Chapter 111 Chapter 111
Sophia’s POV
I stood in my room, staring at the door that had just been unlocked by Louis, my hands still shaking with rage and fear from being trapped inside for the second time.
“This is BULLSHIT!” I screamed, whirling to face Louis as he stood in the doorway.
“Someone is doing this to me! Someone is deliberately locking me in!”
“Miss Sophia, I understand you’re upset….” Louis started in that maddeningly calm voice of his.
“Upset? UPSET?” I interrupted, my voice rising to a shriek. “I’m being imprisoned in my own room! Locked in like a criminal! And you keep telling me it’s just malfunctioning locks!”
“The mechanism is old,” Louis said, examining the lock again. “These vintage locks can be temperamental. I’ll have someone come look at it tomorrow…”
“I don’t WANT someone to look at it tomorrow!” I shouted. “I want you to admit that someone in this house is doing this to me! That they’re playing games with me!”
Louis’s expression remained neutral, professional. “Who would do that, Miss Sophia? And why?”
I opened my mouth to answer, then stopped. Because I didn’t actually know who was doing it. Was it Hailey, getting revenge for the tulips? Was it Benita, punishing me for Marco’s death? Was it even Barbara, angry about me accusing her of snooping?
Or was it actually just the stupid lock malfunctioning like Louis kept insisting?
“I don’t know,” I finally admitted, my voice breaking. “But I know someone is.”
“I’ll replace the lock entirely,” Louis promised. “First thing tomorrow morning. Until then, try to get some rest.”
He left, closing the door gently behind him, and I was alone again.
I threw a lamp across the room, watching it shatter against the wall. Then I grabbed a vase and threw that too. And a picture frame. And anything else I could get my hands on.
I threw a tantrum like a child, destroying things just to feel like I had some control over something, anything.
But it didn’t help. Nothing helped.
Finally, exhausted and surrounded by broken glass and shattered belongings, I collapsed onto my bed and cried.
The next morning, I woke up with swollen eyes and a pounding headache. My room looked like a tornado had hit it broken objects everywhere, clothes strewn across the floor, the aftermath of my rage.
I needed to talk to someone. Needed to feel less alone.
I grabbed my phone and tried calling my father.
It rang and rang and rang. No answer.
I tried again. Same result.
“Seriously?” I muttered, staring at my phone. He couldn’t even take two minutes to check on his daughter?
Then I remembered, Nonna was leaving today. Going back to Italy.
I threw on clothes and rushed downstairs, hoping to catch her before she left.
But I was too late.
Through the window, I saw the car disappearing down the driveway, Isabella sitting in the back seat, her luggage already loaded.
She was gone. Just like that. In a blink.
She hadn’t even said goodbye to me. Hadn’t come to my room one last time.
I stood there at the window, watching the car disappear, and felt completely abandoned.
My father wasn’t answering his calls. My grandmother had left without even a proper farewell.
And I was trapped here in this house with Louis my uninterested ex who looked at me with nothing but professional courtesy. With Hailey and Barbara and Benita three people who I knew hated me, who probably were conspiring against me.
I was completely alone. Surrounded by enemies or at best by people who didn’t care about me.
“How did I fuck this up so badly?” I whispered to myself, my breath fogging the window glass.
I’d been trying to eliminate Hailey. That was all. Just get her out of my father’s life so things could go back to normal.
But instead, I’d gotten Marco killed. I’d helped the Morellis destroy our compound. I’d turned my father against me. I’d made Benita hate me with a passion that burned in her eyes every time she looked at me.
I’d ruined everything. Absolutely everything.
That afternoon, after spending hours alone in my room staring at the walls, I made a decision.
I needed to feel close to my mother. Needed to be in her space, surrounded by her things.
I found Louis in the security office and stood in the doorway until he noticed me.
“Miss Sophia,” he said. “Do you need something?”
“I want to go into my mother’s room,” I said firmly. “I need to be in there. Please.”
Louis’s expression became uncomfortable. “You know that room is sealed, Miss Sophia. Mr. Alejandro’s orders…”
“I don’t care about his orders,” I interrupted. “That was my mother’s room. My mother. I have every right to be in there.”
“I understand, but….”
“Please,” I said, and my voice broke despite my best efforts to stay strong. “Please, Louis. I need this. I need to feel close to her. Just for a little while.”
Louis looked at me for a long moment, conflict clear on his face. Then he sighed and stood up.
“Fine,” he said. “But just for a few minutes. And don’t touch anything.”
“Thank you,” I breathed.
He led me through the house to my mother’s room and unlocked the door. The familiar smell of dust and closed-up air hit me immediately, along with the faint lingering scent of my mother’s perfume.
I stepped inside reverently, my eyes taking in all the familiar details. Her books. Her jewelry box on the dresser. Her closet with clothes still hanging inside.
But then I noticed something that made me stop.
Footprints in the dust on the floor. Recent ones, judging by how clear they were.
“Louis,” I said, pointing at them. “Someone’s been in here.”
Louis followed my gaze and shifted uncomfortably. “I did some checkups yesterday. Making sure everything was secure. Nothing had been disturbed.”
I looked at the footprints more carefully. They were too small to be Louis’s. His feet were large, his shoes leaving much bigger impressions.
These footprints were delicate. Lady-like. Definitely not his.
“Those aren’t your footprints,” I said, my voice taking on an edge of suspicion. “You’re lying to me. Someone else was in here.”
“Miss Sophia…” Louis started.
But before he could finish, I heard footsteps in the hallway. I turned to see Hailey walking past, then stopping when she saw the open door to my mother’s room.
Our eyes met.
“GET OUT!” I screamed, my voice echoing off the walls. “GET OUT OF HERE! THIS ISN’T YOUR SPACE!”
“I was just walking by….” Hailey started.
“I DON’T CARE!” I shrieked, moving toward her. “You have no business being anywhere near this room! This was my MOTHER’S room! Not yours! You’re not her! You’ll never be her!”