Chapter 4: Home Again
Six months later...
The Castillo mansion looked different.
The servants no longer walked with fear.
Laughter had returned to halls that had once echoed with silence.
Alejandro stood in the garden waiting.
The front door opened.
Elena stepped outside wearing a simple white dress instead of a maid's uniform.
For the first time in years, there were no bruises on her wrists.
Only sunlight.
Alejandro walked toward her without saying a word.
She smiled through tears.
"I thought you'd forgotten me."
He gently took both of her hands.
"I searched every day," he replied. "I just didn't know I should have been searching inside my own home."
The staff gathered on the terrace and quietly applauded.
The elderly maid who had finally spoken the truth embraced Elena like a daughter.
Alejandro announced that every employee who had protected Elena would receive a lifetime pension and a place in the Castillo family.
As for Vivian, she was convicted of kidnapping, fraud, unlawful imprisonment, and conspiracy. Every asset obtained through her crimes was seized, and many of her accomplices faced justice as well.
That evening, Alejandro and Elena stood together beneath the same windows where the storm had begun.
The rain had finally stopped.
"So... we're home?" Elena whispered.
Alejandro kissed her forehead.
"No," he answered softly.
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"We're finally free."
And for the first time in three long years, the Castillo mansion truly became a home again.
