The Secret Inside the Sofa

At my resolute answer, Victoria Parker broke down on the hospital bed, sobbing so hard she could barely breathe.Both families were jolted out of their joy at welcoming a newborn.Her assistant, Justin Berkley, suddenly stepped forward and shouted, "Matt! Do you even have a heart? Do you have any idea how much Victoria has sacrificed for you and the family? Are you blind?"Are you seriously making a scene just because she bought a sofa and slept in the living room instead of with you?"Hearing this baseless explanation, Victoria's father grew even angrier. "So that's it? She's pregnant, she doesn't feel up to those things, and you want a divorce? Do you even deserve to be called a man?"Everyone glared at me, their fury burning as if they wanted to set me on fire.Seeing the situation spiral, my father quickly stepped in to smooth things over."Please, don't be upset. Matt's probably been waiting outside the delivery room too long—he's talking nonsense. We've just welcomed a hea

I didn't want to trouble Todd, so I had him drop me off at a hotel to check in. I had no idea how long I lay there before I finally drifted into a hazy sleep sometime before dawn.The next day, around noon, a barrage of urgent knocking jolted me awake.The moment I opened the door, a crowd surged in."Matt, why did you file for divorce right after your wife gave birth?""There are rumors that you couldn't stay faithful during the marriage and have a mistress. Is that true?""Your wife, Victoria, just gave birth to your child, yet you're being so heartless. Do you feel any guilt toward her?"Camera flashes exploded in front of my eyes. Recording devices and microphones were shoved inches from my face. They held up their phones, livestreaming, filming—each one of them filled with righteous anger, as if they hated me.The commotion quickly drew even more onlookers. Once they learned what had happened, the crowd's gaze toward me turned openly disgusted.A female reporter forced her

At Todd's words, the entire courtroom fell silent.He inserted a USB drive into the court's playback system and opened a folder labeled "Evidence." Inside were several video files.He clicked on one.In an instant, the large screen displayed the living room of my home.Victoria sat on the sofa in loose loungewear, her body rising and falling gently with her breath. From the camera angle, the faint flush on her cheeks was clearly visible.At first, the scene was calm.But after a few minutes, her movements began to change—her shoulders trembling slightly, her hands unconsciously gripping the armrests of the sofa.A heavy silence settled over the courtroom as people exchanged uneasy glances."What is this…?"The judge frowned.Whispers spread among the spectators, confusion written all over their faces.On screen, Victoria's cheeks were flushed, a fine sheen of sweat forming along her temples—she was clearly in an unspoken state.Seated beside the plaintiff's table, Victoria'

I looked at Victoria and Justin—panic written all over their faces—and said coldly, "If they hadn't been so brazen as to carry on in broad daylight, I wouldn't have been able to produce such straightforward evidence."The gallery instantly erupted. The wave of chatter nearly lifted the roof."You really can't judge a person by appearances. What a shameless pair!""Matt's had it the worst, being schemed against by the people closest to him!""No wonder he insisted on divorce—who could tolerate a betrayal like that?"I raised a hand for silence, my gaze settling on Victoria's ashen face.Pointing to the structural diagram of the sofa on the screen, I said, "The base of this sofa was hollowed out and fitted with a hidden compartment—just large enough to conceal an adult man."My lawyer immediately initiated a video call, the camera switching to my living room.On screen, a worker demonstrated the mechanism.With a press of a concealed latch on the armrest, the base slowly lifted,

The court's ruling came swiftly.Victoria was found guilty of cohabiting with another man during the marriage and of intending to harm a minor. She was stripped of all marital assets, and due to the "premeditated harm" revealed in the recording—though never carried out, the circumstances were deemed especially severe—she was sentenced to one year and six months in prison.Justin, as an accomplice and for his role in destroying another person's family, was also sentenced to one year in prison.The moment the verdict was announced, Victoria's parents publicly severed all ties with her.Overnight, the two of them seemed to age a decade. As they walked out of the courthouse, they could barely straighten their backs.They didn't spare Victoria a single glance. Instead, they bowed deeply to me, their voices choked with emotion."We're sorry… We failed to raise our daughter properly. You've suffered because of us."Justin's fate was even worse. Not only did he lose his job, but the com