They took Mrs. Lydia to her room and made sure she was safe. Berlin wanted to call Karlos right away, but Mrs. Lydia stopped her.
"Wait," Mrs. Lydia said. "I need to tell you both something important first."
She looked at Berlin and Prissy seriously.
"Girls, I think someone in our own family is trying to hurt us."
"What?" Prissy gasped. "That's impossible! Who would do that?"
"I don't know for sure," Mrs. Lydia said. "But when I was tied up, I heard the kidnapper mention a name. They said 'Mr. C will be pleased.'"
Berlin felt her blood run cold. "Mr. C... could that be Mr. Caldwell?"
Mrs. Lydia looked sad. "I don't want to believe it. Matilda is my sister-in-law. We've known each other for years. But I can't ignore what I heard."
"But why would Uncle Mathew want to hurt us?" Prissy asked.
"Money," Berlin said quietly. "If something happens to Karlos, who inherits the Wayne Corporation?"
They all looked at each other with understanding.
"The Caldwell family," Mrs. Lydia whispered. "Because Mathew is Karlos's uncle."
Berlin remembered something from her past life. In that life, after Mrs. Lydia died, the Caldwell family had taken over many of the Wayne properties. At the time, Berlin had thought it was just business. But now...
"Mom," Berlin said. "In your will, what happens if both you and Karlos..."
"Don't say it!" Prissy cried.
But Mrs. Lydia understood. "If both Karlos and I die, the Caldwell family gets controlling shares of the company. It was supposed to be temporary, until Prissy comes of age. But..."
"But they could change the papers," Berlin finished. "They could make sure Prissy never gets her inheritance."
The room fell silent as they realized how much danger they were all in.
Suddenly, Berlin's phone rang. It was Karlos.
"Berlin, where are you?" he asked. His voice sounded strange - worried and angry at the same time.
"I'm with your mother and Prissy. Karlos, something happened—"
"I know," Karlos interrupted. "I got a message saying my mother was kidnapped. I'm on my way back right now. But Berlin, I need you to listen carefully. Don't trust anyone. The person who sent me that message... it came from inside our family."
"We know," Berlin said. "Your mother heard them mention Mr. C."
There was silence on the other end. Then Karlos spoke, his voice cold and hard.
"Stay in your room. Lock the door. I'll be there in an hour. And Berlin?"
"Yes?"
"Thank you for saving my mother. Again."
After he hung up, Berlin, Mrs. Lydia, and Prissy locked themselves in the room and waited.
But Karlos didn't arrive in an hour. Two hours passed. Then three.
Berlin tried calling him, but his phone went straight to voicemail.
"Something's wrong," Berlin said. "He should be here by now."
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Mrs. Lydia called.
"It's me, Aunt Lydia. Penelope. Please let me in. I need to talk to you."
They looked at each other, unsure. Could they trust Penelope? She had helped Tasha before.
"How do we know you're alone?" Berlin asked through the door.
"I am alone. Please, this is important. It's about my mother. She's planning something terrible."
Mrs. Lydia nodded at Berlin, and they opened the door carefully.
Penelope came in quickly and locked the door behind her.
"Thank you," she said. She looked scared and upset. "I'm so sorry for everything I've done. I was stupid to listen to my mother."
"What's she planning?" Mrs. Lydia asked.
"She's working with someone," Penelope said. "I don't know who. But I heard her on the phone tonight. They're planning to... to hurt Karlos. On his way back from the city."
Berlin's heart stopped. "What? How?"
"I don't know the details. But they mentioned something about his car... an accident on the mountain road."
"We have to warn him!" Berlin grabbed her phone and called Karlos again. But still no answer.
"Try his driver," Mrs. Lydia suggested.
Berlin called Raymond, Karlos's driver. After several rings, he answered.
"Mrs. Berlin?" Raymond sounded strange, like he was in pain.
"Raymond! Where's Karlos? Is he okay?"
"Ma'am... there was an accident. Someone ran us off the road. Mr. Karlos... he's hurt. We're on the side of the mountain road, about 20 miles from the resort. The car crashed through the barrier. I can't move. I think my leg is broken. And Mr. Karlos... he's unconscious. There's blood..."
Berlin felt like she couldn't breathe. "We're coming! Hold on!"
She turned to the others. "We have to go now. Karlos is hurt!"
"I'll call an ambulance," Mrs. Lydia said, reaching for the phone.
But Penelope stopped her. "No! If my mother finds out we know about the accident, she'll finish what she started. We have to go ourselves and get there before she does."
"She's right," Berlin said. "We'll take your car, Prissy. Come on!"
The four women rushed out of the room and down to the parking lot. They got into Prissy's car and drove as fast as they could toward the mountain road.
Berlin's hands were shaking. Please let him be okay, she prayed. Please don't let me lose him again.
As they drove up the dark mountain road, Berlin suddenly remembered something from her past life. This was the same road where Karlos's father had died. The same dangerous curves. The same cliff.
History was repeating itself.
But this time, Berlin was going to change it.
"There!" Prissy pointed ahead. They could see the broken barrier where a car had crashed through.
They stopped and ran to the edge. Below them, about 30 feet down, they could see Karlos's black car wedged against a tree.
"Karlos!" Berlin screamed.
From below, she heard a weak voice. "Berlin?"
He was alive!
"We're coming!" Berlin looked around for a way down. There was a narrow path beside the broken barrier - steep and dangerous, but possible.
"Berlin, wait!" Mrs. Lydia grabbed her arm. "That path is too dangerous in the dark. We should wait for the rescue team."
"There's no time," Berlin said. "Raymond said there was blood. Karlos could be dying right now!"
Before anyone could stop her, Berlin started climbing down the path. It was dark and slippery, and several times she almost fell. But she kept going.
"Berlin, be careful!" she heard Prissy call from above.
Finally, Berlin reached the car. The front was completely smashed. Raymond was in the driver's seat, his leg trapped under the dashboard. And in the back seat, Karlos was slumped over, blood running down his face from a cut on his forehead.
"Karlos!" Berlin opened the door and touched his face. "Can you hear me?"
Karlos's eyes opened slowly. When he saw Berlin, he smiled weakly.
"You came," he whispered.
"Of course I came," Berlin said, tears running down her face. "I'll always come for you."
"Berlin... I need to tell you something. In case I don't make it—"
"Don't say that!" Berlin said. "You're going to be fine!"
"Listen to me," Karlos said, holding her hand tightly. "I was wrong about you. I was wrong about everything. When I thought I was going to die just now, all I could think about was you. Your smile. Your laugh. The way you look at fireflies like they're magic. Berlin, I—"
Suddenly, they heard the sound of another car approaching above them.
"That must be the ambulance!" Berlin said hopefully.
But then she heard Mrs. Lydia scream.
"Berlin! Get out of there! It's not the ambulance! It's them!"
Berlin looked up and her blood ran cold. Standing at the edge of the cliff, looking down at them, were Mrs. Matilda Caldwell and a man Berlin didn't recognize. And they were holding something.
A large rock.
"I'm sorry it had to end this way, nephew," Mrs. Matilda called down coldly. "But business is business. And the Wayne fortune is too good to pass up."
She lifted the rock, ready to throw it down at the car.
"No!" Berlin screamed.
But before Mrs. Matilda could throw it, someone tackled her from behind.
It was Penelope!
"Mother, stop!" Penelope yelled, fighting with her mother. "This is insane! You can't kill them!"
The man with Mrs. Matilda grabbed Penelope and threw her aside. Penelope hit the ground hard and didn't move.
"You stupid girl," Mrs. Matilda said to her daughter. Then she picked up the rock again.
Berlin looked around desperately. She had to do something. She had to save Karlos.
Then she saw it. Raymond's phone, lying on the car seat. And it was recording!
Berlin grabbed the phone and held it up. "Stop!" she yelled. "This phone has been recording everything! If you hurt us, everyone will know it was you!"
Mrs. Matilda hesitated. "You're bluffing."
"Am I?" Berlin played back the recording. Mrs. Matilda's voice came through clearly: "I'm sorry it had to end this way, nephew..."
Mrs. Matilda's face turned white. "Give me that phone!"
"No," Berlin said. "And if you try anything, I'll send this to every news station in the country. Your reputation will be destroyed. You'll go to jail for attempted murder."
For a long moment, nobody moved. Then they heard sirens in the distance. Real ambulances were coming.
Mrs. Matilda dropped the rock and ran to her car. The man with her followed. They drove away just as the police and ambulances arrived.
Berlin held Karlos's hand as the rescue team carefully got him and Raymond out of the car.
"You saved me," Karlos whispered to Berlin. "Again."
"We saved each other," Berlin said softly.
As they put Karlos on a stretcher, he pulled Berlin close and whispered in her ear:
"I love you, Berlin. I think I've loved you for a while now. I was just too stupid to realize it."
Berlin felt her heart explode with joy. But before she could answer, Karlos's eyes closed and he went unconscious.
"Karlos!" Berlin cried. "Karlos, wake up!"
"He's lost a lot of blood," one of the paramedics said. "We need to get him to the hospital immediately!"
They rushed Karlos into the ambulance. Berlin tried to get in too, but the paramedic stopped her.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. Family only."
"I am family!" Berlin said. "I'm his wife!"
The paramedic looked at her dirty clothes and scratched face and nodded. "Alright, get in. But we need to move fast."
As the ambulance raced toward the hospital, Berlin held Karlos's cold hand and prayed harder than she ever had in her life.
Don't die, she thought. Please don't die. I never got to tell you that I love you too.