Diego felt as if all the air had left his lungs.
He kept staring into the little girl's soft eyes.
Her brown eyes were identical to his own in the mirror.
The shape of her chin matched his childhood photos perfectly.
He looked up from the floor at Sarah's pale face.
Sarah was shaking so hard she had to lean on the doorway.
Diego: Who is her real mother, Sarah?
Sarah: Diego, please do not do this right now.
Gwen: What are you talking about, Diego?
Gwen strutted down the last few marble steps in her heels.
Gwen: She is just a low-level maid trying to make trouble!
Diego: Be quiet for one second, Gwen!
Gwen gasped loudly at Diego's sharp tone of voice.
Diego stood up slowly from the cold marble floor.
He kept his hand gently on Paulina's small shoulder.
Diego: Sarah, answer me right now.
Sarah: Five years ago at the university charity gala...
Diego remembered that rainy night clearly in his mind.
He had met a kind woman working the catering tables back then.
They had shared an intense connection during a storm outside.
She had disappeared the very next morning without leaving a note.
Diego had searched for her for months without success.
He never knew her last name back during college.
Two years ago his mother hired Sarah as a maid.
Sarah had always kept her distance from Diego in the house.
She always wore her hair up and kept her head down.
Diego had never looked closely at the household cleaning staff.
He felt a wave of shame hit his heart instantly.
Diego: You were that girl from the winter gala?
Sarah: Yes, Diego, I was that girl.
Diego: Why didn't you tell me when you took this job?
Sarah: Your mother told me I would lose custody if I spoke up.
Diego turned his head sharply toward the grand hallway.
His mother, Victoria, was standing by the sitting room door.
Victoria held a crystal glass and looked entirely unfazed.
Victoria: She was a poor student with no money, Diego.
Diego: You knew about my daughter this entire time?
Victoria: I protected our family trust fund from a scam artist.
Sarah began to cry softly as she held her daughter close.
Sarah: I only took the cleaning job so I could see you.
Sarah: I wanted Paulina to be close to her father's home.
Gwen stepped in between Diego and Sarah with anger.
Gwen: This is an absurd lie to ruin our wedding day!
Gwen: Diego, throw these people out on the street!
Diego: Step away from her, Gwen.
Gwen: Diego, are you choosing them over me?
Diego looked down at Paulina holding his thumb tightly.
Diego: She is not leaving this house. Ever.