Chapter Three

Sonya finishes her last day at By Design, boxing her belongings as Matt expresses regret yet support, assuring her she can return. Leaving, she feels relief and finality. She drives to her mother Winter’s home, where memories of her late father surface, underscoring the weight of change.

Over wine and soup, Sonya recounts Brandon’s ongoing sabotage—deleted files and flattened tires—and admits she resigned. Winter rejects Sonya’s self-blame and backs her plan to freelance. Buoyed, Sonya proposes a celebratory spa trip for Winter, Cleo, and Cleo’s mom, deciding to invest in her own well-being.

The next morning Sonya secures the Baby Mine account and two referrals, then designs her brand identity. Cleo arrives with coffee and muffins, validates Sonya’s logo, and celebrates the pivot. Sonya reframes Brandon’s betrayal as the push toward her true path.

Weeks pass: Sonya launches a writer’s website, produces holiday ads, and takes on invitations. By Christmas she’s juggling multiple sites, book covers, and digital ads, managing reduced income and a costly plumbing emergency but relishing autonomy.

In mid-January, attorney Oliver Doyle visits, claiming to represent Collin Poole, Sonya’s uncle. He reveals Sonya’s father, Andrew MacTavish, was a twin, adopted out of state without knowledge of his origins after their mother, Lilian “Clover” Crest, died in childbirth and their father, Charles Poole, later took his own life. The Poole family split the infants; Collin learned of Andrew only late in life.

Oliver describes Collin’s reclusive grief after his bride Johanna died on their wedding day, his devotion to art, and the storied, allegedly haunted Poole manor. Collin has died, and, through his will, leaves the manor and all it contains to Sonya, abruptly tying her to the Poole legacy.