Chapter 29: The Truth Comes Out

I stared at the surveillance photos Elena had spread out on the table. My hands shook as I took in what Mikel just told me. There were pharmacy slips showing Sophia buying Rohypnol, hotel records proving the assault was a setup, and digital proof that the photos had been faked.

"You were drugged," I whispered, the words feeling weird. "You were attacked."

Mikel's jaw tightened, his eyes full of five years of guilt. "I should've been smarter. I should've known what she was up to."

"How could you? You trusted her." I picked up the forensics report, trying to understand the tech stuff that showed how planned this whole thing was. "Mikel, this isn't just cheating. This is rape."

The word hung there between us. For five years, I blamed him for ruining our marriage. But he was the one hurt by someone we both trusted.

"The investigator found more," Mikel said softly, sliding over other papers. "Financial records showing Sophia got paid. She didn't do this alone."

I looked at the bank statements, noticing big deposits that lined up with key moments when our marriage fell apart. Someone paid her to destroy us.

"Not just paid, but told her what to do. Check out these signatures."

The financial papers had names I knew—board members from Sterling Industries, people we worked with, people who were in our lives.

"Richard Valdez," I said, recognizing the media big shot who's been fighting with our families for ages. "James Morrison from your board. Patricia Chen from..." I stopped. "Patricia Chen? Is she related to Sophia?"

"Her aunt. She's the one who got Sophia her foot in the door at Sterling Industries five years ago."

My head was spinning as things clicked into place. "This was all planned. From the start."

"Yeah, the investigator thinks so. They needed someone on the inside who could get close to me, someone who could make a scandal big enough to kill any chance of Romano-Sterling working together."

As Mikel told me how deep the conspiracy went, my phone buzzed with a number I didn't know. The text was short and scary: *Enjoying your little get-together? Some people just don't learn.*

I showed Mikel the message. He looked angry. "She's still watching us."

"Sophia?"

"It has to be. The investigator said she's been seen near your place a bunch this past week."

I felt a chill. "She's been watching Emma?"

"We're getting a restraining order tomorrow," Mikel said, seriously. "But Bella, this proves my point about the conspiracy. Sophia was just the tool—Patricia Chen, Richard Valdez, and the others were the ones calling the shots."

I got up and walked to the windows, looking out at Seattle as I tried to wrap my head around this new truth. "They picked Sophia 'cause she was young, wanted to get ahead, and was already into you."

"They told her about our marriage problems, told her how to act like the better option, and helped her look more successful than she was."

"And when the time was right, they had her drug you and fake the affair."

"Making sure you'd never trust me again, so our families could never work together."

My phone buzzed again. Another message: *Tell Mikel I said hi. Some secrets stay hidden.*

I turned back to him, finally seeing him not as a cheater but as another person hurt by this mess. "She's threatening us right now, while we're figuring things out."

Mikel looked dangerous. "She's scared. They all are. But Bella, we need to be careful. Sophia's become obsessed with me over the years, and now that she thinks we're getting back together..."

"She'll do something worse."

"The investigator found proof she's been checking your social media, following Emma's school stuff, even knowing when you're at work. This isn't just about business stuff anymore. She can't handle that I chose my family over her."

I looked at the faces on the organizational chart—people I'd known for years, people who came to our wedding, people who said they were sorry when we broke up. But I kept looking at Sophia's photo, finally seeing the ambition behind her sweet smile.

"She was playing the long game," I realized. "Even after ruining our marriage, she still wanted to be the one when you were ready to move on."

"But I never wanted to move on. I spent five years trying to prove I didn't do it and trying to get you back."

Another text: *Emma is such a sweet kid. It'd be too bad if she got mixed up in adult stuff.*

This time, I was furious, ready to protect my kid. "She's threatening our daughter."

Mikel was already on the phone with his security team. "Lucas, we need Emma protected at school now. Sophia Chen is threatening her."

As he got security in place, I stared at the text, feeling the weight of what we were dealing with. This wasn't just about business or mistakes. This was about a woman who'd lost it.

"Mikel," I said when he hung up, "I need to ask you something, and you have to be honest."

"Anything."

"When you worked with Sophia, before the attack—did you ever make her think you were into her?"

He looked pale. "Bella, I swear, I never—"

"I'm not blaming you. I'm trying to get inside her head. What made her think that ruining our marriage would make you love her?"

Mikel sat down, running his hands through his hair. "I was nice to her sometimes. I helped her at work, and maybe she took it the wrong way. When we were having issues, when you and I were fighting about work, I might have told her about the stress."

"Just regular work stuff."

"But to someone looking for a sign, someone being told to destroy us..." He looked at me with sad eyes. "They used my being nice against me. They told her my kindness meant more than it did."

Another message: *Some guys are worth fighting for. Some families aren't as strong as they think.*

"She's watching us right now," I said, moving away from the windows. "She knows we're together, probably knows what we're talking about."

"The hidden cameras Lucas found," Mikel realized. "If they're still on, she might be hearing everything we say."

The thought made me feel violated. Every talk, every moment we reconnected, every sweet word might have been heard by the woman who destroyed my marriage.

"We need to get Emma," I said, starting to panic.

"Already done. Elena's security is picking her up from school. She'll be here in an hour."

"Then what?"

"Then we stop hiding. We use everything the investigator found to show everyone what Sophia did, expose the conspiracy, and send some people to jail."

My phone rang, Elena's ringtone. "Bella, Emma's safe and on her way here. But there's another problem."

"What now?"

"Sophia Chen was at Emma's school this morning. She tried to talk to Emma, saying she was family."

I felt dizzy. "She talked to my daughter?"

"The school stopped her, but Bella, this is more than just business. She's stalking and could hurt Emma."

When Elena hung up, I was shaking with anger. Not just at being betrayed, but at someone hurting my kid.

"She went to Emma's school," I told Mikel, watching him turn white.

"Today? While we were here?"

"This morning. Said she was family."

We sat there for a minute, understanding what Sophia had become. Not just someone screwing up a business deal, but someone who was willing to hurt a five-year-old.

"Mikel," I said quietly, "I need to apologize."

"You don't have to."

"I owe you five years of trust. I should've believed in you instead of what she faked." My voice cracked. "I'm so sorry."

Tears ran down my face, five years of anger turning into sadness for what we lost.

"We were both hurt," Mikel said softly, taking my hand. "We both lost five years and we can't get back."

"But we still have the future. We still have Emma. We still have each other, if you want that."

The kiss was going to happen. It started soft, then got deeper as we let go of five years of pain. He tasted like coffee and hope, like the future we could have.

When we stopped, I rested my head against his. "I never stopped loving you. Even when I hated you, I still loved you."

"I never stopped fighting for us. Even when it seemed impossible, I still tried."

My phone buzzed one last time: *Have fun while it lasts. People get what's coming to them.*

I showed Mikel the message, and he looked angry and ready to protect.

"She messed up," he said. "She threatened Emma. And now she's going to see what happens when you try to hurt my family."

As we got ready to go back to Elena's place to be with our daughter, I knew that Sophia had done the opposite of what she wanted. She made Mikel and me stop questioning things and start fighting for our future together.

The truth set us free from five years of pain, and Sophia's threats were making us stronger than ever. A family standing together.