Chapter 10 – Starting Afresh
Sophia’s Pov
I woke up the next morning with the kind of fear that didn’t come from nightmares, but from memory.
For a second, I expected the sharp yank of hair. A slap. Someone screaming at me for something I hadn’t done. My body tensed beneath the warm duvet, waiting–bracing.
But it never came.
No footsteps stomping toward me. No venom laced in someone’s voice.
Just silence.
I opened my eyes slowly. Morning sunlight filtered through silk curtains, brushing the room in soft gold.
I blinked at the ceiling above me, ornate and delicate, nothing like the cracked paint and moldy corners of the room I used to live in.
I took a deep breath. I was free. Lorenzo wasn’t here. Neither was Renata.
And for the first time in a long time… no one was watching me suffer.
A soft knock echoed against the door.
“Come in,” I said quietly.
The nurse stepped in–young, calm, her uniform crisp. She smiled gently.
“I’m here to help you shower and change your bandages, Miss Sophia.”
I nodded, slowly sitting up with her help. Every part of my body still hurt–my abdomen, my ribs, my head–but pain wasn’t a stranger. At least now it came
with safety.
With her assistance, I showered, dressed, and had my wounds tended to. She was careful, almost reverent with her touch. As if patching up a broken piece. of porcelain.
Afterward, she led me to the dining room.
It was elegant but warm. A long table. Chandelier light dancing on silverware. My father and grandfather were already seated, both standing when they saw me walk in.
7:15 Tue, Sep 9
My grandfather moved first, pulling out a chair like I was royalty.
“You look better this morning,” he said with a soft smile.
I sat down and gave a small nod. “Thank you… both.”
Breakfast was served–eggs, toast, some sort of rich Italian tea I didn’t recognize. I actually tasted it. I hadn’t tasted anything in months.
My father asked how I’d slept. My grandfather asked if I was in pain. I answered both truthfully, but quietly. My voice still didn’t know how to be loud again.
After the meal, my father kissed the top of my head.
“I have to attend to some business. Your grandfather will take you around today.”
I watched him walk away, briefcase in hand, shoulders squared. It felt strange to be protected by a man who hadn’t even known I existed… and yet still felt like home.
“Come,” my grandfather said, standing. “There’s something I need to show you.”
He led me outside into a private garden. It was quiet–peaceful. Covered in soft grass and white lilies blooming like ghosts under the morning light.
Then I saw it.
A small grave under a cherry blossom tree, surrounded by flowers and smooth stones.
I stopped walking.
“What is that?” I asked him.
He sighed, “Somehow we managed to get our hands on Ariella’s ashes. It was the least we could do.”
My knees buckled slowly to the ground.
My eyes blurred. My hands trembled. My heart cracked open like it had just found out all over again.
“Ariella…” I whispered.
My little girl.
7:15 Tue, Sep 9
found out all over again.
“Ariella…” I whispered.
My little girl.
He crouched beside me. “Your father saved her ashes. We buried them here. Where she could finally rest in peace.”
I wept. I cried so hard I could barely breathe. I pressed my forehead against the cold marble stone and whispered every apology I’d kept buried for years.
“I’m so sorry,” I choked out. “I should’ve left earlier. I should’ve protected your better. I’m so sorry I gave you the wrong father. I’m sorry I wasn’t enough.”
My grandfather held my shoulders.
“None of this is your fault, Sophia. None of it.”
“I was her mother,” I sobbed. “And I let them hurt her. I let him…”
“She loved you,” he said gently. “And if we had reached you sooner, maybe we could’ve saved her. That is our burden to bear now, not yours.”
When the tears slowed, I wiped my face with the back of my hand and kissed
the tombstone softly.
“I’ll make it right,” I whispered. “I swear to you.” Then I turned to my grandfather, “Thank you so much.”
My grandfather helped me up as he nodded. “It’s the least we could do. Now that you’ve found closure, it’s time to start afresh.”
The next few days were nothing like the life I used to know.
I trained–slowly, but steadily. My body was still healing, but that didn’t stop my grandfather from teaching me how to hold a gun. How to shoot one. Where to aim, how to breathe, how to kill if needed.
I also had a private instructor who taught me the foundations of business strategy, financial warfare, and how the Calderons kept control without spilling blood.
I studied harder than I ever had in my life.
My bruises faded. My strength returned.
Chanter 10 – Starting Afresh
3/4 77.0%
Win100
Paleys Pinancial warfare, anu now the calderons kept control wi spilling blood.
I studied harder than I ever had in my life.
My bruises faded. My strength returned.
And every day, I looked more and more like the woman Lorenzo tried to destroy–but couldn’t.
At the end of the week, my father visited me with a box in his hand.
He opened it slowly and held out a ring. Heavy. Gold. With the Calderon
insignia engraved at the center–a lion wrapped in thorns.
“This belongs to you now,” he said. “You carry our name. Our blood. And soon, the world will know it.”
I slipped it on.
Then he exchanged a look with my grandfather.
“There’s one more thing,” my father said. “The man who rescued you… the one who pulled you from the rubble…”
My heart skipped.
“Who is he?”
“He’s not just an ally. He’s someone we trust with our lives. And more importantly…” my father smiled faintly, “he’s someone who wants to see Lorenzo fall just as much as you do.”
I held my breath.
My grandfather stepped in. “His name is Mateo De Luca. And he’s waiting to meet you.”
7:16 Tue, Sep 9
