Chapter 12: The Poisoned Glass
1085 Words
Sophia hated charity galas.
Too many people.
Too many smiles.
Too many opportunities for someone to hide a weapon behind polished manners.
Standing beside Adrian in the grand ballroom of the Imperial Hotel, she scanned the crowd for exits instead of introductions.
"You look uncomfortable," Adrian murmured.
Sophia adjusted the sleeve of her elegant black gown.
"I am."
"Because of the reporters?"
"No."
Adrian glanced sideways at her.
"The guests?"
Sophia met his gaze.
"The fact that someone keeps trying to kill you."
His expression flattened.
"That's reassuring."
"It wasn't meant to be."
Despite himself, Adrian almost smiled.
Almost.
The charity gala had been organized to raise funds for children's hospitals.
Business leaders filled the ballroom.
Politicians mingled near the stage.
Photographers moved through the crowd like sharks scenting blood.
Sophia noticed Isabella immediately.
The woman approached with practiced elegance.
"Adrian."
Adrian nodded politely.
"Isabella."
Her gaze shifted toward Sophia.
"I wasn't sure you'd actually bring her."
Sophia smiled sweetly.
"I wasn't sure you'd actually show up."
Isabella's smile tightened.
Adrian sighed.
"I need a drink."
"Alcohol won't save you," Sophia replied.
"I'm beginning to suspect nothing will."
As Adrian walked toward the refreshment table, Sophia resumed observing the room.
Old habits.
She cataloged everything.
Who looked nervous.
Who avoided eye contact.
Who paid too much attention to Adrian.
Then—
She froze.
A waiter carrying champagne flutes stumbled briefly.
Only slightly.
Enough to draw her attention.
The tray tilted.
One glass shifted.
Sophia's pulse accelerated.
The waiter recovered too quickly.
His smile never reached his eyes.
Her instincts screamed.
Wrong.
Across the ballroom, Adrian accepted a champagne flute from another server.
Sophia's heart stopped.
"No."
Adrian looked toward her.
"What?"
Sophia crossed the room immediately.
Fast.
Purposeful.
Adrian frowned.
"Sophia—"
She snatched the glass from his hand.
Several nearby guests gasped.
"What are you doing?" Adrian demanded.
Sophia stared at the pale golden liquid.
Then at the waiter.
He was gone.
Disappeared into the crowd.
Her stomach twisted.
"It's poisoned."
Silence.
Then laughter.
One of Adrian's business associates chuckled awkwardly.
"That's ridiculous."
Adrian's expression darkened.
"Sophia."
"Don't drink anything."
"You can't possibly know that."
Sophia tightened her grip around the glass.
"I know."
The certainty in her voice unsettled him.
Before Adrian could press further, another guest reached for the discarded drink.
"I'll prove it's fine—"
"No!"
Sophia moved too late.
The woman had already taken a sip.
Ten seconds passed.
Then twenty.
Nothing happened.
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"Sophia—"
The woman collapsed.
Chaos erupted.
People screamed.
Someone shouted for a doctor.
The orchestra stopped playing.
Adrian caught the falling woman before she hit the marble floor.
"Sophia."
His voice was dangerously quiet.
"Call an ambulance!"
Sophia's attention remained fixed on the crowd.
Scanning.
Searching.
Whoever had done this would want to see the result.
Her gaze landed briefly on a man near the exit.
Dark suit.
Black gloves.
Watching.
Their eyes met.
He turned away.
Sophia moved instantly.
"Stay with her," she ordered Adrian.
Then she ran.
The man pushed through the crowd.
Sophia followed.
Past panicked guests.
Past security guards.
Through the hotel's service corridor.
"Stop!"
The stranger glanced over his shoulder.
Then accelerated.
Sophia cursed under her breath.
The man shoved open an emergency exit.
Rain poured outside.
Sophia followed him down the alley behind the hotel.
The man reached into his jacket.
Sophia tensed.
Weapon.
Instead—
He threw something.
A small metallic object struck the ground at her feet.
Sophia stumbled backward.
Smoke exploded into the air.
By the time visibility returned—
The stranger was gone.
Sophia clenched her fists.
"Damn it."
Then she noticed the object he'd dropped.
A silver coin.
Engraved with a symbol she hadn't seen in years.
Her blood ran cold.
"No..."
Back inside the ballroom, paramedics loaded the poisoned guest onto a stretcher.
"Will she survive?" Adrian asked.
The doctor nodded.
"We believe so."
Relief washed through him.
Then frustration replaced it.
Sophia appeared moments later.
Wet from the rain.
Breathing unevenly.
Adrian pulled her aside immediately.
"How did you know?"
Sophia stiffened.
"Know what?"
"The champagne was poisoned."
She looked away.
"I noticed something."
"Like what?"
"The waiter's behavior."
Adrian narrowed his eyes.
"That's not enough."
"It was enough."
"No."
His voice sharpened.
"You knew."
Sophia's silence answered for her.
Adrian lowered his voice.
"Who are you?"
The question hurt more than it should have.
Sophia stared at him.
At the concern hidden beneath suspicion.
At the trust he wanted to give her.
And the fear holding him back.
"I wish I could tell you."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"But you won't."
Sophia looked down.
"No."
---
Later that night, Vale Manor remained unusually quiet.
Sophia stood alone on the balcony outside her room.
The silver coin rested in her palm.
A symbol she recognized immediately.
A symbol she had prayed never to see again.
Footsteps approached behind her.
Adrian stopped beside her.
"How is the woman?"
"Stable."
Sophia nodded.
"Good."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Adrian spoke.
"You saved my life."
Sophia stared at the city lights below.
"It wasn't the first time."
"No."
His gaze settled on her profile.
"It wasn't."
Another pause.
Then—
"You jumped in front of danger without hesitation."
Sophia tightened her fingers around the coin.
"I've had practice."
Adrian studied her carefully.
"With what?"
Sophia forced a smile.
"Being stubborn."
Adrian almost laughed.
Instead, his expression softened.
"Thank you."
Sophia blinked.
"What?"
"For saving me."
The sincerity in his voice caught her off guard.
Because gratitude made this harder.
Much harder.
"Don't thank me yet," she whispered.
Adrian frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Sophia looked down at the coin hidden in her hand.
At the mark from a life she'd buried years ago.
A life that had finally found her again.
Then she said quietly—
"It means they're getting closer."
Adrian's pulse quickened.
"They?"
Sophia closed her hand tightly.
"They don't give second chances."
Before Adrian could ask another question, Sophia walked back inside.
Leaving him alone beneath the moonlight.
And for the first time since marrying her—
Adrian wondered if Sophia wasn't running from the truth.
But from the people who had created it.
Alone in her room later that night, Sophia finally opened her clenched fist.
The silver coin gleamed beneath the lamp.
On its reverse side were four engraved words:
> WE FOUND YOU, EVA.
Sophia's blood turned to ice.
Because Eva had been dead for eleven years.
Or at least...
she was supposed to be.
- Writer
