The ambulance rushed through the night. Berlin sat beside Karlos, watching the paramedics work on him. They put needles in his arms and machines on his chest. The beeping sounds were scary.
"Is he going to be okay?" Berlin asked, her voice shaking.
"We're doing everything we can," one paramedic said. But he didn't look at her when he said it, and that made Berlin even more scared.
She looked at Karlos's face. He was so pale. The blood from his head wound had been cleaned, but there was still a big cut. His breathing was shallow.
"Karlos, please hold on," Berlin whispered, squeezing his hand. "You can't leave me. Not now. Not when we finally..."
She couldn't finish the sentence. Tears were running down her face.
Behind them, in another ambulance, Mrs. Lydia was with Raymond. And Prissy was helping Penelope, who had hurt her shoulder when Mrs. Matilda pushed her.
Finally, they reached the hospital. Doctors and nurses rushed out to meet them.
"Male, approximately 30 years old, head trauma, possible internal injuries," the paramedic reported as they wheeled Karlos into the emergency room.
Berlin tried to follow, but a nurse stopped her. "I'm sorry, you can't go in there. The doctors need space to work."
"But I'm his wife!" Berlin said.
"I know," the nurse said kindly. "But you'll help him more by waiting out here. Let the doctors do their job."
Berlin wanted to argue, but she knew the nurse was right. She sat down in the waiting room, her whole body shaking.
Mrs. Lydia arrived a few minutes later and hugged Berlin tightly.
"He's going to be fine," Mrs. Lydia said. "He has to be."
But her voice was shaking too.
Hours passed. Berlin couldn't sit still. She paced back and forth, her mind full of terrible thoughts.
What if Karlos died? What if she never got to tell him she loved him too? What if this was like her past life, where she lost everyone she cared about?
"Berlin, you need to rest," Prissy said. "You've been up all night."
"I can't rest," Berlin said. "Not until I know he's okay."
Finally, after what felt like forever, a doctor came out.
"Mrs. Wayne?" he called.
Berlin jumped up. "Yes! That's me! How is he?"
The doctor smiled. "Your husband is very lucky. He has a concussion and some broken ribs, but no serious internal injuries. He lost a lot of blood, but we gave him a transfusion. He's going to be fine."
Berlin felt like her legs would give out. "Really? He's really going to be okay?"
"Yes," the doctor said. "He's sleeping now, but you can see him if you want."
Berlin followed the doctor to Karlos's room. He was lying in a hospital bed, connected to several machines. His head was bandaged, and there were bruises on his face. But his chest was moving up and down steadily.
He was alive.
Berlin sat beside him and took his hand. "I'm here," she whispered. "I'm not going anywhere."
She didn't know how long she sat there. Maybe an hour. Maybe more. But finally, Karlos's eyes started to open.
"Berlin?" he said weakly.
"I'm here!" Berlin said, fresh tears running down her face. "How do you feel?"
"Like I got hit by a truck," Karlos said. He tried to smile but winced in pain. "But I'll live. Thanks to you."
"You scared me," Berlin said. "When I saw you in that car, with all that blood... I thought I lost you."
Karlos looked at her seriously. "Berlin, I meant what I said before. I love you."
Berlin's heart was beating so fast. "Karlos..."
"You don't have to say it back," Karlos said quickly. "I know this is sudden. I know we barely know each other. But when I thought I was dying, I realized I couldn't leave without telling you the truth. You're kind, brave, and—"
"I love you too," Berlin interrupted.
Karlos stopped talking. "What?"
"I love you," Berlin said again, more confidently this time. "I've loved you for... longer than you know. I was just scared to tell you."
Karlos stared at her for a moment. Then, despite his injuries, he pulled her close and kissed her.
It was a soft, gentle kiss. Not like the passionate kisses they'd shared before. This kiss was full of promise and hope.
When they pulled apart, both of them were crying and smiling at the same time.
"We're kind of a mess, aren't we?" Karlos said with a weak laugh.
"The best kind of mess," Berlin said.
They sat together in comfortable silence for a while. Then Karlos asked, "What happened to my aunt? And that man who was with her?"
Berlin's face became serious. "They got away. But we have the recording. The police are looking for them now."
"They'll find them," Karlos said confidently. "And when they do, they'll pay for everything they've done."
"Karlos," Berlin said carefully. "There's something else. Your mother... she was kidnapped too. We found her in the secret room."
"What?!" Karlos tried to sit up but groaned in pain. "Is she okay?"
"She's fine," Berlin assured him. "Prissy and I found her just in time. But Karlos, this is bigger than we thought. Someone is trying to destroy your entire family."
Karlos's jaw tightened. "Then we need to find out who's behind all this. My aunt wouldn't do this alone. She's not smart enough."
"She mentioned someone on the phone," Berlin said. "Someone she called 'Mr. C.'"
"Mr. C," Karlos repeated thoughtfully. "Could be anyone. We need to—"
Suddenly, the door burst open. It was one of Karlos's security guards, looking panicked.
"Sir! We have a problem. Miss Tasha Bane has escaped from police custody!"
Berlin felt her blood run cold. "What? How?"
"Someone posted her bail," the guard said. "A very expensive lawyer showed up with a briefcase full of cash. The police had to let her go."
"Who paid her bail?" Karlos demanded.
"We don't know, sir. The lawyer wouldn't say. But whoever it was, they're very powerful."
Berlin and Karlos looked at each other with worry.
"This isn't over," Berlin said quietly.
"No," Karlos agreed. "It's just beginning."
Over the next few days, while Karlos recovered in the hospital, more strange things started happening.
First, someone leaked a fake story to the newspapers saying that Karlos's accident was caused by drunk driving. The story was completely false, but it spread quickly on social media.
Then, several of the Wayne Corporation's biggest clients suddenly canceled their contracts. When Karlos's assistant asked why, they all said the same thing: "We heard rumors about the Wayne family's financial troubles. We don't want to be associated with a sinking ship."
"But we don't have financial troubles!" Mrs. Lydia said, confused. "Our company is doing better than ever!"
"Someone is spreading lies about us," Karlos said grimly. "They're trying to destroy our reputation."
Berlin felt frustrated. "But who? And why?"
"I have an idea," Karlos said. "Call Jake. Tell him to dig into my uncle Mathew's financial records. I want to know every person he's done business with in the last year."
Jake, Karlos's assistant, came to the hospital with a thick folder of papers.
"Sir, I found something interesting," Jake said. "Your Uncle Mathew has been making regular payments to a company called 'Shadow Investments.' But when I tried to find out who owns Shadow Investments, I hit a wall. All the records are sealed."
"Sealed by who?" Karlos asked.
"That's the strange part," Jake said. "The order came from a judge. But the judge won't say who asked for the records to be sealed."
"Someone with a lot of power and money," Berlin said.
Karlos nodded. "And someone who wants to stay hidden."
"There's more," Jake continued. "I found out that Shadow Investments also owns several media companies. Including the newspaper that published the fake story about your accident."
"So whoever is behind Shadow Investments is also behind the rumors," Mrs. Lydia said.
"Exactly," Karlos said. "This is a coordinated attack. Someone is using my aunt and uncle as puppets while they pull the strings from the shadows."
"But why?" Prissy asked. "What do they want?"
"Everything," Karlos said darkly. "They want to destroy our family, take our company, and erase the Wayne name from existence."
Berlin shivered. In her past life, something similar had happened. But she had been too weak and powerless to stop it. This time would be different.
"We need to fight back," Berlin said firmly. "We can't just sit here and let them destroy us."
"You're right," Karlos said. "But we need to be smart about it. We can't fight an enemy we can't see."
"Then we make them come out of hiding," Berlin suggested. "We set a trap."
Everyone looked at her with surprise.
"What kind of trap?" Karlos asked.
Berlin thought for a moment. Then she smiled. "We make them think they're winning."