The name Kira made the room feel colder. Tessa knew what it was like to be hunted by someone who smiled in public. Holly showed her pictures of her baby boy, Jace, with soft curls and gray eyes. “If something happens to me, please watch over him. I do not want him growing up alone or with her,” Holly whispered.
That night, Tessa made a promise.
Holly recovered slowly, then left the hospital. Weeks later, news spread that her car had crashed again, this time fatally. Police said it was mechanical failure. Tessa did not believe it. Holly had been right.
Tessa contacted Holly’s mother in law, Mrs. Hale. The older woman did not seem surprised.
“If you ever need work, come to us,” she said. “Holly trusted you. So do I.”
Now here she was, inside the hotel owned by the Hale family, keeping that promise.
Lina worked quietly, always in the background. She kept her head down. But each day she saw Jace crying alone in his room while his nanny stared at her phone. At night the child sobbed until he fell asleep. No one comforted him, except Lina.