Part 2
Sophia looked at him.
“Everything?”
Marcus smiled.
“Everything.”
She nodded.
“Good.”
He walked upstairs.
Sophia remained downstairs.
The moment she heard the bedroom door close, she opened her phone.
She had one message waiting.
It came from an unknown number.
There was only one sentence.
“You finally found the folder.”
Sophia froze.
She stared at the message.
Then another appeared.
“Do not trust Marcus.”
Sophia's heart raced.
She typed:
“Who is this?”
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
Then appeared again.
Finally, the response came.
“Someone who knows what Claire is really doing.”
Sophia immediately called the number.
It was unavailable.
She tried again.
Nothing.
Sophia barely slept that night.
At six in the morning, she arrived at her company before everyone else.
She went directly to her private office and called her chief legal officer, Daniel Reed.
Daniel had worked with Sophia for seven years.
He was one of the few people she trusted completely.
When he arrived, Sophia locked the door.
“I need you to listen carefully.”
Daniel noticed her expression.
“What happened?”
Sophia placed the encrypted drive on the desk.
“Everything on this drive came from a folder created by Claire Morgan.”
Daniel frowned.
“Your husband's intern?”
“Yes.”
“What does she have?”
“Information about me. My assets. My company. My marriage. The fundraising deal.”
Daniel opened the first file.
His expression changed.
“Where did she get this?”
“I don't know.”
He continued reading.
After several minutes, he looked up.
“This isn't normal employee research.”
“I know.”
“Someone has been tracking your private financial information.”
“I know.”
Daniel closed the laptop.
“Do you want me to call the authorities?”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know who else is involved.”
Daniel understood immediately.
“You think there are more people.”
“I think Claire didn't build this alone.”
That afternoon, Sophia quietly hired an independent forensic accountant.
She also contacted a private attorney who specialized in financial fraud and asset recovery.
Neither man knew about Marcus.
Neither knew about Helen.
Sophia wanted an outside investigation without personal connections influencing the results.
For three days, nothing happened.
Then the accountant called.
“There is something strange.”
Sophia leaned forward.
“What?”
“The transfers involving your marital assets were structured to look temporary.”
“I know.”
“No. I mean something else.”
“What?”
“They were designed to trigger after the fundraising deal closed.”
Sophia frowned.
“Explain.”
“If the deal closes under the current structure, the ownership changes become much harder to reverse.”
Sophia felt a chill.
“So they weren't trying to steal everything immediately.”
“No.”
“They were waiting for the fundraising deal.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
The accountant hesitated.
“Because once the company receives the new investment, the value of the assets connected to your ownership will increase dramatically.”
Sophia understood.
They had not simply wanted what she already had.
They wanted what she was about to gain.
The fundraising deal could transform her company's valuation.
Marcus and Helen had been positioning themselves to benefit from the moment Sophia's company became significantly more valuable.
Sophia stared out the window.
For ten years, she had believed Marcus had been proud of her.
Now she wondered whether he had simply been waiting for the right moment to profit from her success.
Then her phone rang.
It was Claire.
Sophia stared at the name.
She answered.
“Hello?”
“Ms. Bennett?”
Claire sounded nervous.
“Yes.”
“I need to speak with you.”
“About what?”
“I can't explain over the phone.”
Sophia paused.
“Come to my office.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I don't know who is watching.”
Sophia sat up.
“What do you mean?”
Claire lowered her voice.
“Your husband.”
Sophia said nothing.
Claire continued.
“Please meet me somewhere private.”
An hour later, they sat across from each other in a quiet hotel lounge.
Claire looked nothing like the confident young woman Sophia had seen around the office.
She looked exhausted.
“You created the folder,” Sophia said.
Claire looked down.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Claire took a slow breath.
“Because I was trying to protect myself.”
Sophia's expression hardened.
“You helped plan the destruction of my marriage.”
“I know.”
“You gathered private information about me.”
“I know.”
“You helped Marcus and Helen move my assets.”
Claire closed her eyes.
“I know.”
Sophia leaned forward.
“Then tell me why.”
Claire finally looked up.
“Because they told me you were going to destroy me.”
Sophia frowned.
“What?”
“They said you knew about my family.”
“I have never met your family.”
“That is what I eventually realized.”
Claire's hands trembled.
“They lied to me.”
Sophia studied her.
“Start from the beginning.”
Claire hesitated.
“My father worked with Marcus years ago.”
Sophia said nothing.
“He was a financial consultant.”
“Was?”
“He died three years ago.”
Claire looked down.
“Before he died, he told me that Marcus had taken credit for one of his biggest ideas and destroyed his reputation when he objected.”
Sophia frowned.
“Why would you believe him?”
“Because I found the records.”
Claire reached into her bag.
She placed several documents on the table.
Sophia read them.
They showed communications between Marcus and Claire's father.
There were financial disagreements.
Legal disputes.
And eventually, a settlement.
Sophia looked up.
“Why didn't you take this to the authorities?”
“I tried.”
“And?”
“No one believed me.”
“So you became involved with Marcus?”
Claire shook her head.
“At first, yes. But not because I wanted his money.”
Sophia remained silent.
“I wanted evidence.”
Claire's voice broke.
“I joined his company because I believed he had hidden something.”
