Chapter 4

Sophie 

I didn’t breathe until I was sure Alex was gone.

The second the door clicked shut, I staggered backward, hand clutching my chest. My lungs worked overtime trying to steady me.

What the hell just happened?

I paced my office, heart thundering. It was four years ago all over again. 

I’m still standing where Alexander left me, feeling my heartbeat in every part of my body, feeling the slight brush of his fingers against my skin 

“Jesus, Sophie.” Why am I sweating? What’s happening with my heart? Am I having some kind of medical emergency?

Wiping my sweaty palms on the front of my pants, I mumbled, “Okay, he’s gone…take a deep breath.”

Alexander holds my deepest secrets and desires in his hands. And now he’s here. For a merger?

My phone buzzed—Celine.

Of course she’d sense something was wrong. She always did. But I couldn’t talk to her now. She’d only make it worse. She’d storm into the city with a baseball bat and high heels.

I hit Airplane mode, tossed the phone onto the desk, and forced my breathing into something resembling normal.

Then came the knock.

“Miss Kel?” Lisa’s soft voice filtered through.

I turned, quickly smoothing my dress. “Yes?”

“Your uncle’s requesting to see you. He said it’s urgent.”

Of course it is.

“Tell him I’m on my way.”

As I drove away from the parking lot, a rage of anger filled me. Not just because Alex came, but because this was for his family.

The same family who said I wasn’t good enough for his brother. “Damn it!”

I took a deep breath before climbing out of the car. The last thing I want is for Uncle Peter to see through me. 

It took us a lot of hard work to get here and I just can’t let the presence of one man ruin everything we’ve worked so hard to build in years.  

The Kellerman estate always felt like something out of an European film—grand, elegant, and haunting in its silence. I pulled into the driveway, ignoring the way my stomach twisted. Today, it felt like a trap.

Inside, Uncle Peter greeted me with a hug that I returned out of habit more than warmth.

“Too abrupt for you? You seem like you fell off the cliff somewhere.”

A small laugh escaped my mouth. He has always taught me to be ready and always expect things so they don’t appear rapid to me.

 

I’ve done that in the last four years but today? Seeing Alexander Weillman was so abrupt, that I forgot everything I learned.

“You look pale, darling,” he said. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” I lied. “Lisa said you needed me?”

We moved to the dining room, where his favorite pasta was already laid out. I barely touched mine.

He ate slowly, watching me. Waiting.

“I’m proud of you, Sophie,” he finally said. “Your work. Your poise. Your growth. I know your father would’ve been too.”

He let the words sink, before he continued. “We are proud of you, Soph.”

Uncle Peter was diagnosed with acute renal failure and has never missed the chance to remind me of how proud of me he is, but this time…it sounded different. 

I looked up, startled at the slow grasp. 

“Before your father passed,” he continued, voice tightening, “he left one last request.”

I set down my fork.

“He asked me to name you heir to Kellerman & Co.”

The words didn’t register.

“What?”

“You’re the rightful successor, Sophie. Not just by competence but by blood. This was your father’s company before it was ever mine.”

The floor shifted under me. “He never told me.”

“He didn’t want you to feel pressured. But now the time has come.”

I stared at him, my heart torn between disbelief and quiet longing. I had always felt like I was building someone else’s empire. Now it was mine?

He reached for his glass, swirling the wine like he was delaying something.

“But there’s a problem, Soph.”

My throat tightened. “What kind of problem?”

His gaze turned hollow. “Remember the east plant accident? The collapse that killed those two men?”

Of course I do. “Yes. The accident.”

“It wasn’t an accident, Sophie. I cut the safety protocols myself. Signed off on it to save us millions.. and.. and when it all came down, I buried the truth with payoffs and forged reports.”

My jaw dropped. It’s not possible. Uncle Peter is a saint— a morally upright man who can do nothing like this…

“And unfortunately, those secrets are not buried

A bile rose in my throat. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“Because I’m dying. I won’t be long now. But you… you’ll live with it. You have to know what is at stake.”

I swallowed hard, unable to process any word. 

“They offered you something, didn’t they? A merger.”

My eyes turned to him immediately. “How… how did you know that?”

“Because I know the numbers. I know the vultures circling…but Soph, that’s not the worst of it.”

“So what are you telling me to do?”

“They can help you. The Weillmans.”

“What???” I yelled. “That’s not possible! He left me like trash, uncle. Do you have any idea what you’re asking?”

“I do,” he said gently. “And I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t believe you could handle it but ask yourself, Sophie… when the truth surfaces…and it will. Do you want to be standing alone?”

That question haunted me until I got home. I stared into the mirror, mascara smudged and lipstick faded. Water dripped down my face, but it couldn’t wash off the feeling crawling under my skin.

I’d built this new life with blood and grit. I’d buried Sophie Kellerman. Reinvented Soph Kel.

And now, everything. my identity, my empire, my power would be lost in the blink of an eye. 

I gripped the sink.

“You’re not breaking,” I said to myself. “Not now. Not for anyone.”

I dried my face, reapplied my makeup like armor, and pulled my hair into a sleek twist. No more crying. No more cracks.

I needed to figure this out… and I needed it to figure it out as soon as possible. 

My phone buzzed in my hand and I held my breath as I read the text.