De kan spatte uiteen op de marmeren vloer, waardoor het dure tapijt doorweekt raakte.
Camilla ontplofte.
‘Jij nutteloze idioot!’ schreeuwde ze. ‘Weet je wel hoeveel dat tapijt kost?! Ik wou dat je eindelijk eens verdween, zodat Leonardo dit huis kon verkopen en me mee naar Europa kon nemen!’
Ze hief haar hand op, klaar om toe te slaan.
Toen een stem onderbrak.
Degene die opstond
De schoonmaakster was stilletjes binnengekomen.
Her name was Mrs. Lina Perez, a 55-year-old house cleaner who usually scrubbed bathrooms and swept the yard. Thin, plainly dressed, nearly invisible—Leonardo had barely noticed her before.
Lina rushed toward the broken glass and the trembling old woman.
“What are you doing here, you nobody?” Camilla barked. “Clean this mess! Both of you are useless!”
Lina ignored the command.
Instead of cleaning the floor, she stepped directly to Rosalinda.
She wrapped her arms around the elderly woman.
Pulling a worn but spotless handkerchief from her pocket, Lina gently wiped Rosalinda’s tears and sweat.
“Don’t be afraid, Señora,” she whispered. “I’m here. No one will hurt you.”
“Are you deaf?” Camilla yelled. “I told you to clean the floor!”
Lina slowly turned to face her. For the first time, Leonardo saw quiet bravery in his employee’s eyes.
“Miss Camilla,” Lina said respectfully but firmly, “a carpet can be replaced. Glass can be bought again. But a person—Mr. Leonardo’s mother—is not something you can scream at.”
Camilla lunged to slap her.
Lina closed her eyes and shielded Rosalinda with her body.
Then Lina reached into her bag.
She pulled out her own lunch: a simple piece of bread and a bottle of water.
“Please drink, Señora,” she said, helping Rosalinda sip. “This is all I have, but it’s clean. Please eat too.”
A woman earning a cleaner’s wage fed the billionaire’s mother—after the future bride had denied her water.
Leonardo broke.
Tears streamed down his face as he burst from the closet.
The Truth Exposed
“CAMILLA!”
Both women froze.
Camilla turned white.
“L-Leonardo? I thought you were in Japan!”
