Chapter 8 - The Snake Unmasked
At the Moretti Estate in Lake Forest, Sophia was sipping wine in the living room, admiring a jewelry catalog. She heard the front doors burst open with explosive force.
"Vincent?" she asked, rising from the sofa with a warm smile. "Darling, what's wrong—"
Vincent crossed the living room in three strides, grabbed her by the throat, and shoved her back onto the sofa. His hands weren't tight enough to cut off her air, but his force was terrifying.
"Vincent!" she gasped, her eyes wide with real horror. "Are you crazy?!"
"Three million dollars, Sophia," Vincent growled, his voice vibrating with absolute fury. "Cayman Islands account. Dr. Robert Vance."
Sophia’s face went completely ghost-white. The glass of wine slid from her fingers, soaking the ivory rug in crimson liquid.
"I... I don't know what you're—"
"DO NOT LIE TO ME!" Vincent roared, throwing a stack of bank statements into her face. Paper fluttered around her like snow. "You paid the coroner to fake Anna’s death records! You knew she might have survived! You made sure no one looked for her!"
"She was supposed to die!" Sophia shrieked, her sweet facade finally shattering into ugly, desperate malice. "She ruined everything! You were mine first, Vincent! I loved you for ten years, and then that stupid, quiet little girl stole you from me because she got pregnant!"
"She was my wife!"
"She was a nobody!" Sophia screamed back, tears of rage ruining her face. "I saved your life! I was the one who belonged by your side! If she died in that fire, it was God's will! I just helped speed up the paperwork so you could finally belong to me!"
Vincent stared at her, feeling a sickening wave of disgust wash over him. He felt blind. He had carried guilt for three years, protecting this venomous snake, thinking he owed her for saving her life, while she had buried his real family alive.
"Get out," Vincent whispered softly.
"Vincent, please—"
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" Vincent roared. "If you are still in Chicago by sunrise, I will hand every document of your bribery, arson cover-up, and fraud to the Federal District Attorney. You will rot in a federal prison for the rest of your life."
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Sophia scrambled off the couch, sobbing frantically, and ran out into the night, her high heels clicking wildly against the driveway.
Vincent fell to his knees in the middle of the ruined living room, clutching his face, sobbing for the time he had lost, the pain he had caused, and the woman he had destroyed.
