Chapter 10 - SOPHIA'S FIRST LIE|
Sophia had not expected motherhood to begin with fear.
She had imagined a nursery filled with expensive furniture, a private nurse, and a husband who would eventually leave his wife once the child arrived.
Alexander had promised her security.
He had promised her a future.
Now he barely answered her calls.
When she visited the Moretti residence, his security team informed her that he was unavailable.
She refused to leave.
“I am carrying his child.”
The guard remained polite.
“Mr. Moretti has instructed us not to admit visitors without confirmation.”
Sophia stared at him.
“I'm not a visitor.”
But the doors stayed closed.
She drove to her apartment and found a message from Victoria waiting on her phone.
We need to talk. Alone.
Sophia almost deleted it.
Then another message arrived.
I know you signed the Northbridge filing.
Sophia's fingers went numb.
She had signed a document Richard Cole presented to her months earlier. He told her it was a routine authorization for property expenses. She had never asked why the paperwork involved Northbridge Holdings.
She had assumed Alexander would protect her if anything went wrong.
Now she wondered whether he had ever known what she was signing.
She agreed to meet Victoria at a law office, where Nathan would be present.
Sophia arrived wearing a dark coat and carrying a handbag large enough to hide her trembling hands.
Victoria was already seated.
“You look well,” Sophia said stiffly.
“Thank you.”
“Why did you ask me here?”
“Because I want to know what Richard Cole told you about Northbridge.”
Sophia glanced at Nathan.
“I don't know anything about business.”
Victoria placed a copy of the filing on the table.
“Your signature is on this document.”
Sophia stared at it.
“I didn't understand what it was.”
“Did you sign it?”
After a long silence, she nodded.
“Richard said it was related to the apartment.”
“Did Alexander ask you to sign it?”
“No.”
“Did Richard tell you the company was connected to my foundation?”
Sophia's eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
Victoria studied her carefully.
“You understand that the document could be relevant to a financial investigation?”
Sophia looked at Nathan.
“Am I in trouble?”
“That depends on the facts,” he replied. “We cannot promise what investigators will conclude. But if you knowingly participated in a scheme, you need independent legal advice.”
Sophia began to cry.
“I didn't know. I swear I didn't know.”
Victoria remained silent.
Sophia wiped her cheeks.
“You think I wanted to hurt you. Maybe I did, at first. I wanted Alexander to choose me. I wanted everyone to see that I mattered.”
She looked down at her stomach.
“But I didn't want this.”
“What did Richard tell you about the money?” Victoria asked.
Sophia hesitated.
Then she reached into her handbag and removed a small envelope.
“I kept this because I thought it might be useful someday.”
Inside was a printed email from Richard.
It instructed Sophia to keep copies of certain documents and not discuss them with Alexander until the property transfer was complete.
A second paragraph mentioned an account that would be activated after a specified date.
Nathan read it carefully.
“This could be important.”
Sophia looked at Victoria.
“Will you help me?”
Victoria's expression did not soften.
“I will tell the truth about what happened. I won't lie to protect you, and I won't lie to punish you.”
Sophia nodded slowly.
It was not forgiveness.
It was more than she had expected.
As they prepared to leave, Sophia suddenly remembered something.
“Richard said one other thing.”
“What?”
“He said that if Alexander ever questioned the accounts, there was a way to make sure he would take the blame.”
Victoria felt a chill.
“How?”
Sophia shook her head.
“He didn't explain. He just said the final papers were already signed.”
Nathan leaned forward.
“Which papers?”
Sophia stared at him.
Then she whispered the name of a document neither Victoria nor Nathan had seen before.
May you like
The document was called the Continuity Agreement.
And according to Sophia, it carried both Alexander's signature and Victoria's.
