LOGINSophia's POV The car's ceiling, the leather seats, the dark glass… everything spun. I clutched the dossier against my chest so tightly my fingers hurt.The air ran out. The ground disappeared. And I stood there, paralyzed, while the world crumbled around me."Sophia," Eleanor called, her voice broken. "Please, say something."What could I say? That I was fine? I wasn't. That I forgave her? I didn't know. That I hated her? I didn't know that either."I spent years hating Richard for killing my daughter," Eleanor continued, tears streaming endlessly. "And now I find out he also raped her. That his blood runs in your veins. That my granddaughter is the daughter of my worst enemy."She rested her forehead against the front seat, her shoulders shaking."I feel like trash, Sophia. Trash. For not protecting Ingrid. For not looking for you. For letting hatred blind me for so long.""He knew," I whispered, my voice strange. "Richard knew who I was. That's why he pursued me. That's why he neve
Sophia's POVEleanor's car was parked on a side street, away from curious eyes. The windows were dark, impenetrable. Outside, Eleanor's assistant stood next to the driver, her back to us, like a sentinel.I was sitting in the back seat, as far away from my grandmother as possible. Alexander's dossier still pressed against my chest. Michael stayed in our car, two blocks away, waiting. I said it would be five minutes. Ten had already passed."Sophia," Eleanor began, her voice trembling. "My daughter…"She reached out her hand to touch my face.I turned my head away."How did you have the courage?" My voice came out cold, cutting. "To come near me? To pretend you cared?"Eleanor withdrew her hand. Tears were already shining in her eyes."I can tell you everything," she said, hurried, desperate. "Richard… he lied. About your mother, about the car, about everything. I would never have ordered your mother's death. She was my daughter. My only daughter."I looked at the car's ceiling. Swallo
Sophia's POVMy body reacted before my mind. I retreated slightly in the chair, as if the folder might burn me."No."The word came out before I could think. Dry. Direct.Alexander raised an eyebrow, but didn't seem surprised. "You don't want to analyze it calmly?""I don't need to." I lifted my eyes to him, and felt the old pain rise from my chest to my throat. "I know what it is. It's the place where I was humiliated. Where they demoted me. Where I worked for the woman who destroyed my life. Where you…" My voice faltered, but I forced it to continue. "Where you looked me in the eye and announced your engagement to her, knowing what I felt for you."My hands were trembling. I pressed them over my bag to hide them."And you want me to buy shares?"Alexander didn't answer right away. He let my words hang in the air, heavy, necessary. When he spoke, his voice was lower."Yes. It's exactly that place. And that's why I need you here."I frowned, confused."You know this company better tha
Sophia's POVThe man I had loved almost to death was on the other side of the desk, leaning on a cane, and the autumn in New York seemed colder simply because I was there.Seven months. Seven months since I saw his blood seep between my fingers. Seven months since I climbed into an ambulance not knowing if he would make it to the hospital alive. Now Alexander Reed was there, alive, and I was back at the Reed Group by my own choice.The revolving doors of the glass and steel skyscraper reminded me of the day I last left here as an employee. The day he announced his engagement to Victoria and I crossed this same lobby with my head held high, even with my heart in pieces. Today I was returning for a business meeting.The security guard in the lobby recognized me. Nodded with a discreet smile. I nodded back, my heels echoing on the polished marble as I crossed the hall.Everything seemed the same, yet different. People walked faster, their eyes more alert. Richard Pierce's shadow still hu
Sophia’s POVRichard Pierce's body lay fallen in the garden, his arms spread open as if he were still trying to grasp something. Victoria was kneeling beside him, her screams had turned into muffled sobs, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.I was still on the terrace, on my knees. My hands were trembling. I was still holding Alexander's hands between my fingers. Down below, the police were arriving, blue and red lights painting the mansion's walls.That was when my gaze returned to Eleanor.She was in the garden, motionless, looking at Richard's body. Her face was pale, her eyes red from crying. Her assistant was beside her, holding her arm, trying to pull her away.But Eleanor didn't move. Her eyes were fixed on me.From the terrace, I kept staring at her. The woman who had appeared in my life saying she wanted to protect me. The woman who had cried at the hospital when I was shot. The woman who, according to Richard, had ordered my mother's death.Her eyes met mine. And I saw it.
Sophia's POVI was still holding the lamp. A heavy, ridiculous object in my hands, nothing compared to the power Richard had with that gun pointed directly at me.He looked at Alexander, but the aim didn't waver from my chest."Alexander, you're a waste," Richard said, his voice too calm for a cornered man."You know, this story could have had a very different ending. You would have been someone important in this country, alongside my daughter. We would all be happy. But no."He spat out the next words. "You and this unfortunate habit of screwing everything up, choosing to chase after a skirt.""Richard, I won't repeat myself," Alexander replied, his voice icy, the gun still aimed. "Drop it. Now."Richard laughed. A dry sound. "And you know what's funniest? She traded you for your best friend. The worst part is that you're here, risking your life, for someone who never truly loved you."He paused, his eyes gleaming. "Learn from this, Alexander. Once a Morgan, always a Morgan. This fam
Sophia's POV I didn't scream. The sound got stuck somewhere between my chest and my throat, turned to ice. Nor did I cry. The tears seemed to have evaporated, leaving only an oddly clear vision, as if I were watching everything from behind soundproof glass. Perhaps they expected a scandal.
Eleanor's POVFor a panic that lasted the blink of an eye, my body froze. He had recognized me.My mind raced: the scalpel in Dubai, the burning of healing skin, the guarantee that everything I was had been erased.But no. It was impossible.The disguise was too good, even for someone my age.Was i
Eleanor's POVThe smile was still frozen on my lips, but stubborn tears insisted on flowing. She wiped her face with a swift, professional motion, like someone erasing a miscalculation. All the fragility of moments before was gone, swept away."Forgive my insistence, but who let you in here?" Her
Eleanor's POVHer hands found mine, not with affection, but with a decided, cold strength.She pried them away from her body, breaking the embrace I was clinging to so desperately. And then, a sound escaped her: a laugh.It was not of joy; far from it. It was a sharp, disbelieving thing, loaded wit







