CHAPTER SIX: THE LIE THAT BLED. SOPHIA'S POV.

Sophia stared at the text on her phone until the words became a mess.

“Adrian is dead.”

She could not believe what she was reading. Her thumb hovered over the screen, refusing to accept what her eyes kept telling her. She read it again and again, hoping it was some mistake. Her knees gave way. She caught herself against the doorframe, the phone slipping from her fingers and falling to the floor. Luckily for her,the phone was not smashed.

Adrian was dead, the man who had threatened her and dragged her into corners. The man who had fought with Liam hours ago to defend her was now dead. Sophia did not understand why her chest felt so tight. It's unlike her.  She told herself it was a shock, that is all. Not sadness, not for Adrian Calloway. Not after everything he made her go through. It can never be.

Then she thought of Theo and something inside her broke.

She scrambled to pick up the phone, dialed James's number, her fingers shaking.

"James," she said. The moment he answered, her voice cracked. "Is it true? Is Adrian really..."

"I got the same message now," James said, his voice serious. "I'll go to the hospital to confirm myself. It could be true because he lost a lot of blood before they could help him. I am sorry, Sophia."

Sophia sank onto the floor, her back against the wall, the phone pressed to her ear like it was the thing holding her together.

"How do I tell Theo that his father is gone before he even gets to know him?"

James was quiet for a moment. "One thing at a time. Now I need you to stay inside and lock all the doors. Liam is still there, and a man like that does not disappear quietly. I will send someone to watch the building tonight."

". Victoria?" Sophia asked. "Does she know?"

"She is on her way to the hospital now. I would stay away from her if I were you. Grief can do things to people, and she already blamed you before any of this happened."

After the call, Sophia stayed on the floor for a time staring at nothing. The apartment, full of Theo's laughter, felt empty and quiet. She thought of all the years she had spent hating Adrian, building walls to keep him out. Now those walls felt useless. The man she had feared the man she had run from was dead. Somehow that felt heavier than she expected. She found out that she did not really hate her as she thought.

She was still sitting there when she heard a creak from Theo's room. She got up quickly, wiped her face with the back of her hand and pushed the door open.

Theo was sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes. "Mummy? Why is your face wet?"

"It's nothing, baby " Sophia said, forcing a smile as she sat beside him. "Go back to sleep."

"You said that man is my daddy, " Theo said, ignoring her. "Is he coming back tomorrow?"

Sophia's throat closed. How could she explain death to a four-year-old who had just learned the word “father”? She pulled him into her arms instead, holding him tightly as though his warmth could calm the storm inside her.

"Not tomorrow sweetheart " Sophia whispered. ". We will talk about it soon. I promise."

Theo did not push further. He yawned, nestled against her chest and fell back to sleep. Sophia stayed there long after he was asleep staring at the ceiling wondering how everything had fallen apart quickly in just one night.

---

Across town at St. Augustines Hospital Victoria stormed through the corridors, her heels clicking on the floor. Nurses and orderlies got out of her way as she reached the room where they had taken her son.

When she pushed the door open the bed was empty.

"Where is he?" she demanded, turning to the nurse. "Where is my son's body?"

The nurse hesitated, glancing nervously at a doctor who had just entered behind her. "Ma'am please take it easy. Who are you talking about and when was he brought here?"

Victoria's eyes narrowed. "What kind of useless question is that?"

The doctor stepped forward, clearing his throat. " Are you Mrs. Calloway?

Please take it easy, let's check the report of your son.

Victoria's hand flew to her mouth, relief and surprise fighting on her face. "Take me to him now."

They led her to the ICU, where Adrian lay hooked to machines, his skin pale and a bandage wrapped tightly around his head. Victoria rushed to his side, gripping his hand.

"Adrian " she whispered. "You cannot leave me. Not like this. Not before you take back what belongs to you."

The machines beeped steadily the response he could give.

Victoria's grief turned into something sharper. She turned to the doctor, her voice suddenly calm and deliberate.

"I want this to be kept secret. No one should know what is going on with my son. I repeat myself again, Nobody. I know he is dead but nobody should know about it.

Do you understand me?"

The doctor frowned. "Mrs. Calloway, that's highly unusual.."

"I do not care what it is, " Victoria snapped, pulling out her checkbook. "Name your price.

The doctor glanced at the numbers she wrote and swallowed hard. He gave a nod.

Outside the room a nurse who had overheard everything slipped quietly into the corridor pulled out her phone and dialed a number she was not supposed to have.

"It's me " she whispered when the call connected. “We need to see. There are a lot of complications here and I can't say everything here.”

On the end of the line a voice Sophia would have recognized in an instant let out a slow satisfied breath.

"Good, " Liam said. “I know it will be that way but you see I have a plan and it must be carried out successfully.