Chapter 96

Brandon’s pov ; I could feel the weight of the conversation with Ava pressing down on me as I walked away. My mind was racing, each new piece of information about Sophie sending my thoughts spiraling. The way Ava described her—her difficult family, the fact that she worked to make ends meet—it painted a picture I hadn’t fully realized until now. Sophie was struggling, yet she still managed to smile, to hold herself with such strength. It made me think back to everything I’d seen in her, every quiet moment she shared, every piece of her story that didn’t seem to quite fit. Her family didn’t treat her well, Ava had said. That sentence kept echoing in my mind. It was a painful reminder of the life Bella had left behind, the life she’d fought so hard to escape. And now, Sophie was in front of me, so similar to her in more ways than one, yet so different in others. She didn’t know who she truly was, didn’t know the depth of the blood running through her veins, and I couldn’t help but wonder