Chapter 52

"Fuck." A pained grunt forces my eyes open.

Daniel Carter clutched his bleeding shoulder, his face twisted in agony.

"Drop the goddamn gun, Daniel, or I swear to Christ I'll put a bullet between your eyes," Ethan Blackwood's voice sliced through the haze in my mind.

Of all people, he was the last I wanted to see. Shame burned through me. He'd warned me, and I'd been too stubborn to listen.

"The building's surrounded. You're outnumbered," Ethan added coldly.

Police sirens wailed in the distance, and relief washed over me.

Daniel lowered his gun slowly, placing it on the ground. His icy gaze locked onto mine, refusing to let me look away. I wanted to—needed to—but I couldn't. I deserved to remember how foolish I'd been.

"Sophia, look at me." Ethan's voice pulled me from Daniel's stare. Only then did I realize Ethan stood directly in front of me, shielding me.

Seeing him up close brought tears to my eyes. His last words to me months ago still echoed in my mind.

I kept my eyes on him as he unlocked the chains binding me. He was my anchor. If I focused on him, maybe I wouldn’t drown in this sea of pain.

"I've got you," he murmured, his voice impossibly gentle.

The moment I was free, I collapsed into his arms, too exhausted to hold myself up.

He pulled me close, and I fought back the tears threatening to spill. My gaze flickered back to Daniel. He was on the ground now, cuffed, his wound still bleeding. No one cared.

I watched as they dragged him away, my heart shattering at the loss of the future I'd foolishly believed in.

"Are you hurt?" Ethan asked, pulling back slightly.

The warmth of his embrace vanished, leaving me chilled to the bone. The cold wasn’t just on my skin—it seeped into my soul.

"Sophia?"

I shook my head, my voice trapped in my throat. Maybe if I stayed silent, this nightmare would end. Maybe I’d wake up and none of this would be real.

Nothing registered. Ethan’s lips moved, but I heard nothing. Sebastian walked in with a shell-shocked Amelia, followed by Gregory and a team of officers. None of it mattered.

I was numb. Or maybe beyond numb. Broken.

Why had he done this? Why pretend to care if he’d always planned to destroy me?

The more I thought about it—about us—the more I died inside.

I barely noticed when Ethan guided me out, his arm around my waist, holding me up. I didn’t even realize we were in a car until we hit a bump.

The ride was short. Soon, we pulled up to the police station.

Gregory met us and led us inside to give our statements. I barely remembered what I said or how long I’d zoned out.

"Sophia." Ethan’s voice was soft but firm.

I blinked, realizing we were in a stark white room. Not just us—Nathan, Sebastian, Amelia, and even Isabella were there.

Amelia had a bandage wrapped around her head. Absently, I touched my own and found one there too. I hadn’t even noticed.

"There was an ambulance at the warehouse. They checked you and bandaged the cut. You’re fine otherwise," Ethan said, as if reading my thoughts.

"Why is she here?" I pointed at Isabella.

The last thing I needed was her witnessing my downfall.

No one answered. They just stared at me with pity. I looked away, unable to bear it. Just as I was about to demand they all leave, the door opened.

Daniel and Gregory walked in.

Daniel was still cuffed, his shoulder bandaged. At least the bleeding had stopped.

"Sophia, you wanted to hear from Daniel. Here he is. Maybe he can explain why he deceived everyone—including our entire department," Gregory said wearily.

"He hasn’t talked?" Nathan asked, pulling Amelia closer. She had tears in her eyes.

I understood. I’d introduced her to Daniel. She must feel just as betrayed.

"No. He’s refused to say a word," Gregory admitted.

I turned to Daniel. His cold, emotionless gaze locked onto me, freezing me in place.

"Why?" My voice trembled. "Why did you do this?"

He stared, his eyes burning through me. Where was the warmth he’d once shown? Had it all been an act?

"I wanted the company," he said simply.

Shock rippled through me. I hadn’t expected an answer.

"What company?" I demanded.

I didn’t own a company. I invested, but I wasn’t like Ethan, with businesses under my name. The only thing I had was the Hope Foundation. Why would Daniel care about that?

"What company?" I pressed when he stayed silent.

I needed to know what had driven him to hurt me like this.

"Your grandparents' company," he said, his voice flat. "I worked for it. It should have been mine."

I laughed bitterly. "That makes no sense. I have no rights to it. If you wanted it, you should’ve gone after Nathan—it’s in his name."

Nathan glared at me, but I didn’t care. Everyone knew my family had left me nothing.

Daniel sighed. "I’m not talking about the Sterlings. I’m talking about your real grandparents."

Nathan exploded. "What the hell are you saying? Don’t listen to him, Sophia!"

I stayed silent.

"It’s not bullshit," Daniel snapped. "Tell me you’ve never doubted you were really a Sterling. Tell me you’ve never felt like an outsider."

My breath caught. I had doubted. So many times.

My family had treated me differently since I was a child. Nathan and Isabella got love, attention, gifts. I got indifference.

"You can’t deny it," Daniel said when I didn’t answer. "You know."

I looked away, unwilling to let them see the truth in my eyes.

"So you never saw us as family?" Nathan asked quietly.

"Did you ever see me as family?" I shot back. "I was always on the outside. Always looking in."

Isabella scoffed. "Oh, spare us the pity party."

"Why is she even here?" Daniel and I said in unison.

I glanced at him, then quickly looked away.

"She’s your sister," Gregory said, as if that explained anything.

"I don’t consider anyone in this room family except Amelia," I said flatly. "They can leave. Especially her."

Ethan tensed beside me, but I didn’t care.

"Can we focus on Daniel?" Sebastian cut in.

Daniel shrugged. "Let me tell you a story about a girl named Eleanor."

We fell silent as he began.

"Eleanor came from a middle-class family. Her father was a preacher, strict and devout. She was raised to follow every rule—until she met a boy. Alexander. They met at eleven, became friends, then fell in love by thirteen."

His voice was detached, robotic.

"Eleanor knew her parents would disown her if they found out. She planned to wait until college to be with Alexander openly. But then the unthinkable happened."

He paused. "She got pregnant at fourteen."

My stomach twisted.

"Alexander wanted to take responsibility. But her father lost his mind. He demanded she get rid of the baby. When she refused, they threw her out."

My chest tightened.

"Alexander’s family was wealthy. They took her in. Despite their age, they decided to keep the baby. But then Eleanor’s parents realized who Alexander was—and suddenly, they wanted the baby. They thought they could extort money."

Disgust rolled through me.

"Eleanor went into labor early. It was long, painful. When the baby was born... there was no cry." Daniel’s voice cracked. "The baby was stillborn."

I swallowed hard.

"Why are you telling us this?" I whispered.

"Because," Daniel said, his eyes locking onto mine, "Eleanor and Alexander are my parents."

He paused.

"And yours."

The room spun.

"You’re the baby they lost. The one who supposedly died."

The world shattered.