- 25 minutes ago
Clearing My Name - FULL | DramaReel
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Short filmTranscript
00:0210 years ago, the Hudson River Bridge 1 was responsible for building collapsed, causing mass casualties.
00:10My parents screamed that I was a murderer and cut off all ties with me.
00:14The victims' families doused me in gasoline, ready to die alongside me.
00:19And so, I spent 10 years in prison.
00:22After my release, I changed my name, found a coffee shop in a small upstate New York town, and became
00:27a barista.
00:28Life was quiet, peaceful.
00:30Just when I thought it would stay that way forever, my ex-husband, Silas Sterling, came looking for me.
00:36The architectural firm he'd founded had long since gone public.
00:40He was at the peak of everything.
00:42The reporters swarming around him turned all their cameras on me.
00:46Mr. Sterling has been engaged for 10 years but never married.
00:48Has he been waiting for you this whole time?
00:50I let out a cold laugh.
00:52What they didn't know was that 10 years ago, it was Silas Sterling himself who let his little mistress infiltrate
00:59the construction crew to pocket kickbacks.
01:01And when everything fell apart, he made me take the fall.
01:05Under the blaze of camera flashes, Silas Sterling's face remained cold and composed.
01:11Welcome to my humble cafe, Mr. Silas.
01:13Can I get a picture?
01:15My daughter's gonna lose her mind.
01:17Please?
01:19When he noticed I hadn't moved, he turned and called out to me specifically.
01:23Alara, come take a photo with Mr. Sterling.
01:25He's the youngest CEO in the world.
01:27A photo with him will bring so much traffic to the shop and I'll give you a raise.
01:30The moment my boss called out, my hands froze over the cup I was washing.
01:35Miss Vance, so you've been hiding here in a coffee shop.
01:38You were once a world-renowned genius architect.
01:41Doesn't it feel like a fall from grace washing cups like this?
01:44We've heard your ex-husband has been waiting for you all these years, postponing his wedding again and again.
01:49What do you make of that?
01:50I ignored the microphones practically jabbing at my face and kept my hands busy with work.
01:55But the cup in my grip was trembling badly.
01:57I knew Silas Sterling's methods.
01:59I didn't believe for one second he had any deep feelings for me.
02:03I stayed on guard.
02:04The standoff dragged on until Silas stepped in front of me and blocked the cameras with his body.
02:09What happens today is between me and my former wife.
02:12We won't be taking any interviews.
02:14Please clear the area.
02:15Then he turned to look at me, his gaze deep and unreadable.
02:18Allura.
02:22It's been a long time.
02:23After so many years, hearing his voice again, I couldn't stop my hand from jerking.
02:41How are you always so careless?
02:43I pulled my hand back immediately and turned to my boss with repeated apologies.
02:47I'm so sorry.
02:49I'll clean it up myself and please deduct the cost of the cup from my wages.
02:53Before my boss could even recover from the shock, a bright female voice floated in from the doorway.
02:59Simus, what are you doing here?
03:01You left without a word.
03:04Mom, Dad and I were so worried about you.
03:07I looked toward the voice.
03:09A woman walked in from the doorway, smiling softly, naturally taking Silas' hand and pressing a light kiss to the
03:16corner of his lips.
03:17She was the true culprit behind the Hudson River bridge collapse ten years ago.
03:22She was also Silas Sterling's current fiancée, Ivy Thorne.
03:27And behind her, the very people who had cut me off ten years ago, my own parents.
03:34Ivy's gaze swept over to me.
03:36She smiled, cold and contemptuous.
03:39Mrs. Vance, the great architect.
03:41It's been a long time.
03:43Oh, by the way, your parents have officially taken me in as their adopted daughter.
03:48I suppose I should be calling you Big Sister.
03:52I glanced past her at my parents.
03:54They had aged so much.
03:56Compared to ten years ago, their backs were bent, their hair completely white.
04:01A fine, dense pain bloomed in my chest all at once.
04:05I wondered what they would think if they knew that the daughter they had taken in was the very person
04:11who had put their real daughter away.
04:14We only have one daughter, and it's Ivy.
04:16A woman who threw away human lives for a little money.
04:19Looking at her turns my stomach.
04:21Silas, why would you come looking for someone like this?
04:23This kind of scum.
04:25Better if she just died out there.
04:26The moment my parents spoke, everyone in the shop, including my boss, turned to look at me with strange expressions.
04:33I turned my face away.
04:35I forced the pain down, and refused to meet my parents' eyes.
04:40Don't blame her parents.
04:42What happened back then was a devastating blow to them.
04:45He reached into his jacket, and produced a gold-trimmed business card, holding it out to me.
04:51I owe you more than I can repay.
04:53Call me anytime you need anything.
04:54I didn't refuse Silas' card, or rather, I accepted it the way I would a card from any ordinary customer,
05:02politely, and then set it down to the side without another look.
05:06I didn't believe Silas had sought me out on purpose, and I had no intention of ever seeing him again.
05:12Then, three days later, my boss called, and his voice was thick with discomfort.
05:17Laura, I'm really sorry.
05:20I had no idea you had such a distinguished background.
05:25Someone like you making coffee in a little shop like mine, it was never a good fit.
05:30I've counted this month as full attendance, and your wages will be in your account shortly.
05:37Take tomorrow off.
05:39You don't need to come in.
05:41He hung up before I could get a word out.
05:43I tried to call back.
05:44He had already blocked my number.
05:46A text arrived seconds later.
05:48My wages had been deposited.
05:51$4,500.
05:52The extra $1,000 is my apology.
05:55Our little shop can't handle this kind of attention.
05:58I'm begging you.
06:00Please don't come back.
06:02My stomach dropped.
06:04I already had a feeling this was Silas' doing.
06:08Sure enough, his call came through moments later.
06:12Laura, I know I can't overturn the verdict for what happened back then, and I hope you can understand that.
06:19But I will make it up to you in every other way.
06:22The barista work was too hard for you.
06:24I've already handled that.
06:27I've also purchased a house for you in the city.
06:30And...
06:32Ivy is still young, not as experienced with the more complex blueprints.
06:36If you could help guide her...
06:37I'll pay you $200,000 a month.
06:39My fists clenched so hard my knuckles cracked.
06:43Won what grounds?
06:45On what grounds did he push me into the abyss himself?
06:48Let everyone in the world condemn me.
06:51Strip me of everyone who ever cared for me.
06:54And then waltz back in as my savior.
06:56And tear apart the quiet life I'd rebuilt.
06:59On what grounds did he presume to arrange everything for me?
07:03As though I had no say.
07:06Help Ivy Thorne?
07:07That was nothing but wanting me to be her shadow.
07:10Her ghostwriter.
07:11Her invisible hand.
07:12The thought made me sick to my stomach.
07:15I forced my feelings down.
07:17Spoke through gritted teeth.
07:19Thank you for your kind offer, Mr. Sterling.
07:21But I have my own life now.
07:23Please don't interfere with it again.
07:25There was a long silence on the other end.
07:28Then, Silas spoke.
07:29Alara, don't be stubborn.
07:31A proud talent like you, you're only ever truly happy when you're working on blueprints.
07:35I'm securing your livelihood and giving your gift a place to breathe.
07:40What exactly are you dissatisfied with?
07:42And if you insist on saving face and refusing, I have other options.
07:50He hung up.
07:51A quiet dread settled in my chest.
07:54By that afternoon, I understood exactly what his other options were.
07:59With my coffee shop job gone, I spent the day walking all over town looking for work.
08:05But no matter where I went, no matter how desperately they were hiring,
08:09the moment I walked in, everyone was perfectly polite and everyone refused to let me work.
08:15Eventually, with nowhere left to try, I made my way back to my rented room.
08:20But at the gate, I found my landlady waiting for me.
08:23Mrs. Kowalski was a wonderful woman.
08:26When I'd first arrived with almost nothing, she had waived a full month's rents
08:30and whenever she cooked something good, she always brought a bowl to my door.
08:34But now she stood at the entrance, eyes red-rimmed.
08:38Ilada, you're finally back!
08:40I'm so sorry.
08:42I can't rent to you anymore.
08:45Please don't be angry with me.
08:47I have no choice.
08:49There's someone powerful in town now.
08:51If I keep renting to you, my daughter, she works in the city, they'll... they'll...
08:56She couldn't finish the sentence.
08:58She started crying.
08:59I packed my things that same night and moved out.
09:03This, I thought, is what Silas calls compensation.
09:06Burn down everything I have, then offer me the ashes with a gracious hand.
09:11The day I moved out of my rented room, Silas appeared in my small upstate town.
09:16He was thinner than he'd been a few days ago, dark circles heavy under his eyes, like
09:20a man who hadn't slept.
09:22He had brought a moving company.
09:24He directed them to carry my things with a naturalness that made my skin crawl, as though
09:29we hadn't divorced at all.
09:30As though he were simply a husband coming to bring his wife home.
09:33At the new house, he poured me a glass of honey water.
09:37You've always been prone to tension.
09:38This will help you relax.
09:40I took the glass from him in silence.
09:43I took a small sip.
09:45I set the glass down and spoke.
09:47What happened before is in the past.
09:49If you truly wanted to make it right, you wouldn't have appeared at all.
09:53You would have stayed away.
09:55Alora, stop making a scene.
09:58I know you're not satisfied.
10:00But this is only the beginning.
10:02I'll find someone else to shoulder the blame.
10:07Then, step by step, I'll help restore your reputation.
10:10I know you don't like Ivy.
10:12I'll make sure she keeps a lower profile.
10:15Rest for now.
10:16His tone was gentle, but the meaning was unmistakable.
10:19You don't get to resist.
10:20He wanted me held firmly in his hands.
10:27Silas!
10:28I heard Mrs. Vance had arrived.
10:30Why didn't you call me?
10:34Although Mrs. Vance made serious mistake then,
10:38everyone still needs to live their life.
10:46I hope she takes this as a lesson and becomes a better person going forward.
10:50Ivy, the one who had actually done everything wrong,
10:53said all of this in front of the cameras without a trace of shame.
10:56This is just a small gesture from me.
10:58You're a senior in the field, and you're my fiancé's former wife.
11:03Please, don't refuse.
11:05If you ever have any difficulties, just say the word.
11:14But that afternoon, the news had spread across every platform in the city.
11:18Killer back in high society.
11:19Can the victims ever rest?
11:21And I, once again, was pushed to the center of the storm,
11:24pelted from all sides.
11:33Whether or not it was intentional,
11:35Ivy had leaked my address to the public.
11:39After that,
11:40victims' families and furious protesters gathered outside my door every day.
11:45Three days later,
11:46my parents arrived.
11:48It was the first time in 10 years,
11:50they had come looking for me on their own.
11:55Mom, Dad, you're here!
11:57Come in, have some water.
11:59We wouldn't dare drink the water of a murderer.
12:02Alana,
12:03what you did back then,
12:04we truly cannot forgive you.
12:10You can't keep making mistake after mistake.
12:14We're begging you.
12:16Ivy genuinely loves Silas.
12:19You're already divorced.
12:21Stop clinging to him.
12:23Ivy is a good girl,
12:24and it's not her place to say this,
12:26so we came to say it ourselves.
12:30If you keep refusing,
12:32don't blame us for finding other ways to make you go.
12:37That same gentle voice
12:38that had once sung me lullabies
12:40and coaxed me to sleep night after night.
12:43Now every word carried the edge of a threat,
12:45driving into my heart like the tip of a blade,
12:47one cut at a time.
12:48Mom!
12:50Dad, did you never believe me?
12:52Not even once?
12:56You wretch!
12:57Even now you dare splander Ivy?
13:00He rushed over in a panic,
13:01trying to intervene.
13:02But at that moment,
13:03his phone rang.
13:04His assistant.
13:07Mr. Sterling, it's bad.
13:08Mrs. Thorn got drunk.
13:10She's at the hospital getting a shot to sober up.
13:11The moment they heard that,
13:13Silas and both my parents went pale with alarm.
13:18All three of them turned and piled into the car,
13:20and I laughed.
13:22I watched their retreating figures.
13:24The tears came with the laughter,
13:26whether they were threatening me
13:28or pretending to care for me,
13:29no matter how much pain I was in.
13:31None of it compared to Ivy Thorn crooking her finger.
13:33After all,
13:3410 years had taught me one clear lesson.
13:37I could not afford to have expectations of my parents
13:40or of Silas Sterling.
13:43A group of victims' family members
13:45knocked down my location.
13:46They knocked me unconscious with iron rods
13:48and took me away.
13:49When I came to,
13:50I was inside a burlap sack.
13:52Damn you!
13:53You murderer!
13:54We didn't come after you
13:55and you had the nerve to come back!
13:57Give me back my daughter's life!
14:00She was 19!
14:01She just started college!
14:03You animal!
14:06You owe us so many lives.
14:08Cutting you into a thousand pieces
14:10wouldn't be enough.
14:14You're in our hands now!
14:16We want blood for blood!
14:1899 blows.
14:19I lost consciousness
14:21and was doused awake
14:22again and again.
14:26The freezing water closed in
14:28from every direction.
14:30The suffocation wrapped around me
14:31like a fist.
14:34Just as I was trying to get to see,
14:36the few strong hands
14:37closed around me.
14:42Mom, Dad, don't worry.
14:45I've looked into these families.
14:46They're all ordinary, decent people.
14:49They won't do anything
14:50seriously harmful to Alara.
14:52If anything,
14:53a good scare might make her
14:55go into hiding and protect herself.
14:58Reassured by those words,
14:59Alara's parents had passed along
15:01her whereabouts.
15:02The number you dialed
15:04is currently switched off.
15:07Something keeps knocking
15:08in my chest lately.
15:10Alara hasn't sent
15:11any word for days.
15:12Should we go look for her?
15:13Maybe call the police?
15:15Look for her?
15:16Call the police?
15:17Wasting resources
15:18to protect that creature?
15:19Huh.
15:20That's ridiculous.
15:21No news is better, isn't it?
15:23A troublemaker like her,
15:24if she's dead,
15:25that's one less burden
15:26on the world.
15:27Silas Sterling was just as uneasy.
15:30I knew it!
15:31You still can't let go
15:32of that ex-wife of yours.
15:33If that's how it is,
15:34why did you come to me at all?
15:36For three consecutive days,
15:38every time he tried
15:39to go find Alara,
15:41Ivy stopped him.
15:41While Ivy wasn't around,
15:43he slipped away
15:43and headed straight
15:44for the house.
15:45When he arrived,
15:46all he found
15:47was an empty house.
15:48And Alara's parents,
15:50standing there,
15:50faces tight
15:51with the same wordless dread.
15:54The three of them
15:54greeted each other
15:55with a nod.
15:56And without discussion,
15:57began searching.
15:58It must be Alara.
16:00She's come back.
16:05You are...
16:07Officers,
16:08did Alaxas cause trouble again?
16:10If she's hurt someone again,
16:11you can shoot her on the spot.
16:12I have no daughter.
16:14We're here to speak
16:15with Mrs. Vand's parents
16:16and former husband
16:17regarding the circumstances
16:18of her case.
16:19Miss Alara Vand
16:20is very likely deceased.
16:22The individuals responsible
16:23have been apprehended.
16:24We are doing everything
16:25in our power
16:26to locate her remains.
16:27We ask that you please
16:28accept our condolences.
16:30Mother swayed
16:31and nearly collapsed.
16:33Silas stared
16:33at the officer
16:34in disbelief,
16:35tears spilling down
16:36his face
16:37before he could stop them.
16:40They guided him
16:41and Alara's parents
16:42to...
16:43Our loved ones
16:45were killed
16:45by your daughter.
16:47Taking her out
16:47was justice.
16:49You told us
16:50where she was.
16:51Wasn't that
16:52what you wanted?
16:53Her own parents
16:53gave us her location.
16:55They're not pressing charges.
16:56On what grounds
16:57are you arresting us?
16:58Whatever wrong
16:59was done to you,
17:00the law will decide
17:01your remedy.
17:02Vigilante justice
17:03is never acceptable.
17:04Killing is a crime.
17:06Full stop.
17:07Whatever came after that,
17:08neither Alara's parents
17:09nor Silas
17:10could hear a single...
17:11She was your own daughter.
17:13Even a tiger
17:14won't devour its cubs.
17:16How could you do
17:17something like this?
17:20No,
17:20we didn't know
17:21this would happen.
17:22It was Ivy.
17:23Ivy said these people
17:24would only scare her,
17:25that Alara would go
17:26into hiding
17:26to protect herself.
17:27The name Ivy Thorn
17:28cracked through Silas's mind
17:30like a bolt of lightning.
17:33Ivy.
17:36It was Ivy again.
17:37She must have planned
17:38all of this
17:39from the beginning.
17:40No wonder she had
17:41worked so hard
17:41to keep him away.
17:43Silas's face darkened
17:44to something terrifying.
17:46Alara's parents
17:47were reeling too.
17:48Now that they thought back,
17:49Ivy's behavior
17:49had been strange
17:50all along.
17:53You care that much
17:54about that murderer?
17:55Didn't you hate her?
17:56Didn't you love me most?
17:59She's dead?
18:00Isn't that exactly
18:01what you wanted?
18:02I can still be your daughter.
18:03I'm still Silas Sterling's
18:05fiancé.
18:06Someone like her.
18:07She killed all those people
18:08ten years ago.
18:09Getting what she deserved
18:10is only natural.
18:18The moment Ivy
18:19finished speaking,
18:20Silas lunged forward
18:21and closed his hand
18:22around her throat.
18:24Who told you to do this?
18:26I'm not wrong.
18:27Someone who caused
18:28that much damage
18:29after ten years,
18:31she's still a pest.
18:32Ivy's words
18:33stopped abruptly.
18:34Her face slowly
18:35drained of color.
18:37She looked as though
18:37something had just
18:38surfaced in her memory.
18:40Silas let out a laugh.
18:43I've woken from
18:44nightmares countless times,
18:46sick with regret
18:46over what I did
18:47to the person I love most,
18:48all to protect
18:49something like you.
18:51You and I both
18:52know the truth.
18:53You were only
18:53my mentor's daughter.
18:55My mentor did
18:55so much for me,
18:56so I sacrificed
18:57my own wife
18:58to take your punishment.
18:59The real truth
19:00of ten years ago.
19:01You, the actual culprit,
19:04know it better
19:04than anyone.
19:05The words detonated
19:06in the room of a bomb.
19:07Then Alara's father
19:08spoke,
19:09his voice barely
19:09finding shape.
19:11Silas, what you just said,
19:12the one who caused
19:13the collapse ten years ago,
19:14it wasn't Alara?
19:15We wronged her,
19:16and we took in
19:16the person who destroyed
19:17her and called her
19:18our daughter?
19:20Silas lowered his eyes.
19:22He said nothing.
19:23Alara's father stumbled.
19:25He fell back
19:25into a chair.
19:27Her mother surged forward,
19:29raised her hand,
19:30and brought it down
19:31hard across Silas' face.
19:33His face snapped
19:34to one side,
19:35but he stood
19:36where he was
19:36and took it.
19:37I'm sorry.
19:38I'm so sorry.
19:40Her mother
19:40didn't accept
19:41the apology.
19:42She was silent
19:43for a moment.
19:43Then a cry
19:44tore out of her,
19:45raw and inconsolable.
19:46My daughter!
19:48My daughter!
19:50We took revenge
19:52on the wrong person?
19:53When I woke up,
19:54I was in a soft bed.
19:56I tried to sit up.
19:57The pain that tore
19:58through my body
19:59made cold sweat
20:00break across my skin
20:02instantly.
20:03Don't move.
20:05Lie still and rest.
20:06A gentle male voice
20:07came from the doorway.
20:09I turned toward the sound.
20:10A young man
20:11in a cotton shirt.
20:13The doctor said
20:14you'd wake up around now.
20:16I've been making
20:17a fresh bowl every day
20:18waiting for you.
20:19And here you are.
20:21You just woke up,
20:22nothing too rich yet.
20:23This will do for now.
20:25Once you're better,
20:25I'll take you
20:26somewhere proper.
20:27He set the bowl
20:28on the nightstand
20:29as he spoke.
20:29Then, with practiced ease,
20:31he adjusted the bed
20:32so I could sit up
20:32more comfortably
20:33and brought the spoon
20:34to my lips.
20:35I looked at him properly
20:36for the first time.
20:38Strong, straight brows.
20:39Warm, expressive eyes.
20:41A small mole
20:42just beside his nose.
20:44Perfectly placed.
20:45For some reason
20:46I couldn't name,
20:47he felt immediately familiar,
20:48as though we had
20:49known each other
20:50for a long time.
20:51Because of that feeling,
20:53I could barely put
20:54my guard up.
20:55When he brought
20:55the porridge to my lips,
20:57I drank it before
20:58I even thought to hesitate.
21:00The moment it hit my tongue,
21:01I went still.
21:03This taste,
21:03it was the exact taste
21:05from my grandmother's house
21:06when I was a child.
21:08The porridge she used
21:09to make just for me.
21:10I stared at him,
21:11and after a long moment,
21:13Who are you?
21:15A shadow of sadness
21:17crossed the young man's eyes.
21:19Silly.
21:22Grandma's sweet potato porridge
21:23besides grandma herself,
21:25only one person in the world
21:26knows the recipe.
21:27You really don't remember?
21:28And then it came back to me
21:30all at once.
21:31When I was little,
21:32there was a boy
21:33who used to play with me
21:34all the time.
21:35Because our grandmother
21:36was always so busy,
21:38he would be the one
21:38to look after me.
21:39For a while,
21:40when my stomach was bad
21:41and I could only manage porridge,
21:43he had learned grandma's
21:45sweet potato porridge recipe
21:47specifically for me.
21:48Julian?
21:54You finally remembered.
21:56It was only then
21:57that Julian told me everything.
21:59It turned out that
22:00after my parents
22:01had taken me to the city,
22:02Julian's own biological parents
22:04had found him as well.
22:06His true identity,
22:07the lost heir to the Knight family,
22:09the wealthiest in the region.
22:11After a whole drama
22:12of proving who he really was,
22:14he had taken his rightful place
22:15at the head of Knight Technologies.
22:17But he had never forgotten me.
22:20He had never stopped looking for me.
22:22When he saw me become
22:23a well-known architect,
22:24he felt genuinely happy for me.
22:26But because I had already married Silas,
22:28he hadn't wanted to intrude.
22:31Ten years ago,
22:32the bridge collapse case.
22:34Everyone thinks you are a murderer.
22:36I never believed you were the murderer.
22:38He had spent years
22:39quietly investigating,
22:40collecting evidence
22:41in the background.
22:42But even by the time
22:43I was released,
22:44he hadn't found enough.
22:46At the end of it all...
22:47I've been keeping an eye
22:48on your movements.
22:49So I was able to detect
22:50those people's plot in time
22:51and rescue from the river.
22:54But I know this violates your privacy.
22:56Will you be angry with me?
22:58I laughed.
22:59I shook my head.
23:00Thank you, Julian.
23:02I watched the news from the bed
23:04when I saw Ivy Thorne
23:06being led away by police
23:08on the television screen.
23:09I couldn't quite believe it.
23:11Julian and I looked at each other.
23:13Neither of us had expected
23:14that the truth revealed to the world
23:17just like that.
23:18In the reporter's cameras,
23:19Silas Sterling's face was ashen.
23:22Not a trace remained
23:23of the man he once had been.
23:25And my parents,
23:26over their own daughter,
23:27looked as though every ounce of life
23:29had been drained from them.
23:30My father slumped in a chair.
23:32My mother sat beside him,
23:34hands pressed over her face.
23:36I lay in bed watching all of it.
23:38There was none of the triumphant satisfaction
23:41I might have imagined.
23:42Only a vast emptiness
23:44and a tiredness.
23:45My former firm released a statement
23:48restoring my standing.
23:49Apologies flooded social media.
23:51Countless strangers brought flowers
23:53to the cenotaph
23:54that had been erected in my name.
23:56Julian watched it all beside me,
23:58then turned and asked,
24:00brow furrowed,
24:00what are you going to do?
24:02Tell everyone you're still alive?
24:03The moment he finished speaking,
24:05the faces of my parents and Silas
24:07rose up in my mind.
24:08I could already picture
24:09exactly what their version of
24:11making it up to me
24:12would look like.
24:13Their compensation
24:14felt like something demonic.
24:16I never wanted to live through that again.
24:18I shook my head.
24:19I gave Julian a small smile.
24:20Julian,
24:22let's just call this a rebirth.
24:25No matter how public opinion shifted back in my favor,
24:29no matter how many people came forward to sympathize,
24:32to apologize,
24:33to demand justice on my behalf,
24:36it all felt like something from a previous life.
24:38Since everyone already believed I was dead,
24:41I would give them exactly that.
24:43I stayed with Julian to recover for six months.
24:46He cared for me the way he always had,
24:49with quiet,
24:50unhesitating attention.
24:51Already the commanding head of night technologies,
24:54and yet he still looked after me exactly the way he had when we were children.
24:59Once I was able to eat normally,
25:01he always cooked himself.
25:02Every day he found a new way to prepare something nourishing.
25:06Six months later,
25:07I was not only healed,
25:09I had gained 10 pounds.
25:11Then spring came again.
25:12Jacaranda blooms opened just outside the window beside my bed.
25:16I stared at them for a long time.
25:19Then I turned to Julian and said,
25:20Julian,
25:21let's go somewhere.
25:22We left the city.
25:24Julian arranged his company to run with remote management,
25:27then stepped back and accompanied me
25:29as we set out to see the world.
25:31We followed the steps of my favorite poets.
25:33We traced the romantic solitude of Neruda
25:36through the coastal landscape of Chile.
25:38We stood in one loft in Paris
25:40and tried to guess where the little rabbit had been buried.
25:43We walked through temple gardens in Kyoto
25:45and contemplated the violent beauty of a Japanese master's aesthetic.
25:50I had never imagined,
25:51after all those years apart,
25:53that Julian and I would find our interests
25:55and our way of seeing the world so completely aligned.
25:58At last we came to England.
26:01Beside the Thames,
26:02Julian turned to look at me.
26:03His eyes were full of a nervousness
26:05he was trying very hard not to show.
26:08I knew what he was about to say.
26:09I smiled at him and spoke first.
26:12Julian,
26:12I think I've fallen for you.
26:14His face went red all the way to his ears.
26:17Then a kiss landed on my lips.
26:19At last,
26:20Julian and I opened a small bookshop in England.
26:23The days passed quietly.
26:24Only occasionally did news from back home reach us.
26:28After my death,
26:29Silas seemed to become a different person entirely.
26:32He restructured his company with swift, decisive force
26:36and purged everything connected to Ivy Thorne.
26:39And he never gave up looking for me.
26:41The overwhelming weight of what he owed
26:44kept him convinced,
26:45with a kind of obsession,
26:47that I must still be alive somewhere.
26:49As it turned out,
26:51he was right.
26:51On a Christmas Eve,
26:53London was buried in heavy snow.
26:55I had closed the shop early
26:57and was on my way home
26:58to cook Christmas dinner with Julian.
27:01But just as I reached the bottom of our building,
27:03I saw a familiar silhouette.
27:05He was standing in the snowfall
27:07as though he intended to become part of it,
27:10still as a statue made of ice.
27:12When he saw me,
27:13the gray deadness in his eyes came alive.
27:16Alara!
27:17He ran to me and grabbed my hands,
27:19his whole body trembling.
27:21I knew you weren't dead.
27:23Thank God, you're not dead.
27:24What happened back then was my fault.
27:27I've cleared your name.
27:28Come back with me.
27:29Let's start over.
27:30Please.
27:31He was incoherent,
27:33tears breaking through his voice,
27:35more humble than I had ever seen him.
27:37I looked at this man I had once loved deeply
27:40and once hated just as deeply.
27:43My heart was utterly still.
27:45Mr. Sterling, I said,
27:46you have the wrong person.
27:48Ilara Vance is dead.
27:50He looked at me with something close to madness in his eyes.
27:54No, please.
27:55I'm begging you.
27:56Let me make it right.
27:58Please make it right?
28:00I gave a cold laugh.
28:02You destroyed my life.
28:04You made everyone abandon me.
28:06You cost me 10 years in prison.
28:08When I finally found my way back to a quiet life,
28:12your so-called compensation forced me out of it
28:15and nearly killed me.
28:17Silas Sterling,
28:18what exactly do you think you still have left to make right?
28:22I turned away and there was Julian standing just behind me,
28:26watching with a quiet, steady smile.
28:29I walked forward without a moment's hesitation.
28:32I took Julian's hand.
28:33I didn't look back,
28:35not even once,
28:36as the sound of Silas breaking down faded behind us.
28:39One week later,
28:40my parents appeared at the bottom of our building.
28:43They looked so much older.
28:45Their hair had gone white.
28:46Their faces were full of a timid,
28:48beseeching uncertainty.
28:50My mother was holding a thermal bag.
28:52Lotus pastries, she said,
28:54the ones I had loved as a child.
28:56When she saw me,
28:57she opened her mouth,
28:58but the tears came before any words did.
29:01I looked at them.
29:02The fine, dense ache moved through me again,
29:05the way it always had.
29:07Come up for tea,
29:08I said.
29:08I turned and led the way.
29:10Julian respected my choices completely.
29:13He helped me prepare the tea,
29:14setting a cup in front of each of my parents without a word.
29:17Then he quietly found somewhere else to be.
29:20My father was the first to speak.
29:23Alara,
29:24we were wrong.
29:25Come home with us.
29:26I finished my tea in silence.
29:28Then I set the cup down and spoke.
29:31Mom,
29:32Dad,
29:33I took a slow breath.
29:34Consider me dead.
29:36This is my home.
29:37I'm not going back.
29:38I don't hate you anymore,
29:40but I can't be what I was to you before.
29:43Between us,
29:44there are 10 years of a wrongful sentence
29:46and one life that almost ended.
29:48We are each other's best ending
29:50if we simply wish each other well from a distance.
29:53I didn't take the lotus pastries.
29:55They cried for a long time.
29:57In the end,
29:58they left,
29:59unsteady on their feet,
30:00stumbling down the steps.
30:02The snow on the ground below caught the last of the sunset light,
30:05small patches of red,
30:07and their shadows stretched long behind them.
30:09I cried anyway.
30:11Silas and my parents never came back.
30:13Only money,
30:14from time to time,
30:15deposited quietly into my account.
30:18And postcards,
30:19occasionally,
30:20routed through circuitous paths,
30:22no name signed.
30:23I knew they were from Silas.
30:25I never read them.
30:26I never replied.
30:28I carried each one to the fireplace
30:30and watched the flames take it.
30:32Life always moves forward.
30:34Ding!
30:35The wind chime above the door rang.
30:37A customer had come in.
30:39After selling one more book,
30:40I lay back in the rocking chair in the courtyard.
30:43Julian handed me a cup of tea and asked,
30:46Any regrets?
30:47I shook my head.
30:48Never.
30:49This bookshop.
30:50And Julian.
30:51This was my new life.
30:53This was my new life.
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