“What is going on,” Kira hissed as she stormed across the floor. “What did you do to him, girl. What trick are you playing.”
Lina did not move. One word from her, and the careful life she had built could shatter. Colin stepped in and picked up his son. Jace screamed louder, reaching back toward Lina.
“She is not your mother,” Colin whispered, voice breaking. “Your mother is gone, sweetheart.”
“No, Mommy,” Jace cried.
The ballroom filled with uneasy murmurs. Kira pointed at Lina with trembling fury. Colin ordered both women to follow him. His tone was low and firm.
“You too, Lina,” he said.
As they walked up the wide staircase with Jace crying into his father’s shoulder, Lina felt dread settle into her bones. She knew this moment meant the end of her anonymity. Jace had said Mommy for a reason. The truth had been waiting to surface.
Three months earlier, Tessa Morel had stood behind the service entrance of the hotel. She had worn a faded shirt and jeans, and everything she owned fit inside a small gray bag. She rang the bell with a trembling hand. She had seen a flyer offering cleaning work. But she had come for safety more than income.