by Elle, Leen
She felt proud of herself for thinking up a solution to her problem, though her confidence fell when she reached his bedroom door.
"I should've known..." She whispered as she turned the handle to the door to realize it was locked. "That little..." She sighed, resting her forehead against the wood.
If she thought about it, it wasn't that surprising that he was untrusting enough to lock her out. She figured he probably had a special lock put in place so that it couldn't be picked.
"Stupid thief." She muttered, turning around and sliding down to the floor. She braced her back to the wood, and stared forward towards the wall ahead.
She wasn't going to be able to use his room as a space to think, but maybe just sitting here would give her something to work with.
Sophie closed her eyes, trying to recall at once all the events he'd discussed the night before. Only the big events stood out to her.
Robert had been rich and influential. He'd lived a life that was envied by others, and he'd never really had to suffer through anything. Then, because he'd become obsessed with the idea of escaping his responsibilities as a Fallbrook heir, he'd let himself slip up.
"Alyssa Ellison." Sophie whispered, disliking how beautiful the woman she imagined was.
Alyssa was girl he'd dated for years. Probably the first person he'd been in love with, despite him saying he didn't believe in things like that.
Finally, Sophie addressed the biggest surprise of the evening: Robert was a father.
If she'd been younger, she might've been jealous of Alyssa's presence in his life, or of the fact that he would be forever tied with her through their child. However, she wasn't that immature. Yes, she liked Robert, but she didn't expect him to have never loved anyone before her.
Finding out about him being a father had made her feel depressed rather than angry. Sophie didn't know everything about Robert, but she'd seen the significant impact their makeshift family had on him. He'd tried to pretend he was indifferent to the kids, but that wasn't true at all. From the first day he'd become a thief, he'd been teaching Gwyn to find her own path. He'd acted as an older brother to Rylan, and a father figure to Teddy.
If he'd had the chance to be a father to that little girl, he would've been a wonderful dad. Even if he had to go up against his family constantly, Sophie could see him fighting those battles. Eleven years after losing her, Robert's guilt was just as strong.
The fact that he donated all of his money to orphanages was hard to grasp, mostly because it seemed so story-like. It was as if he was living out his own modern-day version of Robin Hood, in his own crooked way.
Sophie respected his purpose, even though she knew it was in vain. The realistic part of her mind knew that his donations had probably never reached his daughter, and that they were just a small way for him to feel like he was making a difference. His father meant for Robert to never see his daughter again, and if the man hadn't budged after all these years, there was no likelihood that his stance would change.
Even Cleo, with all her resources, hadn't been able to find the girl. Sophie had become used to Cleo solving every problem. It had always seemed like Cleo was able to do anything she wanted with her expanse of wealth, but money could not solve this problem. A nameless baby girl delivered to an orphanage was unfortunately far too common.
Now that all the facts were laid out, all she had were questions. Most of them dealt with her own reaction to this knowledge.
How did this information change him in her perspective? What would be different? What couldn't stay the same?
Most of all, why did his past have to change anything at all?
She felt like she'd heard a strangers story. It didn't seem to fit the persons she'd known all along.
She'd defined Robert initially as a thief, never suspecting that he was so much more. He was a father, a son, a runaway, and a strange kind of hero.
Who was she to judge him at all?
While she hadn't been able to infiltrate his room, just leaning against his door gave her some kind of perspective into his life.
There were so many things about him that she couldn't understand. How had it felt to lose not only a daughter, but the trust of your entire family? What had it been like to make the decision to leave behind the life he'd always thought he would lead?
Question after question overcame her. Robert had been right when he said the questions would continue to grow. He'd given her only a hint at who he was, and now she was curiously reaching for more.
Sophie had always believed that a person's past defined them. She'd been a believer that people never change, and that they continue going through life more or less the same person they've always been. Once a cheater always a cheater, once a thief always a thief. It was one of those concepts that she'd never challenged until now.
As a person, she knew she'd changed, but considering Robert's past, she wondered if it was possible for a person to change so drastically. One event shaped his entire life, wiping away his existence as a rich playboy, and offering him a new career as a thief.
It was so surreal...and confusing.
She felt so numb, it was a struggle to come up with any answers. She wasn't angry, or disappointed, or even frustrated. Sophie honestly didn't think she had the right to be any of those. It wasn't her place to judge him for how he used to live his life, because she wouldn't want him judging her for the way she lived her life in the past.
So, was she okay with everything?
The answer she wanted to have was yes, but even that was not easy to decide.
After spending almost an hour going over the situation in her head, she figured that she'd gotten herself into another mess.
She felt idiotic for trying to make sense of something which she assumed should've been easy.
There was only one answer she felt confident with. It was short and it was simple, but she was going to work with it.
She didn't want to forget what she'd learned about him, but she wasn't going to let it change anything in their relationship as partners or as friends. He'd told her everything because he trusted her, and she had to respect that trust.
The person she'd come to know over the past few months was not Tristan Fallbrook, but Robert Locksley. Who he had been in the past was definitely a chapter in his life, but not a chapter she was apart of. He'd made it clear that he'd left that life behind him, and Sophie would leave it behind her as well.
If she didn't over-think the situation, she could see the story as Tristan's past, rather than Robert's past. Robert Locksley was born eleven years ago as a thief, and he was the person Sophie wanted to be with now.
When she came to terms with her decision, the questions slowly faded away. Of course, they would always be in the back of her mind, but she wouldn't allow them to consume her. She was going to move on without focusing on the past, so the questions would no longer matter.
Just when she felt she was finally getting closure on the situation, her cell phone began to vibrate in her pocket. She nearly jumped as she slipped it out, checking the number before she answered.
"Cleo?" She asked, surprised by the seemingly random call. She hadn't been expecting to hear from her boss for another few days. "What's up?"
"What did you tell me about Diana Apell?" Cleo's voice was sharp. "Didn't you say she was on a business trip?"
"Yeah, that's what she told me and Rob." Sophie's mind was slowly refocusing on her mission. "Diana said she'd be back in two weeks." Sophie hadn't thought about it for a long time, but now that she considered the facts, Diana was due back any-day now.
"You're sure that's what she said?"
"Positive. I still have the voicemail on my phone where she told me about the letter."
"Well, it looks like we were all fooled." Cleo's words sent chills down Sophie's arms.
"What do you mean?" She was almost too hesitant to ask.
"Diana Apell did not leave for a business trip two weeks ago. She made preparations to leave th
e country. She's moved her headquarters to Switzerland, and is planning to stay there indefinitely."
"What?" Sophie's voice rose. "She can't have done that to get away from us?"
"She certainly didn't hesitate to lie to you." Cleo's voice lowered momentarily. "There's also more. With this new information, I can only assume that there is a connection with her and the people who shot at you."
"That's a bold assumption."
"Not if you consider the facts. Diana has no intention of returning to help, and if she lied expecting Max to kill you, she could've used those gunshots as a threat to back off."
"Switzerland." Sophie paused, taking in this new information. Maybe it was because she'd come to expect as much, but the surprise didn't cause her resolution to flinch whatsoever. "Well, we'll just have to pay her a visit."
"What good could that possibly do? I don't have the resources to keep you alive in Switzerland. Especially if she's already established her own base there."
"I'll have to risk it." Instead of anxiety, Sophie felt confident in her decision. "If she's coming up with this many lies, that can only mean one thing..."
"What is that?"
"We're getting close." Sophie whispered, smiling slyly. "Close to solving my parent's mystery."
* * *
By the time Robert had returned home, Sophie had torn apart their file on Diana Apell.
Anything and everything that could give them more insight into the woman's life was laid out for inspection.
Rob, having no idea what she was up to, stared at the mess with only a raised eyebrow.
"Interesting day?" He asked, leaning against the frame of her door.
She glanced up at him, half annoyed that he'd broken her train of thought. She'd been so focused all day it was painful to pull herself out of her work-mode.
"You would choose the perfect time to visit the zoo." Sophie meant her comment as a joke, but it came out harsher than she'd intended. "I could've used your help."
Robert smiled and walked towards her pile of papers. He bent down, picking up one and analyzing it for a long moment.
"Well, I'm here now. How can this white knight be of service to you?"
"Have you talked to Cleo?" Sophie felt like he was miles behind her at this point.
"No, I haven't, but feel free to clue me in on the emergency. Rylan said he hasn't seen you all day."
Sophie glanced out of her window and noticed it had already grown dark outside.
"Woah." She whispered, leaning back from her mess. "I must've put in a straight seven hours of work."
"I thought so. Which is why I told Gwyn to make you something for dinner." He began organizing the papers absentmindedly.
"Wait!" She snatched the papers out of his hand, her eyes narrowing. "I had a whole system worked out!"
"What exactly are you looking for, darling?"
"It's Diana!" Sophie said, as if that were enough to explain everything.
"I figured as much." He motioned to the name on the file laying next to her.
"No, I mean it's her! She's the missing link to the puzzle." Sophie felt elated by her realization. "She was playing us from the very beginning!"
"Calm down." Robert reached out to pat her head. "Tell me in words I can understand."
"The letter never existed. She wanted to send me to Max so that he would kill me! She was responsible for the people who shot at us too! It was her warning to back off. She wasn't even planning on returning...she lied to me!"
"Seven hours and that's all you came up with?" He asked skeptically.
"No, I've been making a plan." She grinned. "It's my first, but I've got it all thought out. If we go to Switzerland we can corner her so she'll have to answer our questions. It's a bit complicated, but..."
"Sophie." Robert interrupted, silencing her. "There's not going to be a plan."
"What do you mean?" She reached beside of her to the notepad she'd been jotting down her ideas on. "I've listed some things you may have missed while going over the file, and I think..."
"I didn't miss anything going over the file." Robert smiled as he took the pad away from her. "Everything you've gone over today I've already memorized. I know Diana's life like the back of my hand, so there's no need to explain it to me."
"Don't be so arrogant!" She replied, reaching for him to give it back.
"Did Cleo plant those ideas in your head? Those are some pretty big leaps."
"It makes sense!"
"There are many theories that make sense, but you can't let them all get to you like this." He motioned to the pile of papers. "Nothing in here is going to tell you anything we didn't already know before."
"At least listen to my idea!" Sophie didn't want to let him ruin her efforts. She'd been convinced that her plan for finding Diana was as close to foolproof as they could get.
"Even if everything you said is correct, we're not going to run headfirst into her lair."
"Why not?"
"I don't know if you're familiar with geography, but Switzerland is on another continent. I've stolen from foreign countries many times before, but it has never been easy."
"Rob, come on!" Sophie pleaded. "Since when have you ever not wanted to take a risk?"
"Since I've started thinking more about your safety." He flicked her in the forehead and she winced in pain. "So let's start thinking clearly."
Sophie glanced at the papers surrounding her and scowled. She'd honestly been willing to fly out that very night to Switzerland. She still didn't see how this mission was any different from anything they'd done in the past, but she knew Robert wasn't done lecturing yet.
"I leave you alone for one day, and you're already knee-deep in trouble." He shook his head as he finished collecting the papers of Diana's file. "I know you're eager to jump back into this mess, but you can't let that distract you. Now, tell me the whole story."
Despite having worked the entire day, Sophie had surprisingly little to tell him. When he brushed aside her plan to find Diana, he basically took away half of what she was going to say.
She recounted everything Cleo had told her, and the assumptions she'd made following that.
"Don't you get it? We've got her on the run! She knows something, and that's why she's avoiding us."
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Yes, she's lied to us, but let's be honest, who hasn't? This whole business is riddled with liars, and I'm not surprised she left you with nothing. Cleo's theories are too dramatic for me."
Sophie groaned, wondering why now, out of all their missions in the past, Robert chose to be difficult on this one.
"There is no evidence linking Diana to anything. I honestly don't believe she asked you to go to Max so he would kill you, and it could've been anyone that shot at us that night. Her running away is the only fact we have right now."
"Why would she lie about the letter, then?"
"We don't know for sure that she was lying. Assuming she was, I would make the guess that she was testing you. I don't believe Diana thought for a minute you would enter Max's house. I think she wanted you to realize how useless it was to keep searching, and how dangerous this mission is."
"Where is your proof?"
"I don't have any. See how easy it is to make baseless assumptions?" He grinned as he sat down beside of her. It was insulting how calm her was. She wanted him to be as excited as she was to finish the mission.
Everything he said made sense, but she didn't want to accept it. She didn't want to take into account the truth in his words. It was too disappointing after hours spent hoping for a better outcome.
"Anyway," Robert continued, watching her closely. "How did you manage to find this file anyway? It was locked away in my room."
His question snapped her out of her pouting. While she'd screwed up with her overly ambious plan, she had succeeded in something.
"I broke through your lock." Sophie replied confidently.
"Did you now?" He raised his eyebrow questioningly. "I made th
at lock myself...there's no way you could've done it."
"Have a little faith." Sophie nudged him in the side with her elbow. "The proof is right in front of you."
"Okay, then explain how you did it." His eyes were burning with curiosity. He hid it well, but she could tell he was frustrated that she'd been able to break into his room. Robert had probably never had to worry about someone stealing from him before.
"No, thank you." She winked up at him slyly. "A thief never gives away all her tricks."