Chapter 13 - Sophia's Choice
The verdict came first.
Guilty.
On the major fraud and conspiracy counts.
Additional proceedings would address the remaining charges.
Eleanor was led away.
But her final words remained.
Ask Adrian why.
Sophia waited until they were alone.
“Why what?”
Adrian didn't pretend ignorance.
“Why I knew so much about Daniel before that night.”
Sophia's stomach tightened.
Adrian explained.
He had been investigating Whitmore Holdings for almost a year.
During that investigation, his team had discovered evidence that someone was manipulating Daniel.
Adrian hadn't known it was Eleanor.
But he'd known Daniel was becoming unstable and suspicious.
“You could have warned me.”
“Yes.”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because you were his wife.”
“That isn't an answer.”
“No.”
Adrian looked ashamed.
“The answer is that I was angry. Daniel had tried to destroy my company. I thought whatever was happening inside his marriage wasn't my business.”
Sophia stared at him.
“And then you found me.”
“On the floor.”
Everything came back to that moment.
Adrian could have walked away too.
He hadn't.
But Sophia had learned something important.
Saving someone once didn't make a person perfect.
Daniel wasn't a monster because he failed once.
Adrian wasn't a saint because he stayed once.
People were the accumulation of what they chose afterward.
“I need time,” she said.
Adrian nodded.
“I know.”
He left.
For six weeks, Sophia saw neither man except Daniel during scheduled visits with the twins.
She worked.
Mothered.
Healed.
Grace learned to roll over.
Noah discovered his own feet.
Sophia's company received its first major retail contract.
Life became wonderfully ordinary.
Then Daniel asked to speak privately.
“I've accepted a position in Boston.”
Sophia blinked.
“You're leaving?”
“Not completely. I'll come back for the twins.”
“Why Boston?”
“Because I need to build something where my last name isn't the first qualification.”
Sophia studied him.
He looked lighter.
Sad.
But lighter.
“I hope you find what you're looking for.”
“I already know what I lost.”
She said nothing.
Daniel smiled faintly.
“That's not me asking for it back.”
“I know.”
He removed their wedding ring from his pocket.
Sophia had returned hers through her attorney.
“I kept thinking this meant I should wait.”
He placed his ring on the table.
“But waiting for you to change your mind isn't the same as changing myself.”
Sophia's eyes filled.
Daniel stood.
“Thank you for Grace and Noah.”
“They're yours too.”
“Yes.”
He swallowed.
“But you saved them.”
“No.”
Sophia thought of the man who had carried two cream-wrapped babies beside her hospital bed.
“Someone else helped.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
At the door he stopped.
“For what it's worth, Sophia…”
She waited.
“I think he loves you.”
Daniel left.
Sophia stood alone.
Her phone buzzed.
A message from Adrian.
He hadn't contacted her in six weeks.
It contained no declaration.
Only a photograph.
The hospital bracelet.
BABY B.
Sophia had thought it was evidence.
Adrian had discovered something written inside the band.
A date.
A time.
And initials.
Sophia recognized the initials immediately.
May you like
They belonged to the nurse who had been present when her embryos were created.
That nurse was waiting downstairs...
