Chapter 35 — The Game Behind the Curtain
Ava sat on the edge of the bed, her phone still glowing beside her, the words "No biological relation" imprinted on her brain like a brand. Relief coursed through her veins, but it was tangled with a different feeling now.
Suspicion.
Dominic had read the message three times and still hadn't spoken. He stood near the window, hands in his pockets, jaw clenched as if bracing for another hit.
"It's over," he said finally, his voice rough. "We're free."
Ava looked up at him. "Are we?"
He turned. "What do you mean?"
She swallowed hard. "Juliana told a lie so detailed, so calculated… and she knew how we'd react. She planted those letters, Dominic. I found them too easily. She wanted me to."
He stared at her, frowning.
"She wanted us to spiral," Ava whispered. "She wanted us to question everything. You, me, our love, our sanity. And now that we've proven her lie—she disappears?"
Dominic's eyes narrowed. "Where is she?"
Ava stood abruptly. "Let's find out."
They moved fast, storming through the hallway toward Juliana's wing of the estate. The door was slightly ajar. Ava pushed it open.
Empty.
Not just of people—but of everything.
Closet doors hung open. Drawers cleared. The wall safe was unlocked, the contents gone. All that remained was a sealed white envelope on the vanity, addressed in her elegant, looping script:
To Ava.
Dominic picked it up and handed it to her.
Ava hesitated—then tore it open.
> My dear Ava,
I knew you'd come looking. And I knew the test would clear you both. But I needed you to doubt first. To break.
Because love that isn't tested by fire will never survive the storm.
You think I'm cruel, and perhaps I am. But I was raised in a world where women were currency, and feelings were a liability. I saw what love did to Clara—it made her blind. And it got her killed.
I needed to know if you would still fight for Dominic after I shattered everything.
And you did.
That's why I've left. This story is no longer mine to write. It's yours.
Tell it well.
—J.
Ava lowered the letter slowly.
"She… tested us," she said numbly. "Like we were part of some twisted experiment."
Dominic looked shaken. "She planned it from the start."
"She wanted to see if we were real," Ava whispered. "Not because she cared… but because she had to know. For Clara. For herself."
Dominic stepped closer, brushing a hand against Ava's cheek. "We passed, Ava. We're here."
Ava met his gaze, still unsure if what they had had survived—or just emerged in another form.
But in that moment, all she knew was this: they were free.
Of lies. Of legacy. Of Juliana's grip.
But freedom came with a new question—
Who are we without the war?