Chapter 2 - The Man Behind the Bars
The mansion doors slammed shut behind Sofia just as the first police cruiser tore through the iron gates.
Rain began falling over the estate, turning the marble steps black beneath the storm. Sofia stood beneath the portico, her torn veil whipping behind her, blood running from her wrist.
Leonardo came after her.
“Sofia!”
She turned.
For one second, neither of them spoke.
The man she had married less than an hour ago looked nothing like the confident heir who had kissed her beneath a cathedral chandelier. His tuxedo was stained with wine. His face was pale. His eyes were filled with the kind of fear that came only when a person realized his entire life might have been built on a lie.
“You said my father’s death wasn’t an accident,” he whispered.
“I said the evidence would prove it.”
“And my mother?”
Sofia looked toward the mansion.
“She knows where the evidence is.”
Leonardo swallowed.
“Then why did you marry me?”
The question cut deeper than he expected.
“Because I needed access to this house.”
His face hardened.
“So this entire wedding was a trap?”
“No,” Sofia replied. “The wedding was the only way I could get close enough to the people who destroyed my family.”
Before Leonardo could answer, two detectives climbed the stairs.
“Ms. Sofia Alvarez?”
“Yes.”
“You need to come with us.”
Leonardo stepped forward. “She's injured.”
“We have an ambulance waiting.”
Sofia shook her head.
“Not yet.”
The detective frowned.
“There is something you need to know first.”
She reached into the torn lining of her wedding dress and pulled out a small black flash drive.
“This contains the original financial records from the Valenti Group.”
Leonardo stared at it.
“My father’s company?”
Sofia nodded.
“Your father didn't lose twelve million dollars.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“Someone stole it.”
“And blamed my father.”
“Exactly.”
A detective took the drive.
“How did you get this?”
“Your mother kept it in a hidden compartment behind a painting.”
Leonardo closed his eyes.
The truth was becoming too large to deny.
Then Sofia added quietly:
“And the man sitting in prison under my father's name knows where the rest of the money went.”
The detective's expression changed.
“Your father is alive?”
Sofia nodded.
“He never left the country.”
Leonardo stared at her.
“Then who was arrested?”
Sofia's answer came like a gunshot.
“My uncle.”
A thunderclap shook the mansion.
Behind the glass doors, Helena appeared.
She was no longer arrogant.
She was terrified.
And someone was standing behind her.
A tall man in a gray suit.
Leonardo recognized him immediately.
His mother's attorney.
May you like
But Sofia recognized something else.
The man was holding a gun.
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