared from his life. He changed the domestic worker’s schedules so that Juliana would not have to go anymore. He blocked his phone number, immersed himself in work, as if it could erase what he had done.

Six months later, her maid told her that Juliana had had a girl. “A beautiful baby, Mr. Valente. Just like you.” The words stuck in his heart like daggers, but he pretended he didn’t care.

Two years later, she learned that Juliana had had postpartum complications, health problems that demanded expensive treatments. His mother had to sell the house to cover medical expenses. Juliana had dropped out of college because she couldn’t study, work, and care for a sick baby simultaneously.