Chapter 7 - THE TRUTH ABOUT SOPHIA
Daniel sent the information through my attorney.
I refused to meet him privately.
That was one boundary I wasn't willing to compromise.
The documents showed that Sophia Reynolds and her former husband, Julian, were connected to a failing investment company.
The company owed millions.
Several creditors were demanding repayment.
And Sophia had been trying to persuade Adrian to guarantee the debt.
I stared at the records.
“She wanted his money.”
My attorney nodded.
“That's one possibility supported by the financial pattern.”
I looked at her.
“Why send this to me?”
“Daniel believes you may be targeted because of your connection to Adrian.”
I thought of the photograph.
The warning.
The unfamiliar car I'd noticed twice near my apartment.
My stomach tightened.
“Have the police seen it?”
“They will.”
I nodded.
“Good.”
That evening, Adrian called my attorney.
He asked to speak with me.
I refused.
But I agreed to receive a written statement.
Two days later, it arrived.
He explained that Sophia had asked him to invest in Julian's company.
He'd declined after his accountants found inconsistencies.
Sophia became furious.
She accused him of abandoning her.
Then she threatened to expose private information about his businesses.
Adrian wrote that he had ended their relationship.
I read the letter twice.
Then set it aside.
For years, I'd imagined that discovering Sophia's flaws would make me feel victorious.
It didn't.
Sophia's motives didn't change Adrian's choices.
He had still left.
He had still laughed at the idea of losing me.
He had still believed my love made me incapable of saying no.
I called my attorney.
“Please tell Adrian's lawyers something.”
“What?”
“That Sophia's behavior doesn't excuse his.”
A pause.
Then she said:
“I'll make sure they understand.”
I looked toward the night sky.
The stars were hidden behind clouds.
But I knew they were there.
For the first time, I understood something important.
I didn't need Adrian to become a villain.
May you like
I didn't need Sophia to be punished.
I only needed to stop building my life around either of them.
