Tangled Shadows [COMPLETE]

Epilogue

A Few Years Later

Eliana stood quietly in front of her mother’s grave, the afternoon sun casting long shadows over the rows of headstones. The seasons had changed, and time had moved on, but the ache in her chest when she visited this place never really went away. She knelt down, brushing away a few fallen leaves, revealing the flowers she’d brought, a fresh bouquet of crimson roses, just like her mother used to love.

“Hey, Mom,” she began, her voice softer now, aged with the passage of years and the wisdom that only time could bring. “It’s been a while. I thought it was time for an update.”

She smiled wistfully, thinking of everything that had happened since those dark days. “Jonathan... he’s gone now. He paid for everything he did, for the lives he ruined. They gave him the death sentence, and the others who were involved, they’re all behind bars. Justice was served, and those girls he hurt... they’re home. Safe. Kian’s still keeping an eye on them, even after all this time. He doesn’t talk about it much, but I know he’ll never truly let his guard down.”

Eliana’s expression softened as she thought of her sister. “Sissy is doing better. It’s taken a lot of time, and there are still moments when she struggles, but she’s healing. Slowly but surely, she’s learning to trust again. And,  she trusts Kian now. They’ve grown close. Someone she can rely on, and I think that’s helped her more than she lets on.”

She brushed her fingers over the smooth stone, the engraved name bringing a bittersweet warmth to her chest. “I wish you could see how things have changed, how much we’ve all changed. We’ve built something good here, something strong. But we still miss you so much.”

Eliana took a deep breath, letting the air fill her lungs, carrying with it a sense of peace she hadn’t felt in a long time. “I know you’re watching over us, and I hope you’re proud. We’re doing okay, Mom. Kian and I... we’ve built a life together. It’s not perfect, but it’s ours. And we carry you with us, in everything we do.”

She pressed her lips to her fingers and touched them to the gravestone, a quiet promise in her gesture. “I’ll come back soon, after knowing something which is still unsolved, who was my real mother. I love you, always.”

With one last look, Eliana stood up and turned back toward the path leading away, toward the life she had built from the ashes of the past, a life shaped by loss, but also by love, hope, and the quiet strength that her mother had instilled in her.

_____________________________

Dear diary,

September 22, 2004

I remember the first time I held Eliana in my arms, so tiny and fragile, yet already carrying a piece of my heart. It’s strange how fate works. She isn't my own flesh and blood, but from that very moment, it felt like she was meant to be mine, like some invisible thread tied us together. Her little fingers curled around mine, and I knew that I would love her as fiercely as if she had come from me.

Carolina, one of my business partner...  I think of her often. She was a remarkable woman, strong and kind, with a heart full of hope and dreams for the future. She loved Jonathan deeply, perhaps too deeply, not knowing the shadows lurking behind his charming facade. He had a way of bending the truth, making her see what he wanted her to see. She believed him, trusted him, and in the end, it cost her everything.

When she went into labor, there was this indescribable strength in her eyes, even as the pain took over. I still hear her voice sometimes, as if she's whispering to Eliana through the wind. And then, in those final moments, she was gone. She never got to see the beautiful child she brought into this world. I think, in a way, she knew she wouldn’t make it. But she fought until the end, for Eliana.

I promised myself that day, as I held Eliana, that I would protect her and love her the way Carolina would have. I see Carolina in Eliana’s eyes sometimes, a glimmer of that same hope. Maybe that's why my heart aches whenever I look at her, knowing the life her mother could have had, knowing that Jonathan took that from her. But I'll never let him take Eliana's happiness, no matter the cost.