CHAPTER FOUR — THE FILE OF NINETEEN YEARS
1951 Words
Morning sunlight filtered gently through the towering windows of Master Orion's mountain villa.
The soft golden light settled across Eliora's face.
For the first time in what felt like forever...
She slept peacefully.
No shouting echoed through the halls.
No accusations.
No footsteps outside her bedroom waiting to assign another chore.
No Vanessa.
No Gregory.
Only silence.
The kind of silence that healed instead of hurting.
Slowly, Eliora opened her eyes.
For a few seconds, she simply lay there, staring at the carved wooden ceiling.
Then a familiar scent reached her.
Fresh herbs.
Mountain air.
Medicinal incense.
A small smile tugged at her lips.
"I'm home..."
A gentle knock interrupted the quiet.
"Little Sparrow?"
Jefferson's cheerful voice came from outside.
"Master has threatened to dismiss me if I allow his precious disciple to skip breakfast."
Eliora laughed before she even opened the door.
"You've been saying that since I was twelve."
Jefferson stood outside balancing an extravagant breakfast tray.
"I wasn't joking then."
He walked inside dramatically.
"And I'm certainly not joking now."
He carefully placed the tray onto the table.
Warm soup.
Fresh bread.
Seasonal fruit.
Tea prepared exactly the way she liked it.
Eliora looked at the meal before looking back at him.
"Master made all this?"
Jefferson proudly nodded.
"He woke the kitchen before sunrise."
"He claimed a certain stubborn medical genius has the terrible habit of forgetting that even brilliant doctors need breakfast."
Eliora covered her face.
"...He actually said that?"
"He also said—"
Jefferson deliberately deepened his voice while imitating the old physician.
"'If that girl skips another meal, I'll personally drag her into the dining room.'"
Eliora burst into laughter.
The sound echoed warmly through the room.
Jefferson smiled.
There it was.
The laughter everyone inside the villa had been waiting to hear again.
His expression softened.
"Young Mistress..."
She immediately narrowed her eyes.
"There it is."
"What?"
"The title."
"You've called me Eliora for years."
Jefferson folded his arms innocently.
"And now you're officially back home."
He bowed dramatically.
"It would be disrespectful to address our Young Mistress improperly."
She rolled her eyes.
"You're impossible."
"I learned from Master."
"You definitely did."
Their laughter filled the room together.
For the first time since Ethan's betrayal...
The ache inside Eliora's chest no longer felt unbearable.
Perhaps pain really did become lighter when shared with people who genuinely cared.
...
After breakfast...
Eliora wandered outside.
The mountain breeze welcomed her immediately.
Everything looked exactly as she remembered.
The herb gardens stretched endlessly across the hillside.
Rare medicinal flowers bloomed beneath the morning sun.
Ancient trees swayed gently in the wind.
Birds chirped somewhere overhead.
Peace.
Real peace.
She slowly walked between the carefully arranged rows of herbs.
Almost unconsciously...
Her fingers brushed across a familiar leaf.
Immediately—
A memory surfaced.
A twelve-year-old Eliora stood in this exact spot.
"Master..."
"I think I accidentally mixed the wrong herbs."
Silence.
Master Orion looked inside the medicine pot.
Then looked at her.
Then looked back into the pot.
"...Little Sparrow."
"...Yes?"
"...Run."
She blinked.
"Why?"
"Because I'm about to chase you."
Young Eliora shrieked before sprinting through the herb garden.
Jefferson laughed so hard he nearly fell into the flower beds.
Back in the present...
Eliora couldn't stop herself from laughing.
Several elderly gardeners looked up.
The moment they recognized her...
Their faces lit up.
"Miss Eliora!"
"Our Young Mistress is finally back!"
"Welcome home!"
One elderly gardener hurried over carrying a basket of fresh herbs.
"I've been growing these exactly the way you taught me."
Eliora's eyes widened.
"You still remembered?"
The old man looked offended.
"How could I forget?"
"You were only fourteen when you corrected all my prescriptions."
Everyone laughed.
Eliora accepted the herbs carefully.
"Thank you."
"No."
The gardener smiled warmly.
"We should be thanking you."
"For saving my grandson."
Her smile slowly faded.
She remembered.
Years ago...
The little boy had nearly died from a rare poisoning.
Master Orion had guided her through the treatment.
Together...
They saved him.
The old gardener wiped the corner of his eyes discreetly.
"You gave my family another lifetime."
Eliora didn't know what to say.
Instead...
She simply smiled.
Warmly.
Genuinely.
...
Her phone suddenly vibrated.
The smile disappeared.
Gregory Reed.
She declined it.
Three seconds later...
Vanessa Reed.
Declined.
Again.
Her adoptive mother.
Declined.
Another call.
Another.
Another.
The screen refused to stop lighting up.
Jefferson glanced toward the phone.
"They're persistent."
Eliora looked quietly at the names flashing across the screen.
Only yesterday...
She would have panicked.
She would have rushed home.
She would have apologized for something that wasn't even her fault.
Today...
She felt...
Nothing.
The phone rang again.
This time...
She answered.
Before she could speak—
"Eliora!"
Her adoptive mother's furious voice exploded through the speaker.
"Where exactly are you?"
"Do you know how embarrassed you've made this family?"
"Come home immediately!"
Not...
Are you safe?
Not...
Have you eaten?
Not...
Are you alright?
Only demands.
Only control.
Eliora quietly looked around the peaceful mountain estate.
The gardens.
The breeze.
The servants smiling in the distance.
Then she looked back at her phone.
For the first time...
She realized something.
She had never truly belonged to them.
Perhaps...
She never had.
"Eliora!"
"Did you hear what I said?"
A long silence followed.
Then...
She answered softly.
"Yes."
Her adoptive mother sighed impatiently.
"Good."
"Then come home."
Eliora's expression remained calm.
Steady.
Certain.
She spoke only one word.
"No."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Without waiting for another reply...
She ended the call.
Blocked the number.
Then blocked Gregory.
Then Vanessa.
One by one.
She slipped the phone back into her pocket.
And for the first time in nineteen years...
She felt free.
Just then, Jefferson appeared beside her once more.
A knowing smile rested on his face.
"Master is waiting in his study."
Eliora's heart skipped slightly.
She already knew what waited inside.
The file.
The one that had rested on his desk all night.
The one containing nineteen years of unanswered questions.
Taking a slow breath...
She followed Jefferson toward the villa.
Completely unaware...
That once she opened that file...
There would be no turning back.
.................
Master Orion's study smelled faintly of old books, medicinal herbs, and sandalwood.
Morning sunlight spilled across the polished wooden floor.
The thick file still rested quietly on the desk.
Waiting.
Master Orion sat opposite Eliora without saying a word.
He didn't rush her.
Some decisions deserved silence.
Eliora slowly approached the desk.
For a long moment...
She simply stared at the file.
Nineteen years...
How many answers were hidden inside?
Her fingers hesitated over the cover.
"What if..." she whispered.
Master Orion looked at her calmly.
"What if they don't like me?"
The old physician smiled.
"Little Sparrow."
"When have you ever met someone who disliked you after truly knowing you?"
She lowered her eyes.
"I don't know them."
"No."
He nodded.
"But they already love you."
Her fingers tightened around the edge of the file.
Slowly...
She opened it.
The first page contained only one photograph.
A beautiful young woman sat in a hospital room.
One hand rested lovingly over her swollen stomach.
Her smile was gentle.
Radiant.
At the bottom of the photograph, neat handwriting read—
Waiting for our little princess.
Eliora's breathing slowed.
She turned the page.
Another photograph.
A nursery.
Soft cream-colored walls.
Tiny dresses hanging neatly inside a wardrobe.
Stuffed animals lined across a crib.
Everything had already been prepared.
Everything...
Waiting for her.
She continued turning the pages.
Birthday after birthday.
Year after year.
Photographs of beautifully decorated cakes.
Family dinners.
Holiday celebrations.
Every single picture contained one empty chair.
One untouched birthday gift.
One missing smile.
Her.
"They..."
Her voice trembled.
"...they really waited."
Master Orion quietly nodded.
"They celebrated your birthday every year."
"They refused to stop."
Another page.
A newspaper clipping.
ASHFORD FAMILY OFFERS RECORD REWARD FOR MISSING INFANT.
Another.
Search teams.
Private investigators.
International notices.
Years passed.
The searches never stopped.
"They never gave up?"
Master Orion answered softly.
"Not once."
Tears blurred Eliora's vision.
She wiped them away before they could fall onto the photographs.
Then another picture appeared.
A distinguished elderly man stood proudly beside a little girl's empty swing.
Although his expression remained stern...
His eyes couldn't hide the sadness.
"My grandfather?"
Master Orion smiled faintly.
"Arthur Ashford."
"The head of the Ashford family."
"He searched longer than anyone."
"He personally funded search teams across several countries."
"When everyone else began losing hope..."
"He refused."
Another page.
Two teenage boys.
One looked composed and mature.
The other grinned mischievously at the camera.
"They're..."
"Lucas and Liam."
"Your brothers."
Master Orion chuckled.
"The younger one once punched a classmate for saying you were probably dead."
Eliora blinked.
"He...what?"
"He was twelve."
"He earned a week's suspension."
A tiny laugh escaped her.
Then came another photograph.
A tall man stood beside the elegant woman from the first picture.
His posture was confident.
Powerful.
Yet his smile toward the camera looked surprisingly gentle.
"Richard Ashford."
"Your father."
Master Orion became unusually quiet.
"He blamed himself every single day."
"He believed failing to protect you was the greatest mistake of his life."
Eliora slowly closed the file.
She could no longer continue.
Too many emotions filled her heart at once.
Confusion.
Hope.
Fear.
Longing.
"What if..."
She swallowed.
"...I'm not what they expect?"
Master Orion stood.
He walked around the desk and gently rested a hand on her shoulder.
"Little Sparrow."
"They're not looking for perfection."
"They're looking for you."
Silence filled the study.
Then...
Eliora nodded.
Very slightly.
"I think..."
She took a slow breath.
"...I'd like to meet them."
A warm smile spread across Master Orion's face.
"I thought you'd say that."
----------
Hundreds of miles away...
Inside Ashford Group Headquarters...
No one dared make a sound.
Richard Ashford stood before the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city.
His phone remained tightly gripped in his hand.
Behind him...
His wife, Evelyn, sat clutching a faded baby photograph to her chest.
Lucas leaned against the wall with folded arms.
Liam paced endlessly across the room.
Even Arthur Ashford remained unusually restless.
The conference room doors suddenly burst open.
The chief investigator hurried inside.
His breathing was uneven.
His eyes shone with excitement.
"We confirmed it."
Every person in the room stood.
Simultaneously.
Richard's voice shook.
"Say it."
The investigator smiled.
"We found Miss Eliora."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The baby photograph slipped from Evelyn's trembling fingers.
"...Alive?"
The investigator nodded.
"Alive."
Evelyn covered her mouth.
A sob escaped before she could stop it.
Richard immediately held her shoulders.
His own vision had already blurred.
Arthur Ashford slowly closed his eyes.
For nineteen years...
He had prayed for this moment.
Lucas looked away, pretending to adjust his sleeve.
Liam made no attempt to hide the tears running down his face.
"Where is she?"
The investigator answered respectfully.
"She's with Master Orion Vale."
Arthur's eyes opened immediately.
"Prepare the convoy."
No one questioned him.
No one hesitated.
Within minutes...
Luxury vehicles rolled out of the Ashford estate one after another.
Security teams.
Medical staff.
Bodyguards.
Not because they feared danger...
But because they were bringing home the most precious member of their family.
................
Back at the mountain villa...
Late afternoon sunlight painted the mountains gold.
Jefferson quietly walked onto the balcony.
His usually cheerful expression had become solemn.
He looked toward the winding road below.
Then at Eliora.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Miss Eliora..."
She turned.
He smiled gently.
"...they're here."
Far below...
A convoy of black luxury cars slowly climbed the mountain road.
And for the first time in nineteen years...
A family was finally coming home.
END OF CHAPTER FOUR
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