THE CONFRONTATION
I couldn’t keep running from it. For weeks I had avoided direct conflict, focusing on Silverline and my new apartment, but Sophia’s shadow kept reaching into every part of my life. The anonymous messages, the lost investors, the constant rumors it had to stop. I was done being the silent victim.
I sent her a single text from my small studio apartment that evening.
Evelyn: Meet me tomorrow at 3 PM at the café on Maple and 7th. Come alone. We need to talk.
She replied almost immediately.
Sophia: I’ll be there.
The next day, I arrived early and chose a quiet corner table at the small, neutral café far from both Harrison Group and Silverline. I ordered a coffee and waited, my hands steady despite the knot in my stomach.
Sophia arrived exactly on time, elegant as alwa
