Chapter 6 - The Mother Sophia Thought Was Dead Knew How She Would DieSophia found her mother living in a quiet coastal town.
No mansion.
No security.
No luxury.
Just a small house overlooking the Pacific.
She knocked.
The door opened.
A woman with silver at her temples stared at her.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then the woman whispered:
“Sophie.”
Sophia's eyes filled with tears.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Her mother looked away.
“Because I was afraid.”
“Of what?”
“That they would use you against me.”
“They did.”
Her mother closed her eyes.
“I know.”
Sophia entered.
The house smelled like coffee and lavender.
Ordinary.
Almost painfully ordinary.
“Why didn't you come back?”
“Because Victor's father was still watching.”
“Why?”
“Your father discovered what they were building.”
“My father?”
Sophia froze.
Her mother nodded.
“William knows parts of the story.”
“What was Edward Grant building?”
“A financial network.”
“To steal from Hastings?”
“At first.”
“And later?”
“To control the company.”
Sophia sat.
“How does Victor fit into this?”
“He didn't.”
“Then why does Marcus Vale exist?”
Her mother stared at her.
“Marcus was Edward's son.”
Sophia's eyes widened.
“Isabella knows?”
“Yes.”
“Victor?”
“No.”
“Then why did Victor pay her?”
“Because he thought Isabella was in danger.”
Sophia shook her head.
“She played him.”
“Yes.”
Her mother hesitated.
“And she played you.”
“What do you mean?”
“She targeted you before you even met Victor.”
Sophia felt sick.
“Why?”
“Because she knew about Hastings.”
“But how?”
Her mother reached into a drawer.
She pulled out a photograph.
Sophia and Isabella.
At a charity event.
Four years before Sophia married Victor.
Sophia stared.
“I've never seen this.”
“You were twenty-five.”
“Who took it?”
“Isabella.”
Sophia's blood ran cold.
“She was watching me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because she had been hired.”
“By whom?”
Her mother looked at her.
“Marcus.”
Everything clicked.
Isabella had targeted Victor.
Victor had targeted Sophia.
Marcus had targeted Hastings.
And Sophia had unknowingly walked into the center.
But one piece remained.
“My death.”
Her mother froze.
“What?”
Sophia swallowed.
“In the future.”
She couldn't explain the truth.
Instead she said:
“I have reason to believe someone intends to kill me.”
Her mother stared.
Then slowly nodded.
“You're right.”
“How?”
“Because I found the plan.”
She opened another drawer.
Inside was an envelope.
Sophia opened it.
A photograph of the ferry terminal.
A list of names.
Victor.
Isabella.
Marcus.
Two masked men.
And her own name.
At the bottom:
Final transfer of Hastings control after Sophia's death.
Sophia stared.
Her mother said:
“They plan to make it look like a kidnapping for ransom.”
“Why?”
“Because your death activates a trust clause.”
“What clause?”
“Your shares transfer.”
“To whom?”
Sophia scanned the document.
Her eyes widened.
“Victor.”
Her mother nodded.
“If you die while married, Victor gains temporary control over your personal holdings.”
“But not Hastings Holdings.”
“No.”
“Then who gets those?”
“Your husband.”
Sophia looked up.
“My grandfather wrote that?”
“No.”
Her mother shook her head.
“The clause was forged.”
Sophia felt cold.
“Then why does the bank accept it?”
“Because someone inside the bank is involved.”
She stood.
“We need to stop this.”
Her mother grabbed her arm.
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because we need all of them.”
Sophia understood.
Expose one.
The others disappear.
Expose all.
The network collapses.
She returned to Seattle and changed her plan.
She stopped confronting Victor.
Instead she forgave him.
At least outwardly.
She went home.
She hugged him.
He looked confused.
“You're not angry?”
“I am.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Because I realized I still love you.”
Victor stared.
She touched his face.
“But love doesn't mean trust.”
He whispered:
“What do you want?”
“A second chance.”
Victor agreed.
He had no idea Sophia was recording every conversation.
She also invited Isabella to dinner.
Isabella arrived smiling.
“I thought you'd hate me.”
Sophia smiled.
“I did.”
“And now?”
“Now I want peace.”
Isabella relaxed.
Victor looked hopeful.
Dinner continued.
Then Sophia raised her glass.
“To new beginnings.”
Isabella lifted hers.
“To family.”
Sophia smiled.
Family.
That word had never sounded so dangerous.
Later, after Isabella left, Victor hugged Sophia.
“I thought I'd lost you.”
“You almost did.”
“I swear I never meant to hurt you.”
Sophia pressed her face against his chest.
“I know.”
She lied.
He believed her.
The next week, Sophia secretly transferred control of her personal holdings into a protected family trust.
She also changed the beneficiary structure.
If she died, Victor received nothing.
Nothing.
She told no one except her brothers.
Then Daniel discovered something.
“Marcus is moving the ferry operation forward.”
“How soon?”
“Three months.”
Sophia looked at the calendar.
May you like
Exactly the time she remembered.
She had three months to build the trap.
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