Epilogue: The Door I Finally Opened
By morning, the rain had stopped.
The house looked the same from the outside—white stone, iron gates, perfect hedges, polished windows—but something inside it had changed forever.
I made breakfast for Sofia and left her plate outside her room with a note.
You are safe. I believe you.
Ten minutes later, her door opened.
She stepped into the hallway holding Toño against her chest, smaller than any child should have looked in a house that large. I did not rush toward her. I only knelt where I was and waited.
Slowly, she came to me.
When she leaned against my shoulder, I felt the full weight of what Renata had tried to destroy.
Trust.
The drive was already secured. The calls had already been made. The game Renata had written was over, because Sofia had changed the ending.
For the first time since I entered that house, I reached for a door without fear.
And this time, I opened it.