Chapter 78

Chapter 78
Sloane's POV

The letter arrived in the middle of the night.

I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, when I heard the soft tap at my window. My heart jumped, but I forced myself to move calmly toward the sound.

A figure in dark clothing stood on the narrow ledge outside. I recognized the Stewart family crest on his glove as he handed me a small, sealed envelope, then disappeared back into the shadows without a word.

The paper was expensive, thick between my fingers. But the message inside was brief and devastating: "Nia's family attacked on mountain road. Only mother and daughter survived."

My hands started shaking.

I knew this would happen. But seeing the confirmation written in Alexander's careful handwriting made my stomach drop. Even though I'd expected Eloise to make a move, even though I'd asked Alexander to watch them, people were still dead.

But another part of my mind was already working. Nia will be furious now. She'll want revenge. And a grieving mother with nothing left to lose could be exactly what I need to bring Eloise down.

I folded the letter carefully and tucked it into my jewelry box, behind the loose board I'd discovered weeks ago. Tomorrow, I'd need to act surprised when the "news" reached the family.

The next evening at dinner, a messenger burst into the dining room just as we were finishing the main course, his face appropriately grim and apologetic for the interruption.

"I'm sorry to disturb you," he said, bowing to Juan. "But I bring terrible news from the northern road."

Eloise's fork stopped halfway to her mouth. "What news?" Her voice was perfectly pitched with concern and confusion.

"The convoy carrying the exiled servant Nia and her family was attacked by mountain bandits. Four members of the family were killed.

Eloise's plate clattered to the table. "What?" The word came out sharp, and her hand flew to her chest. "Oh my God, how could this happen?"

Zaid and Saskia both looked genuinely upset. Even I had to admit, if I didn't know better, I'd believe every word of Eloise's grief.

Three days later, I found myself in a small cottage on the outskirts of the city. Alexander's people had moved Nia and her daughter to a safe house - a simple but comfortable place with thick curtains and guards posted outside who looked like ordinary workers.

The transformation in Nia was shocking.

The woman who'd served tea with steady hands and a gentle smile was gone. This Nia was hollow-eyed and gaunt, her face aged years in a matter of days. She sat in a worn armchair by the fireplace, clutching her daughter Mira against her chest.

Mira, who couldn't have been more than six, hadn't spoken since the attack according to Alexander's men. She just stared at nothing with huge, traumatized eyes.

"Miss Stewart," Nia said when she saw me, her voice hoarse. "I don't understand. Your message said you weren't who I thought you were. So who are you really?"

I sat down across from her, choosing my words carefully. "The real Sophia Stewart died," I said quietly. "She was murdered by the people who were supposed to protect her."

Nia's eyes widened, but she didn't look entirely surprised. "You mean..."

"Yes." I leaned forward. "I'm that impostor. I came back to get justice for the real Sophia, and now I need your help to do it."

For a long moment, Nia just stared at me. Then tears started flowing down her cheeks. "I knew something was wrong," she whispered. "The way Lady Eloise acted, the things she made me do... I knew it wasn't right."

"What did she make you do, Nia?"

"So many things over the years." Nia's grip on her daughter tightened. "Deliver messages she didn't want traced back to her. Watch people and report on their activities. Sometimes..." She swallowed hard. "Sometimes worse things."

"Tell me about the day Sophia fell down the stairs."

Nia closed her eyes, and when she spoke, her voice was barely audible. "She made me watch while she prepared the trap."

The story Nia told me was even worse than I'd imagined.

"Lady Eloise had been planning it for weeks," Nia explained, her voice flat and emotionless.

"What kind of trap?"

"She mixed a special oil with soap and other slippery substances. It was clear, almost invisible once it dried, but deadly slick when stepped on." Nia's hands trembled as she spoke. "She applied it to the seventh step from the bottom, right where Miss Sophia usually put her foot when she came running downstairs."

Premeditated murder. Not an accident, not a moment of rage. Cold, calculated murder.

"But Saskia fell instead."

"Yes. Lady Eloise had timed it for when Miss Sophia usually came down for her afternoon snack. But Miss Saskia was running ahead that day, trying to beat her sister downstairs." Nia wiped her eyes. "The sound when she hit the bottom... I'll never forget it."

"What happened next?"

"Lady Eloise moved faster than I'd ever seen her move. She was downstairs and kneeling by Miss Saskia before anyone else could react. While everyone was panicking about the blood, she whispered something in my ear."

"What did she say?"

"'Clean the step. Now. Or your children will be next.'" Nia's voice broke. "I was so scared, Miss. I had three little ones depending on me. So I did what she told me."

"How did she convince everyone it was Sophia's fault?"

"Master Zaid." The name came out like a curse. "That boy always hated his sister. When Lady Eloise suggested they could blame Miss Sophia, he jumped at the chance. He was already spinning lies before Miss Sophia even came downstairs."

"And Juan believed him?"

"Master Juan was beside himself with worry about Miss Saskia. She was unconscious, bleeding from her head, the physician wasn't sure she'd survive. In that state, when his wife and son both said Miss Sophia had pushed her..." Nia shrugged helplessly. "He wanted someone to blame."

I thought about Saskia, quiet and withdrawn, carrying the weight of knowing the truth but being too young and too scared to speak it.

"What about after Saskia woke up?"

"Lady Eloise visited her in the hospital every day," Nia said, her voice getting harder. "She'd send everyone else out of the room and have private conversations with Miss Saskia. I don't know exactly what she said, but Miss Saskia came back different. Scared. She never spoke about that day again."

"Nia, I need you to testify to all of this. To tell Juan and everyone else what really happened."

Nia looked down at her daughter, who was still clinging to her silently. "They killed my husband and my boys," she said quietly. "They murdered my family because they were afraid I'd talk."

"Yes, they did. And they'll keep killing people as long as Eloise is in power." I reached over and touched her hand gently. "But we can stop them. Together."

"How?"

"I have allies now. People who can protect you and Mira, people who want to see justice done. But I need your testimony as evidence."

Nia was quiet for a long time, staring into the fire. Finally, she looked up at me with eyes full of pain and determination.

"What do you need me to do?"

Before she agreed to help me completely, Nia had one more revelation that made my blood run cold.

"There's something else you should know," she said, glancing around as if Eloise might somehow be listening. "About Master Zaid."

"What about him?"

"I don't think he's Master Juan's son."

What?

"When Lady Eloise first came to work for the family, she was already pregnant. She claimed it was Master Juan's child from their relationship, but..." Nia shook her head. "I helped care for her during the pregnancy. I know how to count months, and the timing was wrong."

"Are you sure?"

"She was at least three months along when she arrived. But she and Master Juan had only been involved for a month before that, according to what I overheard." Nia's voice dropped even lower. "And sometimes, late at night, I'd hear her crying and talking to herself. She'd mention a name - Vincent."

Vincent. I filed that name away for later investigation.

"She'd say things like 'What would Vincent think if he knew' and 'I should have told him about the baby.'" Nia continued. "I think Vincent is Master Zaid's real father."

This changed everything. If Zaid wasn't Juan's biological son, then Eloise's entire claim to the family fortune was based on fraud.

"Have you ever told anyone else about this?"

"Never. I was too afraid. But now..." She looked down at Mira again. "Now I have nothing left to lose."

"Nia, if this is true, if we can prove it, it would destroy Eloise completely. Her marriage, her position in the family, everything she's built her life on."

"Good," Nia said with more venom than I'd ever heard from her. "I want her to lose everything, just like she made me lose everything."

A bloodline stone test. That's what we need. If we could somehow get Juan and Zaid to test their blood on the same stone without them suspecting anything...

"There's one more thing," I said carefully. "To prove Zaid isn't Juan's son, we'd need to use a bloodline stone. If their blood doesn't merge on the stone, it would prove they're not related."

Nia thought for a moment. "But how would we get them both to take the test without raising suspicions?"

"I'll have to find the right opportunity," I said, my mind already working through possibilities. "Maybe during a family gathering, or if there's some other reason to question family lineage..."

"Lady Eloise has made enemies over the years. She's threatened people, manipulated them, made them do things they're ashamed of." Nia's voice was steady now, filled with purpose. "If they knew there was a chance to bring her down permanently, some of them would take it."

I felt a spark of hope. This could work. Between Nia's testimony about the murder and proof that Zaid isn't Juan's son using the bloodline stone, we could expose every lie Eloise has built her life on.

"All right," I said. "Let's plan this carefully. We'll only get one chance, and if we fail, Eloise will make sure we don't get another."

Nia nodded grimly. "I'm ready. For my husband and my boys, I'm ready to tell the truth."

As I prepared to leave the safe house, I looked back at Nia and Mira one more time. A mother and daughter who'd lost everything because of Eloise's greed and paranoia. They deserved justice just as much as Sophia did.

Soon, I promised silently. Soon we'll make her pay for all of it.