The fire crackled gently in the stone hearth of Greystone Manor's drawing room.
Outside, the hills slept under morning mist. But inside, everything was burning — memories, silence, and the fragile space between who I thought I was and who I truly am.
My mother sat across from me, eyes steady, spine straight despite the weight of years gone.
James sat quietly beside me, listening as she began to speak.
"I knew I was being followed the moment I leaked the Redwood files," Sophia said. "I had evidence tying Johnathan Windsor's biotech company to illegal human experimentation."
James stiffened slightly. "The tests on women in the eastern wards?"
She nodded. "Women who were promised cures for terminal illness — but instead, they were used as chemical subjects. Some died. Some disappeared."
My hands curled into fists.
"They knew I was pregnant. At the time, I was still trying to leave the country — to get you away before they could find me."
"Why didn't you go to the police?" I asked.
"I did," she said. "But the Windsors were everywhere. I gave my testimony to a prosecutor I trusted. A week later, she was found dead in her apartment. No sign of struggle. Case ruled a suicide."
I swallowed hard.
"What about my father?" I asked. "Richard Hale. He said he loved you."
Sophia's expression hardened.
"He loved the idea of me," she said. "But when the pressure came, he folded. Signed the silence contract. Took Windsor's money. Disappeared."
"He said he thought we were dead," I murmured.
"He lied. He knew the truth. But guilt makes liars out of cowards."
The room fell silent.
Until Sophia took a shaky breath and added, "They took you from me the night I was supposed to flee."
I blinked. "What?"
"You were just a baby — seven months. I left you with a friend while I went to meet a contact at the docks. A doctor who could get us out of the country."
Her hands trembled slightly now. "I came back… and you were gone. So was my friend. All that remained was a burner phone and a message."
> If you speak, you'll never see her again.
James looked furious. "They used her as leverage."
"They used my baby as a weapon," Sophia said, voice steel. "So I went underground. Disappeared. And waited for the right time."
"And all this time," I said, my voice shaking, "I was growing up in a stranger's home, thinking I was abandoned."
"I never abandoned you," she said, eyes shining. "I risked everything to keep you alive."
"I know that now," I whispered, reaching for her hand.
We held on to each other for a long moment. Mother and daughter — reunited, but scarred.
Then James cleared his throat.
"If you have your copy of the Redwood files," he said carefully, "we could use it. We've already published part of the first set. The public is listening now."
Sophia stood and walked toward a vintage cabinet near the back of the room. She opened a hidden panel and pulled out a thick leather folder.
"I never stopped collecting evidence," she said. "Not just on the Windsors. But on every hand that helped cover it up. Judges. Investors. Politicians."
She laid the files out in front of us like a war map.
"This," she said softly, "is what destroyed my life."
"And this," I replied, "is what's going to destroy them."
James studied the files, jaw clenched. "We'll need to move fast. Once they know you're alive, they'll double the bounty. Especially if they think you're about to speak publicly."
"I plan to," Sophia said without flinching.
I looked at her, my heart full of awe. "You're still fighting."
"I never stopped," she replied. "But now, I'm not fighting alone."