HER NAME WAS NEVER REAL

Chapter 15: The Woman Adrian Almost Married

The newspaper clipping burned in Adrian's mind.

VALE FAMILY TRAGEDY: BUSINESSMAN KILLED IN SUSPECTED ASSASSINATION

Eleven years ago.

The same year Sophia refused to talk about.

The same year she had written:

It was my fault.

Adrian sat alone in his study, the clipping spread across his desk.

His father's death had always been surrounded by unanswered questions.

Official reports had blamed a robbery gone wrong.

The investigation had eventually gone cold.

His grandmother never spoke about it.

Adrian had stopped asking.

Until now.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Come in."

Eleanor stepped inside.

Her sharp gaze immediately landed on the newspaper clipping.

For the first time since Adrian had known her—

she looked unsettled.

"Where did you get that?"

Adrian leaned back in his chair.

"You recognize it."

Eleanor remained silent.

"Grandmother."

Her expression hardened.

"Some things are better left buried."

Adrian stood.

"That's exactly what Sophia keeps saying."

The name changed everything.

Eleanor looked away.

"That girl brings trouble."

"Did my father know her?"

Silence.

"Did he?"

Eleanor's lips pressed into a thin line.

"Yes."

Adrian's pulse quickened.

"How?"

"I don't know."

"You do."

"No."

Her voice sharpened.

"I know he trusted her family."

Adrian froze.

Trusted.

The same word that had appeared repeatedly.

The photograph.

The messages.

The warnings.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Eleanor's gaze softened briefly.

Then hardened again.

"Be careful who you give your heart to, Adrian."

Before he could stop her, she walked away.

Leaving him with more questions than answers.

Across town...

Sophia stepped out of the bookstore carrying a paper bag.

She needed distance.

Space.

Anything to clear the guilt consuming her.

"Still pretending to live a normal life?"

Sophia stopped walking.

She knew that voice.

Turning slowly, she came face-to-face with Isabella Sinclair.

Adrian's ex-fiancée.

Impeccably dressed.

Perfectly composed.

Dangerously observant.

"Isabella."

The woman smiled coldly.

"I've been looking for you."

Sophia sighed.

"That's disappointing."

Isabella's smile tightened.

"Coffee?"

"No."

"Good."

Isabella crossed her arms.

"Because I wasn't asking."

Ten minutes later, they sat across from each other in an upscale café.

The irony wasn't lost on Sophia.

"You married him quickly," Isabella said.

Sophia stirred her tea.

"So I've been told."

"You stole him."

Sophia looked up.

"No."

"He was supposed to marry me."

"Then why didn't he?"

The question landed harder than expected.

Isabella's jaw tightened.

"We loved each other."

Sophia remained silent.

"You think this is temporary?" Isabella continued.

"You think Adrian's feelings for you are real?"

Sophia's chest tightened.

Feelings.

A dangerous subject.

"I don't think anything."

Isabella laughed bitterly.

"That's the problem."

She leaned forward.

"You don't belong in his world."

Sophia met her gaze.

"Neither do you anymore."

The words hung heavily between them.

For a moment, Isabella looked genuinely hurt.

Then anger replaced vulnerability.

"Whatever game you're playing..."

Her voice lowered.

"I'll expose you."

Sophia forced a smile.

"Get in line."

Later that afternoon...

Adrian arrived at Vale Holdings only to find chaos erupting in the lobby.

Reporters.

Cameras.

Raised voices.

And right in the middle of it—

Sophia.

And Isabella.

"What happened?" Adrian asked Clara.

Clara looked delighted.

"Your wife threw coffee."

Adrian blinked.

"What?"

"I didn't throw it," Sophia defended.

"It slipped," Isabella snapped.

"You tripped."

"You distracted me!"

Adrian rubbed his temples.

"Someone explain."

Three reporters immediately surrounded him.

"Mr. Vale! Is it true your wife attacked Miss Sinclair?"

"Has your marriage caused tension between former partners?"

"Is this a love triangle?"

Sophia visibly cringed.

Adrian noticed.

Then did something unexpected.

He stepped beside Sophia.

Close enough that their shoulders brushed.

"My marriage," Adrian said calmly, "is not public entertainment."

The reporters quieted.

"And for the record..."

His gaze shifted toward Sophia.

"My wife did not attack anyone."

Sophia stared at him.

Surprised.

Adrian extended his hand toward her.

"Shall we?"

Sophia hesitated.

Then took it.

The flash of cameras intensified.

Together, they walked toward the elevators.

Leaving Isabella standing behind.

Humiliated.

Furious.

Heartbroken.

Inside the elevator, silence stretched between them.

Then—

"You didn't have to defend me," Sophia said.

Adrian adjusted his cufflinks.

"She started it."

Sophia blinked.

"You noticed?"

"I notice more than people think."

Sophia smiled faintly.

"That's dangerous."

Adrian glanced sideways at her.

"Not as dangerous as marrying a stranger."

The teasing caught Sophia off guard.

"So..."

Adrian continued.

"Did you actually throw coffee at my ex-fiancée?"

Sophia looked offended.

"It was tea."

Adrian laughed.

A real laugh.

Warm.

Unexpected.

Sophia stared.

"What?"

"You should do that more often."

Adrian's smile faded slightly.

"You've said that before."

"Maybe because I mean it."

The elevator doors opened.

Neither moved immediately.

Something had shifted.

Subtle.

Fragile.

Real.

Then Adrian's phone buzzed.

Unknown Number.

His expression darkened instantly.

He opened the message.

Attached was a photograph.

Sophia.

Smiling at him moments earlier in the elevator.

Taken from above.

From inside Vale Holdings.

Another message followed.

You're forgetting who she is.

Adrian's grip tightened around the phone.

Then came the final message.

Ask your wife how many people died because of her.

His blood ran cold.

Sophia noticed immediately.

"What happened?"

Adrian looked at her.

At the woman he'd begun trusting despite every reason not to.

Then quietly asked

"Isabella thinks you're hiding something."

Sophia's expression shifted.

"So do you."

Adrian hesitated.

Then showed her the message.

The color drained from Sophia's face.

Her breathing became uneven.

Because this wasn't a threat.

It was a memory.

And some ghosts never stayed

That night, Sophia stood alone in her room, staring at the message.

Then her phone vibrated.

Unknown Number.

A video attachment appeared.

Hands shaking, Sophia opened it.

The footage showed a younger version of herself.

Covered in blood.

Crying.

Screaming.

And kneeling beside Adrian's father.

The video ended with six chilling words appearing on the screen:

Tell Adrian what you did.