Chapter 5: The Woman Behind the Betrayal
I returned to Sophia’s office immediately.
The folder waiting on her desk was thicker than before.
I sat down.
“Tell me.””
Sophia opened the first page.
“Three months before Dominic proposed, someone accessed information about your family trust.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
She placed a photograph in front of me.
A woman.
Older.
Elegant.
Familiar.
I stared.
“No.””
Sophia nodded.
“Yes.””
Victoria Ashford.
The woman who claimed she hated money.
The woman who claimed she accepted me because Dominic loved me.
The woman who pushed me down those stairs.
“She knew?””
Sophia nodded.
“She knew your inheritance existed before your wedding.””
I looked at the documents.
Every memory changed.
The dinner where Victoria suddenly became kinder.
The day she encouraged Dominic to marry me.
The way she stopped criticizing my simple lifestyle after learning about my family.
It was all an act.
“She never wanted me as a daughter-in-law.””
“No.””
Sophia closed the folder.
“She wanted your assets connected to her family.””
I stood and walked to the window.
For years, I had wondered why Dominic changed.
Now I knew.
Maybe he never changed.
Maybe I simply saw what I wanted to see.
That evening, Dominic returned home and found Victoria waiting.
“We need to talk.””
She looked annoyed.
“About what?””
“About Audrey.””
Victoria sighed.
“Again?””
“Yes.””
He placed documents on the table.
“I know you knew.””
Her expression changed.
“Knew what?””
“About her money.””
Silence.
Then Victoria smiled.
A cold smile.
“You finally figured it out.””
Dominic stared.
“How?””
“How what?””
“How could you do this?””
Victoria laughed.
“Don’t act innocent.””
“I loved her.””
“No, Dominic.””
Her voice sharpened.
“You loved what she could give you.””
He looked shocked.
Victoria walked closer.
“Do you know how many doors opened after you married her?””
He said nothing.
“How many investors trusted you because of her?””
The truth was uglier than he expected.
Because Victoria wasn’t defending him.
She was exposing him.
Dominic whispered:
“You knew about the baby.””
Victoria looked away.
That was enough.
His face changed.
“You knew?””
“She fell.””
“You knew she was pregnant?””
Victoria’s silence answered.
Dominic stepped back.
For the first time, he looked at his mother like a stranger.
“You pushed her.””
Victoria’s expression hardened.
“Careful.””
“No.””
His voice shook.
“You pushed my wife.””
“She was leaving.””
The words froze him.
“What?””
“She discovered everything.””
Dominic felt sick.
Victoria continued.
“She knew about Paige.””
The room went silent.
“You knew?””
“Yes.””
“And you did nothing?””
Victoria looked almost offended.
“You were finally making the practical choice.””
Dominic laughed once.
Broken.
“Practical.””
Meanwhile, I sat alone in my apartment reading the final report Sophia sent.
There was one last piece.
One final secret.
A recording.
A conversation between Dominic and Victoria from weeks before my accident.
I pressed play.
Dominic’s voice filled the room.
“What if Audrey finds out?””
Victoria answered.
“She won’t.””
“And if she does?””
A pause.
Then Victoria said:
“Then we make sure she can never take back what belongs to us.””
I stopped the recording.
My hands were shaking.
Not from fear.
From clarity.
They didn’t just betray me.
They planned for my silence.
They planned for my disappearance.
But they made one mistake.
They underestimated the woman they tried to erase.
My phone rang.
Sophia.
“Audrey?””
“Yes?””
“We need to discuss tomorrow.””
“Why?””
Her voice became serious.
“Because Dominic is going public.””
I frowned.
“Public with what?””
A pause.
Then:
“He’s telling everyone that you abandoned him.””
I looked out at the city lights.
For three years, they controlled the story.
Now it was my turn.
“Good,” I whispered.
Sophia was silent.
“What are you going to do?””
I looked at the divorce papers on my table.
Then at my mother’s necklace.
Then at the recording.
“I’m going to let him tell his lie.””
“Why?””
May you like
I smiled faintly.
“Because tomorrow, I’m going to show everyone the truth.””
