Elara’s POV
The clink of silverware had barely faded when the man in the gray suit appeared.
“Elara Vance?”
The voice was too smooth, too clinical.
“I’m Mr. Ward, legal representative of the Ashford family,” he said, stepping into the dining room like he owned it. “I have the official paperwork finalizing your divorce.”
My hands went cold.
No one stood. No one reacted. Not even Thorne.
Sierra sipped her wine like it was nothing.
“Wonderful,” Mrs. Vance said, clasping her hands. “Let’s get that settled quickly. We have wedding planning to do.”
Mr. Ward laid the papers in front of me.
“The original document was signed but incomplete. Please sign the final page, here and here for full legal release.” He tapped the lines with a fountain pen he produced from his pocket.
I stared at the paper. My own signature was already there from that night I left.
But now it looked small. Weak. Like a bruise on white paper.
“Elara?” he prompted.
I reached for the pen. My hand trembled.
Mrs. Vance sighed, her tone airy. “Oh, Elara. Don’t make it dramatic. You said you wanted this.”
“Let her take her time,” Sierra said sweetly. “Wouldn’t want her to mess up her own goodbye.”
Mr. Vance’s voice chimed in. “This is the best for everyone, dear. Thorne deserves someone… more suited to the role.”
I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood.
My throat was dry. My eyes stung.
Then I signed.
I wrote the last two signatures. Quietly. Carefully. Like the act itself would split me in half.
Mr. Ward smiled. “All done.”
I handed him the pen, numb.
“Thank you,” Mr. Ward said, closing the folder. “Congratulations to the Ashfords and Vances on the upcoming engagement.”
He turned and left.
I barely whispered, “Excuse me.”
No one noticed.
No one cared.
I left the table, my feet silent on the marble floors. I didn’t know where I was going. I just walked past the formal hallway, past the grand piano, down the staircase that led to the older wing of the house.
I ended up outside the door I hadn’t seen in years.
Her room.
The nanny’s room.
My mother’s.
I stepped inside.
The scent of old linen and worn floorboards hit me like a memory I hadn’t known I’d kept.
I sat down hard, knees buckling as the tears finally broke loose. Not loud. Not messy. Just slow and quiet, like something inside me was leaking.
I missed her.
Not the Vances.
Not the penthouse.
Not even the version of Thorne I used to wish existed.
Her.
The only person who ever looked at me like I mattered.
I don’t know why I pulled open the drawer in the nightstand. I just needed something that reminds me of her.
Inside was a locket. A folded scarf. And at the very back was a small envelope.
Yellowed with age. Faintly torn at the corner.
It was labeled in shaky handwriting:
If anything happens to me, give this to Elara. She deserves to know.
I opened it with shaking hands. Wondering what is this, and why did she even write this.
Inside were two hospital ID bracelets, a thin birth certificate, and a handwritten note, scrawled and smudged.
One bracelet was named Baby Vance.
The other was Baby Reyes, my mother’s surname.
The note was shaky, but clear.
They gave me the wrong child. I know it. She had a mole on her shoulder and lighter eyes. Yours didn’t. I think they made a mistake. But I was too scared to say anything. I thought if I said something, they’d fire me and take you away. I don’t want that. I love you and I know in my bones that you aren't mine by blood. But you are mine in every other way. I kept this because someday… they need to know the truth. I’m sorry for being a coward. I hope to meet my real daughter if I’m present by the time you read this. But if otherwise, I hope both of you will bond like real sisters. I love you.
The room swam.
The breath left my lungs.
I was not the maid’s daughter.
I was the daughter of the Vance family.
Then it all came flooding back, every crack they carved into me.
Mrs. Vance’s condescending smile.
Sierra’s smug little giggles, her fingers laced through Thorne’s arm.
Thorne himself, cold and bored, holding the divorce papers like they were a receipt.
I was treated like background noise. A name on paper. A placeholder in someone else’s fantasy.
Married off like a favor. Ignored like a burden.
All while they raised her in my name. My life.
I stood up on shaky legs, the envelope clutched to my chest like a lifeline.
I didn’t know where I was going.
And in my mind, the thoughts rose like smoke, slow and furious.
How would they take it if they knew it was me all along?
What would Mrs. Vance do if she found out her “real” daughter wasn’t her blood?
What would Sierra say if she knew I was the one born into everything she pretended to be?
Would Thorne still choose her then? If he knew I was the one they all owed everything to?
I was halfway into the hallway when someone turned the corner and walked straight into me.
Thorne.
His eyes searched my face.
“What are you doing down here?”
I couldn’t answer.
I was still in the fog. Still reeling.
“The dream was true,” I whispered, the truth slicing through me like a blade.
He frowned. “What?”
I looked up.
Right into his eyes.
“I’m the real daughter of the Vance family.”
