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Chapter 4 - Chapter four: Seeds of Doubt

The rest of the night passed in a blur of whispers, gasps, and scandalized stares. The grand ballroom, once resplendent with floral arrangements and gold trimmings, now felt cold and foreign. Elara's wedding—if it could even be called that anymore—was over before it began. The guests had either left or remained to gawk at the unfolding drama, and the once pristine white aisle was now a pathway littered with shattered illusions.

Elara stood by one of the towering windows, gazing blankly at the darkening sky. In the distance, she could hear the faint murmurs of guests discussing the shocking turn of events, but she was too numb to care. The world felt distant, as though she was watching it unfold from behind a glass wall, unable to break through.

Violet stood beside her, silent but steadfast. She hadn't left Elara's side, not once, even as the chaos unfolded around them.

"Elara," Violet said softly, her voice cutting through the haze. "I think we should leave. This is too much for one night."

Elara didn't respond right away. Her mind was a storm of emotions—anger, fear, confusion. But above all, doubt. She didn't know who she was anymore. Everything she had believed, the life she had built, the identity she had taken for granted—it all hung in the balance, and she didn't know how to make sense of it.

"I can't leave," Elara finally said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I have to face this."

"Face what?" Violet asked, her tone gentle. "Clara's made a claim, but that doesn't mean it's true. We don't even know if the letter is real."

Elara turned to her, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "But what if it is, Violet? What if everything I've ever known has been a lie? What if I'm not a Sinclair at all?"

Violet reached for her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "We don't know anything for sure yet. Don't let her words shake you like this. We'll figure it out."

Elara nodded weakly, but the seed of doubt had already been planted, and it was growing rapidly. She felt it gnawing away at her, twisting her insides with every passing second. What if Clara was right? What if she was just an imposter living someone else's life?

Before she could spiral any further, a familiar voice cut through the air.

"Elara."

She turned sharply to see her mother approaching, her usually composed face marred with worry and tension. The woman who had always seemed so sure of herself now looked as though the ground had been ripped out from under her feet.

"Mom…" Elara whispered, her throat tight. She searched her mother's face for some sign of reassurance, but there was none to be found.

"We need to talk," her mother said quietly, her voice trembling with an emotion Elara couldn't quite place. Guilt? Fear? It was hard to tell.

Elara exchanged a glance with Violet, who nodded in silent understanding before stepping away to give them privacy. The ballroom had emptied out by now, leaving only a few lingering guests, the Langfords, and Clara.

Her mother took a deep breath, then gestured for Elara to follow her to a more secluded area near the back of the ballroom. They stood by one of the towering windows, the moon casting a faint glow over the room.

"Elara," her mother began, her voice heavy with the weight of what she was about to say. "You have to understand, we didn't know. Your father and I had no idea that there was a switch. If what Clara is saying is true, then it happened without our knowledge."

Elara's breath caught. "But how could something like this happen? How could you not know?"

Her mother's face crumpled slightly, and she seemed to age in front of Elara's eyes. "You were just a baby… We trusted the staff. We trusted the nanny. She had been with the Sinclair family for years." Her voice cracked, and she paused to collect herself. "I had no reason to suspect anything."

Elara clenched her fists, the confusion giving way to anger. "But you should have known! I grew up believing I was your daughter—your real daughter. And now, you're telling me there's a possibility that I'm not?"

Her mother reached out to touch her arm, but Elara stepped back, the distance between them growing with every revelation.

"Elara, you are my daughter," her mother insisted, her voice trembling. "No matter what that letter says, you're still the child I raised. You're still part of this family."

"But what if I'm not a Sinclair?" Elara's voice cracked as she fought back tears. "What if I don't belong here?"

Her mother's eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. "We will figure this out. We'll get to the bottom of it. But please… don't let Clara get into your head. We don't even know if what she's saying is true."

Elara wanted to believe her. She wanted to cling to the hope that this was all some terrible mistake, that Clara was just lying out of spite or jealousy. But the doubt was too strong, the possibility too real. Her entire identity, her place in the world, was unraveling right in front of her, and she didn't know how to stop it.

"I need answers," Elara said quietly, her voice shaking. "I need to know the truth."

Her mother nodded, wiping away a tear. "We'll get them. I promise you, Elara, we'll get the answers."

But as her mother walked away, Elara was left standing in the ballroom, staring at the grand, empty space where her life had just fallen apart. The weight of everything that had happened crashed down on her, and for the first time in her life, she felt completely and utterly lost.