“Completely. I’ll fix everything. I promise.” I kiss her hair.
She looks at me in tears, and I feel like killing someone.
I lift her up so she can put her arms around my neck.
“I only trust you.”
The simple statement hits me harder than anyone can imagine. I took her out of the life she knew, mixed upeverything between us before we clarified the past, and now I’ve allowed my beautiful and happy girl to be humiliated.
“I’ll fix this, love. You have my word. But now I need you to tell me what happened.”
“I left the kitchen, and I was late because we agreed to meet at five, remember?”
I gently stroke her back, and gradually, the crying stops.
“I always leave my bag on my chair. I thought it would be safe, especially since I have nothing valuable to be stolen. All the secretaries do the same.” She sniffs occasionally. “I was already in the lobby when this woman who’s never talked to me, Charlotte, appeared out of nowhere with the security guard saying that I had stolen her wallet. At first, I thought it was a tasteless joke.”
“You’re too good for this world, beautiful.”
“I couldn’t believe she would even say something like that because we both knew I didn’t do it, but it took me a few seconds to realize she was serious.”
“Olívia, pay attention. Joaquín will have called detectives to investigate what happened, but you won’t say anything to anyone except me and him before a lawyer is present.”
“I don’t need a lawyer, Guillermo. I’m telling the truth.”
“I know, but that’s how these things work.”
“Why would Charlotte lie? Why did she accuse me of stealing from her? I never did anything to her.”
“We’ll find out. Joaquín must already have the footage.”
“Thank God. When you watch it, you’ll see I’m telling the truth.”
I step back to look at her. “I don’t need to see anything. I know who you are, Olívia.”
She leaves a kiss on my chest, her small body still trembling.
Then Joaquín’s words come back to my mind:someone willing to physically harm an innocent girl is dangerous.
We’re waiting for Joaquín and the lawyer. My brother just called to inform me that the detectives have already taken some of those involved for questioning.
When I left him, he went straight to the surveillance room and managed to watch the whole incident—from the moment the woman put the wallet into Olívia’s bag to the security guard detaining her.
Thanks to Joaquín’s paranoia—he chose the internal surveillance system of our hotels himself, hiring Lykaios Systems, one of the largest information security technology companies in the world—and my quick action in asking Melissa to prevent anyone from manipulating the images, my brother now has the evidence we need in hand. The person I consider the main culprit, however, had already left.
Kathleen.
I know this scheme came from her.
What they did to Olívia was planned, with a precise goal, and now knowing that crazy woman would go this far only makes me want to protect my girlfriend even more.
“The police have arrived. Three accomplices have been detained,” I inform Olívia to calm her down.
She’s lying on the sofa in the room adjacent to my office and doesn’t make eye contact with me, seeming oblivious to everything around her.
I’m still thinking about how to act when my brother enters. Passing me by, he bends down to talk to Olívia.
“Hey, we’re going to sort everything out,” he says, practically repeating my words. Joaquín isn’t a gentle guy, but at this moment, he talks to her the same way he does to Nina. “Look at me, Olívia.”
