Olívia

Guillermo
As we’re leaving, I hear my brother ask,
"Who gave the order to detain her?"

Before the security guard can answer, the private elevator door opens, and I step in with her.

Olívia hasn’t said a word so far, despite staying glued to me, held tightly in my arms. She cries softly, her body shaking so much that I wonder if she’s in shock.

"I didn’t do this, Guillermo. I’ve never stolen anything in my entire life. Not even when I barely had anything to eat."

Damn it!

I make a silent vow that whoever is responsible for this will pay.

"Do you believe me?"

"Completely."

"I’ll fix everything. I promise."

I kiss her hair.

She looks at me through tears, and I feel like killing someone. I lift her so she can wrap her arms around my neck.

"I only trust you."

Her simple statement hits me harder than anyone could imagine. I pulled her out of the life she knew, mixed everything between us before we cleared the past, and now, I allowed my beautiful, 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 already running late because we agreed to meet at five, remember?"

I run my hand gently over her back, and slowly her crying subsides.

"I always leave my bag on my chair. I thought it would be safe, since I don’t have anything of value to be stolen. All the secretaries do the same." She sniffs occasionally. "I was already in the lobby when this woman who has never spoken to me, Charlotte, appeared out of nowhere with the security guard, saying I had stolen her wallet. At first, I thought it was a cruel joke."

"You’re too good for this world, beautiful."

"I couldn’t believe she could even say something like that because we both knew I hadn’t done it, but it only took a few seconds to realize she was serious."

"Olívia, listen. Joaquín has probably already called detectives to investigate what happened, but you won’t speak 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 accuse me of stealing from her? I’ve never done anything to her."

"We’ll find out. Joaquín should already have the footage."

"Thank God. When you watch it, you’ll see that 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 hurt an innocent girl is dangerous.



We’re waiting for Joaquín and the lawyer. My brother just called to say that the detectives have already taken some of the people responsible in for questioning.

When I left, he went straight to the surveillance room and managed to watch the entire incident— from the moment the woman put the wallet in Olívia’s bag to the security guard detaining her.

Thanks to Joaquín’s paranoia—he personally chose the internal surveillance system for our hotels, contracting Lykaios Systems, one of the largest information security technology companies in the world—and my quick action asking Melissa to prevent anyone from tampering with the footage, my brother now has the proof we need in hand. The person I consider the main culprit, however, had already left.

Kathleen.

I know that setup came from her.

What they did to Olívia was carefully planned, with a precise objective, and now knowing that that crazy woman would go so far only makes me want to protect my girlfriend even more.

"The police are already here. Three accomplices have been detained," I say to calm her down.

She’s lying on the sofa in the adjoining room and avoids eye contact with me, seeming oblivious to everything around her.

I’m still thinking about what to do when my brother enters. Passing right by me, he bends down to speak to Olívia.

"Hey, we’re going to fix everything," he practically repeats my words.

Joaquín isn’t a soft guy, but at this moment he speaks to her the same way he does with Nina.

"Look at me, Olívia."

She turns her face to meet his gaze. No more tears, just apathy.

"Everyone saw it. They don’t know me. They’re going to believe I did it."

"They won’t," I interject. "No one will doubt you. We’ll clear up this mess. I won’t stop until your name is clean."

"It’s the only thing I have. My mother always said that. The only thing we have above any wealth is our reputation. I’m a newcomer here. What are the chances they’ll believe me?"

"Shhhh… everything’s going to be fine," he says. "Guillermo, come with me for a moment."

I hesitate before leaving her, but at the same time, I know we need to plan our next move, so after giving her a kiss, I follow him into the other room.



The same lawyer who went to the hospital the night Layla passed away is waiting for us, and after quickly greeting him, I get straight to the point.

"What needs to be done to clear her name?"

He sits in the armchair I indicate and rests his elbows on his knees. His apparent calm contrasts sharply with how I feel in the moment.

"That depends. How far are you willing to go?"

"As far as necessary. I won’t spare any effort."

"Good. From what we’ve seen on the cameras, while she was being detained, a considerable number of people were filming the incident, and I wouldn’t be surprised if those videos are already circulating online."

The anger I feel is almost uncontrollable.

"Where are the three detained?"

"They were taken to the police station. The detectives will wait for us to arrive before beginning the interrogation."

"And the footage?"

"I’ll hand it over to the police. I did, however, make sure copies were made first," Joaquín replies.

"What are you thinking?" I know my brother well enough to sense that he already has a plan.

"That we release them anonymously to the media. That woman, Charlotte, putting the wallet in Olívia’s bag."

"That could bring negative repercussions for the hotel or even the entire chain. If the employees themselves are capable of this kind of action, no one is safe," the lawyer cautions.

"No. I have an idea. We know who orchestrated everything, and I wouldn’t be surprised if her accomplices start talking as soon as they realize the kind of mess they got themselves into," Joaquín continues.

"When we prove that Kathleen was the mastermind behind the setup against Olívia, we’ll sell the story as the act of a jealous woman, which isn’t untrue, although I’m already questioning her mental sanity as well."

"How can you be so sure the press will accept that Miss Freitas is innocent?" the lawyer asks again.

Before my brother can answer, I intervene because I’ve already understood his reasoning.

"Because one thing is setting up a young, defenseless girl," I say.

Joaquín finishes for me:

"Another is creating a fake story involving the girlfriend of the CEO of Caldwell-Oviedo out of sheer spite. We may get a lot of publicity in the coming days, but tabloids love a love story. When Guillermo publicly acknowledges his relationship with Olívia and as soon as we distribute the footage to specific sites, the whole world will root for them, and her innocence won’t be questioned."