Sometimes she would enter his room to tidy up and find him trembling with nightmares. She would sit beside him and hum softly. On one night when he had a fever, he clung to her shirt until dawn. She never intended to take Holly’s place, yet the bond grew on its own.
One night Colin saw Lina cradling his son, her face pale from exhaustion.
“Thank you,” he whispered.
She tensed. He could fire her. He could question her. Instead he spoke quietly.
“Be careful. Kira watches everything.”
Kira noticed the change. She saw how Jace reached for Lina and how Colin softened near her. Jealousy grew into spite.
Kira set a trap. She planted a diamond bracelet in Lina’s room and then shouted to the staff,
“She stole my bracelet. I knew it.”
Lina felt the room spin. If police came, her fake name would fall apart. Her past would emerge. The man she fled might find her.
But Colin’s lawyer, a calm man named Drew Mason, suggested checking the security cameras.
The footage showed Kira entering Lina’s room with a spare key and leaving four minutes later with her purse bulging.
Kira screamed at everyone, insulted Jace, and in her rage revealed more than she knew. Colin stared at her with cold finality.