"We have to find him!" Berlin screamed. She tried to run back into the burning building, but the firefighters stopped her.
"Ma'am, you can't go in there!" one firefighter said. "It's too dangerous!"
"But my husband might be inside!" Berlin cried.
"We'll find him," the firefighter promised. "We're doing everything we can."
Berlin watched helplessly as the firefighters went into the building. She felt like her heart was being torn apart.
"Please be okay," she whispered. "Please, Karlos, be okay."
Mrs. Lydia held her hand tightly. Prissy was crying. Everyone was worried.
Then, through the smoke, Berlin saw someone walking out. It was Karlos! He was carrying someone in his arms!
"Karlos!" Berlin ran to him. He was covered in soot and his arm was bleeding, but he was alive!
"I found the hotel manager unconscious in his office," Karlos said, coughing. The paramedics rushed to help both of them.
"You're hurt!" Berlin said, looking at his arm.
"It's just a scratch," Karlos said. But he was looking at Berlin strangely. "Why is your face black? Why do you smell like smoke?"
Before Berlin could answer, the little girl's mother spoke up.
"Sir, your wife saved my daughter! She ran into the burning building to save her and your mother's things! She's a hero!"
Karlos's eyes widened. He looked at Berlin with shock and something else - was it pride?
"You ran into a burning building?" he asked.
Berlin nodded, feeling embarrassed. "I had to help."
For a long moment, Karlos just stared at her. Then, suddenly, he pulled her into a tight hug.
"Don't ever do that again," he whispered in her ear. "You could have died. When I heard you were inside, I thought my heart would stop."
Berlin felt tears coming to her eyes. "I was scared too. When I couldn't find you, I thought..."
They held each other tightly, not caring that everyone was watching.
Finally, Mrs. Lydia cleared her throat. "Well, I think we should all go to the hospital to get checked out. And someone needs to investigate how this fire started."
"I already know how it started," said a voice. It was the head of security. "We found evidence that someone deliberately set the fire. It was arson."
Everyone gasped.
"Who would do such a thing?" Mrs. Lydia asked.
The security chief looked uncomfortable. "We found Miss Tasha Bane near the kitchen right before the fire started. We have her on camera."
All eyes turned to Tasha, who looked scared.
"I didn't start the fire!" Tasha said quickly. "I was just... I was looking for the bathroom!"
"The bathroom is on the other side of the resort," the security chief said. "And we found matches in your purse."
"Those aren't mine!" Tasha said. "Someone must have planted them!"
But no one believed her. Even Penelope was looking at her with disgust.
"You tried to burn down the resort?" Penelope asked. "Tasha, how could you? People could have died!"
"I didn't do it!" Tasha screamed. "I'm being framed!"
Karlos stepped forward, his face cold and hard. "Take her to the police," he told the security guards. "And get me all the security footage. I want to know exactly what happened."
As the guards took Tasha away, she looked at Berlin with pure hatred in her eyes.
"This isn't over!" Tasha shouted. "You'll regret this, Berlin! I'll make you pay!"
Berlin watched her go, feeling a mix of emotions. Part of her felt sorry for Tasha. But another part of her felt relieved. Maybe now, Tasha would finally leave them alone.
But deep down, Berlin knew it wasn't that simple. Tasha had powerful friends. And in her past life, Tasha had never given up that easily.
This was just the beginning.
Later that night, after everyone had been checked by doctors and the fire was put out, Berlin sat in a new room with Karlos. They were both tired and dirty, but alive.
"I'm sorry about the wedding," Karlos said quietly. "It was supposed to be perfect."
"It's okay," Berlin said. "We're both safe. That's what matters."
Karlos looked at her for a long time. "When I thought you were trapped in that fire, I realized something."
"What?" Berlin asked, her heart beating faster.
"I realized that I don't want to lose you," Karlos said. "I know our marriage started as an arrangement. I know there are things we haven't talked about. But Berlin, when I thought you might die, I felt like I couldn't breathe. I felt like my world would end."
Berlin felt tears in her eyes. "Karlos..."
"I'm not good with feelings," Karlos continued. "And I know you probably don't feel the same way about me. But I want you to know that I care about you. More than I've ever cared about anyone."
Berlin's heart felt like it was going to burst. Should she tell him the truth? Should she tell him about her past life? About how she had loved him and lost him?
But before she could say anything, there was a knock on the door.
It was one of Karlos's men. He looked serious.
"Sir, we have a problem," the man said. "The security footage has been erased. Someone deleted all the videos from this morning."
Karlos stood up quickly. "What? How is that possible?"
"We don't know, sir. But without the footage, we can't prove that Miss Bane started the fire. Her lawyers are already demanding her release."
Karlos's jaw tightened. "Find out who erased those videos. I don't care what it takes."
After the man left, Berlin felt worried. "If they can't prove Tasha did it, she'll go free. And then she'll come after us again."
"I won't let her hurt you," Karlos promised. "Whatever it takes, I'll protect you."
Berlin wanted to believe him. But she knew from experience that Tasha was dangerous. And now, Tasha had nothing to lose.
The next morning, Berlin woke up to find Karlos already gone. There was a note on his pillow:
"Had to go back to the city for an emergency meeting. I'll be back tonight. Stay safe. - K"
Berlin felt disappointed. She had hoped they could talk more about what he said last night.
She got dressed and went to find Mrs. Lydia. But when she got to Mrs. Lydia's new room, she found it empty.
"That's strange," Berlin thought. "Where could she be?"
She asked the maids, but no one had seen Mrs. Lydia this morning.
Berlin started to feel worried. She checked the dining room, the beach, the gardens. But Mrs. Lydia was nowhere to be found.
Then Berlin saw Prissy running toward her, looking scared.
"Berlin! Thank God I found you!" Prissy said. "It's Mom! She's missing!"
"What do you mean missing?" Berlin asked.
"I went to her room this morning and she wasn't there. Her bed hadn't been slept in. And look - I found this on her pillow."
Prissy showed Berlin a note. It said:
"If you want to see Mrs. Lydia again, bring $5 million in cash to the old lighthouse at midnight. Come alone. If you tell anyone or call the police, she dies."
Berlin felt like the world was spinning. Someone had kidnapped Mrs. Lydia!
"We have to call Karlos!" Berlin said.
"No!" Prissy grabbed her arm. "The note says not to tell anyone! What if they hurt Mom?"
"But we can't handle this alone," Berlin said. "We need help."
"We have until midnight," Prissy said. "That's almost twelve hours. Maybe we can find her ourselves before then."
Berlin thought quickly. In her past life, something similar had happened to Mrs. Lydia. But it had been much later, and Berlin hadn't been able to save her.
Now she had a chance to change things. But she had to be smart about it.
"Okay," Berlin said. "We'll look for her ourselves. But if we can't find her by evening, we're calling Karlos, no matter what the note says."
Prissy nodded. "Deal."
The two women started searching the resort. They asked everyone if they had seen Mrs. Lydia. They checked every building, every path, every hiding place.
Hours passed. They found nothing.
Berlin felt desperate. Where could Mrs. Lydia be? Who would kidnap her?
Then Berlin remembered something. In her past life, Mrs. Lydia had mentioned a secret room in the resort - a room that Karlos's father had built for emergencies.
"Prissy," Berlin said. "Does this resort have any secret rooms? Places that most people don't know about?"
Prissy thought for a moment. "I don't think so. Why?"
"Your mother once told me about a secret room your father built. Do you know anything about it?"
Prissy's eyes widened. "Oh! I forgot about that! It's in the basement of the main building. But that building was damaged in the fire yesterday. It might not be safe."
"We have to check," Berlin said. "It's our only lead."
They went to the damaged building. The fire department had said it was safe to enter, but parts of it were still smoking and black with soot.
Berlin and Prissy carefully made their way to the basement. It was dark and scary.
"How do we find the secret room?" Prissy whispered.
"Your mother said there's a special bookshelf," Berlin said. "If you pull the right book, a door opens."
They found the bookshelf and started pulling books. Nothing happened.
"It's not working!" Prissy said, frustrated.
Then Berlin noticed something. One book was cleaner than the others, like someone had touched it recently.
She pulled it, and suddenly, part of the wall slid open!
Behind it was a small room. And inside the room, tied to a chair and gagged, was Mrs. Lydia!
"Mom!" Prissy screamed. They rushed to untie her.
When Mrs. Lydia could finally speak, she hugged both of them tightly.
"Thank goodness you found me!" she said. "I thought I would be trapped here forever!"
"Who did this to you?" Berlin asked.
"I don't know," Mrs. Lydia said. "Someone came to my room last night. They put something over my face - a cloth with a strange smell. When I woke up, I was here."
"Did you see their face?" Prissy asked.
"No, it was too dark. But I heard them talking on the phone to someone. They said... they said this was just the beginning. That soon, the Wayne family would lose everything."
Berlin felt a chill run down her spine. This wasn't just about Tasha anymore. Someone bigger, someone more powerful, was trying to destroy them.
But who?