Diego was momentarily stunned to see the face he had long tried to forget, but the initial flutter of his heart vanished as quickly as it had appeared. He frowned slightly, giving Elena a curt nod of greeting before attempting to walk away.
Seeing his indifference, Elena quickly set her wine glass on a nearby table and caught his arm with an aggrieved cry. "Geo!"
At the sound of the intimate nickname, Diego paused. He let out a soft sigh and turned to face her. "Elena, this isn't appropriate."
He gently tried to pry her hand from his arm, but she clung tighter. "Why are you doing this? Do you really hate me that much?"
Realizing he couldn't shake her off without causing a scene, Diego reluctantly allowed her to hold his hand.
"I really didn't want to separate Mandy and Javier, believe me!" she pleaded.
Diego looked at the girl—teary-eyed and trembling—and felt a strange sense of detachment. He used to adore her. He used to see her soft, polite exterior as that of a "white lotus"—a weak, innocent creature he wanted to protect with his life.
But now? The truth was laid bare before him. She spoke of "reluctance," but did she have any idea how much her fake hesitation had wounded the sister he considered a treasure?
Diego took a deep breath, his voice turning icy. "I have something important to do. Please, let me go."
Elena blinked her tear-filled eyes and slowly, piteously, released his hand. She seemed to realize that Diego wasn't as easy to fool as he once was. Sniffing, she picked up two glasses of wine from the table and offered him one.
"Then, a toast," she said expectantly. "Can we at least share one last drink?"
Diego just wanted the interaction to end. Without a word, he took the glass and drained it.
A cold, triumphant glint flashed in Elena's eyes as she watched him swallow every drop. She raised her own glass to her lips, but as she drank, she "carelessly" tilted the glass, spilling red wine all over Diego's vest.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry!" she cried, frantically reaching out to wipe the stains.
Diego flinched away, blocking her hand. "It's fine. I'll just go and change."
"I'll go with you!"
"No need!" Diego snapped.
Elena looked crushed, but despite his refusal, she followed him anyway.
From across the room, Celia happened to see the two of them heading upstairs toward the guest rooms. She cursed Diego eight hundred times in her head before rushing over to find Amanda, who was currently laughing and chatting with the film crew.
"Mandy! Your brother is about to 'eat the old grass' again!"
Amanda's laughter stopped instantly. She excused herself from the group and pulled Celia aside. "What are you talking about? Speak clearly!"
Celia saw Amanda's face darken and knew the situation was grave. "I just saw your brother go upstairs with Elena."
Amanda's blood boiled. She had told Diego repeatedly to stay away from that woman, and he hadn't listened? "I'm going to beat that stupid brother of mine to death!"
She bolted for the stairs, with Celia hot on her heels. Fearing the worst, Celia quickly texted Winter an S.O.S. with their location.
On the upper floor, Amanda intercepted a cleaning lady who was tidying up the hallway. "Excuse me! Did you see a man and a woman walk into a room just now? He's in a gray vest, she's in a blue dress!"
The cleaning lady took one look at Amanda's murderous expression and Celia's frantic state and stammered, "I... uh..."
Realizing the lady thought she was a jealous wife, Amanda forced a grim smile and pointed to her own face. "The man is my brother. Look, don't we have the same nose?"
The lady studied Amanda's features and nodded. "Oh! Yes, I see it. They went into that room over there. But... your brother didn't look well. His expression was very strange."
The lady hesitated. Having worked in a luxury hotel for years, she knew exactly what it looked like when a man had been "drugged" and led into a room. Amanda understood the implication immediately. Her forced smile vanished, replaced by a terrifying gloom.
The cleaning lady, sensing a storm was about to break, quickly pushed her cart away and disappeared.
"Mandy, your brother..." Celia started, her voice trembling.
Amanda didn't say a word. She marched to the door and hammered on it, but she was met with a heavy, suffocating silence.
"Mandy, get back!"
Celia grabbed a heavy fire extinguisher from the wall and slammed it against the door handle, but the lock held firm.
"Damn it!" Celia cried, nearly in tears. Diego was about to be devoured by that snake!
Amanda snatched the fire extinguisher from Celia. Fueled by pure adrenaline and rage, she swung it with all her might against the door.
With a violent crack, the door swung open. Amanda didn't hesitate; she charged inside.
What she saw made her heart stop: Elena and Diego were on the bed, their clothes disheveled and their bodies entwined.
"Elena, you bitch!" Amanda screamed.