Chapter 86
Sloane's POV
Everything felt heavy after tonight. The room was too quiet, too full of what just happened. I could still feel the tension in the air from all those secrets getting ripped open.
Juan rubbed his temples slowly. He looked so much older than when I first got here. The scary, powerful man who used to intimidate me was gone. Now he just looked like someone who'd lost everything.
"You should all go rest," he said, his voice rough with exhaustion. "Too much has happened tonight."
Zaid practically ran out of there. He couldn't get away fast enough from the room where his whole life got destroyed. The door slammed so hard it made me wince.
He just found out everything about his life was a lie. At least I chose this deception.
Saskia moved next, but she was different from Zaid. She walked with quiet dignity, her steps measured and controlled. When she reached the doorway, she turned back and looked at me. Her eyes were red-rimmed but held something I couldn't quite read – maybe understanding, maybe regret. For a second, I thought she might say something, but she just gave me the smallest nod before disappearing into the hallway.
If she'd been braver all those years ago, maybe none of this would have happened.
Juan waved his hand in my direction. "Sophia, you should go too. We all need time to process..."
"Father." The word felt strange on my tongue after everything that had happened. "I'd like to talk with you. Alone."
His tired eyes focused on me with surprise. After a long moment, he nodded.
Now it was just me and Juan. The quiet felt weird, too big somehow. I took a breath and made myself say what I'd been thinking for months.
"Even though Eloise orchestrated all of this," I began, my voice trembling despite my efforts to stay strong, "you're not completely innocent either."
Juan's head snapped up, genuine shock flickering across his face.
"If you'd shown Sophia more care, more trust..." My hands were shaking, but I couldn't stop now. "If you hadn't been so quick to believe every lie Eloise whispered in your ear..."
My hands were shaking, but I couldn't stop now. "Maybe things wouldn't have ended up like this."
Juan stared at me, his expression unreadable.
"Ten years ago," I continued, my voice getting stronger with each word, "you didn't investigate anything. You just took the word of an eight-year-old child and condemned your own daughter."
God, it feels good to finally say this.
"You sent her to that horrible place where she suffered for ten years. As a father, you failed her completely."
Juan looked at me weird. His eyes got all intense, like he was trying to figure out some puzzle. That look made my stomach flip.
Does he know something? Has he figured it out?
But when he finally spoke, his voice was full of guilt. "You're right, Sophia. I screwed up as a father."
Juan saying that caught me off guard. "I should have trusted you more. Should have protected you instead of believing lies."
He's talking like I really am Sophia. Like I'm his daughter who suffered all those years.
"Sophia already can't hear your apology," I said quietly, testing the waters.
Juan's eyes flashed with pain. "But I think she would have been glad to know the truth finally came out."
I'm trying to tell him she's gone. That the real Sophia is dead. But he's not getting it.
I took a deeper breath, ready to be more direct. "Father, the truth is, I'm not really—"
"Don't." Juan raised his hand, cutting me off with surprising firmness. "Don't say it."
My mouth fell open. "But you don't understand, I need to tell you—"
"Some truths are more painful than lies," he said quietly. "Some things don't need to be said out loud."
What the hell does that mean? Does he know?
Juan's eyes held mine, and I saw something there that made my blood run cold. Understanding. Acceptance. Like he'd already figured out everything I was trying to tell him.
"You should rest," he said, standing up slowly. "Tomorrow we'll discuss... arrangements."
I stared at him, totally confused. "Father, I don't understand why you're—"
"Sometimes having someone who cares is more important than having someone who shares your blood," Juan said, moving toward the window. His shoulders looked so heavy, like he was carrying the weight of the entire world.
Holy shit. He knows. He knows I'm not Sophia and he doesn't care.
It was like getting punched in the gut. This man had lost his wife, lost his son to lies and manipulation, and now he'd lost his real daughter too. But he was choosing to keep me anyway.
Maybe for him, having a fake daughter is better than having no daughter at all.
I stood up on unsteady legs. "I'll... I'll go to my room now."
Juan didn't turn around. "Good night, Sophia."
The way he said my name – or rather, the name I'd been using – sent chills down my spine. There was something final about it, like he was making a choice.
Back in my room, I sat at the writing desk and looked out at the dark garden. Everything looked unreal in the moonlight, like I was in some weird dream.
What just happened in there?
My mind kept circling back to Juan's strange reaction. He'd stopped me from confessing the truth, almost like he already knew what I was going to say. But how could he know? And if he did know, why was he protecting me?
Maybe he's just broken. Maybe he can't handle losing anyone else.
I pulled out a sheet of paper and picked up my pen. If I couldn't tell Juan the truth, at least I could tell Alexander. At least someone would know that our plan had finally worked.
My dearest Louis,
The familiar name felt like coming home.
Tonight, everything changed. Nia's testimony exposed all of Eloise's crimes. The blood stone test proved that Zaid isn't Juan's son, just like we thought. Vincent got arrested, and Eloise is locked up in the dungeons.
I paused, thinking about how to explain the complex emotions swirling in my chest.
The truth about Sophia's innocence finally came out, even though she's not here to see it. Justice happened, but it doesn't feel like winning. It feels more like... everyone lost.
Juan seems to suspect who I really am, but he's chosen not to confront me about it. I think for a man who's lost everything, even a comfortable lie is better than another painful truth.
Tears started falling onto the paper, and I wiped them away quickly.
I kept my promise to Sophia. I also kept my promise to you. Eloise's reign of terror is over. But I'm starting to understand that revenge isn't as sweet as I thought it would be. It's more like a war where nobody really wins.
Still, it was worth it. At least now the people who died can rest in peace.
I set down my pen and stared at what I'd written. Is this really over? Have we actually won?
I miss you so much it physically hurts, Louis. When can we finally be together for real? When can I stop pretending to be someone else?
Forever yours,
Sloane
I folded the letter carefully and sealed it with wax. Tomorrow I'd give it to Anna to deliver secretly, just like all the others.
Now what? Do I keep living as Sophia Stewart forever? Do I find a way to leave and start over somewhere else?
The future stretched ahead of me, uncertain and frightening. I'd accomplished what I set out to do – Sophia's name was cleared and Eloise was finished. But I hadn't thought much about what came after revenge.
Maybe Juan is right. Maybe some truths are too painful to speak out loud.
I looked out at the moonlit garden one more time before getting ready for bed. Tomorrow would bring new challenges, new decisions about who I wanted to be and where I wanted to go from here.
But tonight, at least, justice has been done.
As I blew out the candle, I couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't really an ending – it was just the beginning of something entirely new.