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Chapter 4: Cracks in the Marriage

Author: King Great
last update publish date: 2026-07-02 05:29:34

Julia arrived at the café ten minutes early.

She had chosen a small place on the edge of the city, far from the restaurants and hotels where members of the Romano family usually gathered. A pair of sunglasses hid part of her face, and her hair was tucked beneath a simple cap. It was enough to keep curious eyes away.

The smell of coffee filled the air as she sat at a corner table.

A few minutes later, Marco walked in carrying a thick brown folder.

The look on his face told her everything she needed to know.

The news was bad.

“Did anyone follow you?” she asked quietly.

“No.” Marco sat across from her and placed the folder on the table. “I was careful.”

Julia nodded.

“Then show me what you found.”

Marco pushed the folder toward her.

For a few seconds, Julia simply stared at it.

Part of her wanted to leave it closed.

Part of her wanted to go home and pretend none of this existed.

But it was too late for that.

She opened the folder.

The first page was a bank statement.

Anthony's name appeared at the top.

Sophia Marino's name appeared below it.

Transfer after transfer filled the page.

Some were thousands of euros.

Others were much larger.

Julia turned to the next page.

Then the next.

Then another.

The payments stretched back years.

“How long?” she asked.

“Almost three years,” Marco replied.

Julia's chest tightened.

Three years.

Three years of lies.

Three years of secrets.

Three years of Anthony looking her in the eyes and pretending everything was normal.

She continued reading.

Luxury purchases.

Designer jewelry.

Vacation expenses.

Private medical bills.

The deeper she went, the worse it became.

“This isn't just support money,” Julia said.

Marco nodded.

“No. It isn't.”

He slid another document toward her.

“This is where things get interesting.”

Julia looked down.

Property records.

A condo in Sophia's name.

Then another property.

Then another.

She frowned.

“How many houses?”

“Three that we know about.”

Julia stared at the page.

Anthony had purchased properties for another woman while living under the same roof as his wife and daughters.

The betrayal felt almost unreal.

Marco reached into the folder and removed another file.

“This company was registered two years ago.”

Julia looked at the document.

The owner was Sophia Marino.

The startup capital had come from a foreign account.

An account funded almost entirely by Anthony.

“He built a company for her,” Julia whispered.

“Yes.”

“He bought her homes.”

“Yes.”

“He opened foreign accounts for her.”

“Yes.”

Marco hesitated.

“And if something happened to him tomorrow, Sophia and the boy would be financially secure for the rest of their lives.”

The words settled heavily between them.

Julia lowered her eyes.

The coffee in front of her had gone cold.

She hadn't taken a single sip.

Suddenly, the affair felt different.

This wasn't a man making mistakes.

This was a man planning another future.

A future that didn't include her.

By the time Julia left the café, the folder felt heavier than it should have.

Not because of the paper.

Because of what it contained.

The truth.

---

That evening, Anthony returned home just before dinner.

Julia heard his car pull into the driveway.

A familiar sound.

One that once made her happy.

Now it only made her tense.

The family gathered around the dining table.

Their daughters chatted about school while Anthony listened with a smile.

Anyone looking at them would have seen a happy family.

Julia almost laughed at the thought.

“Are you alright?” Anthony asked suddenly.

She looked up.

“What?”

“You seem distracted.”

“I'm fine.”

Anthony studied her face.

“You don't look fine.”

Julia forced a small smile.

“Just tired.”

“Too much work?”

“Something like that.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then their youngest daughter began talking about a school project, and the tension disappeared beneath family conversation.

At least on the surface.

Inside, Julia felt like she was sitting across from a stranger.

---

The following afternoon, Julia made a decision.

She needed to see Sophia for herself.

Not in photographs.

Not in reports.

In real life.

She parked her car across the street from one of the properties listed in Marco's file.

The neighborhood was quiet.

Expensive.

Private.

The kind of place money could buy.

For nearly an hour, nothing happened.

Then the front door opened.

A woman stepped outside.

Sophia.

Julia recognized her immediately from the photographs.

She was beautiful.

Not because of expensive clothes or jewelry.

There was simply a confidence about her.

The confidence of a woman who believed she belonged.

A small boy ran out behind her.

Sophia laughed and bent down to fix his jacket.

Julia watched silently from inside her car.

Then another vehicle pulled up.

Her heart stopped.

Anthony.

The boy's face lit up the moment he saw him.

“Daddy!”

The word was too far away for Julia to hear.

But she saw it.

The excitement.

The smile.

The little boy ran toward Anthony.

Anthony picked him up effortlessly and laughed.

A real laugh.

A genuine one.

The kind Julia hadn't heard from him in years.

For a brief moment, they looked like a family.

The sight hurt more than any document Marco had shown her.

Because papers could lie.

This couldn't.

---

That night, Julia sat alone in her room long after everyone had gone to sleep.

The image refused to leave her mind.

Anthony holding the boy.

Sophia smiling beside them.

A family.

His other family.

Her phone buzzed.

Anthony glanced at the screen.

The change in his expression was immediate.

He stood.

“What is it?” Julia asked.

“Business.”

“Can it wait until morning?”

“No.”

His answer came too quickly.

Anthony grabbed his jacket.

“I'll be back later.”

Julia watched him leave.

A strange feeling settled in her chest as the front door closed behind him.

She couldn't explain it.

But for some reason, she felt as though something terrible was coming.

And somewhere in the darkness beyond the Romano estate, fate had already begun moving its pieces into place.

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