The Billionaire’s Revenge Bride

"Congratulations, Sophia Hart!" the people in the conference room said. Everybody was clapping. Amelia Hart just sat there. She did not move. The big screen at the front of the room showed the winning idea for the Preston Fashion Project. It said the winner was Sophia Hart. The room was full of excitement. People were running to congratulate Sophia. The bosses were saying how great she was. Some people even said she was the future of the company. Amelia could not hear any of this. All she could hear was a sound. This was because she knew the truth. Every single page of that idea was hers. Every picture. Every plan. Every night she stayed up working. She worked on it for three months. Three whole months. Now someone else was getting all the credit. Again. Sophia was standing at the front of the room. She was wearing an expensive white suit. She looked beautiful. She looked elegant. She looked perfect. That is what everybody thought. Amelia knew the truth. Behind Sophia's smile was a woman who had spent years taking everything from her. She took her father’s attention. She took her money. She took her chances. Now she took her work. Sophia was being congratulated by everybody. She was saying she could not have done it without everybody’s help. The employees were laughing. Amelia almost laughed too. Help? Sophia did not write one word. Not one single word. It was like Sophia knew Amelia was looking at her. Sophia looked at her. Their eyes met. Sophia was smiling. It was a smile. It was a smile. It was a smile that said she won again. Amelia looked away. She could not lose control. Not now. Not when she needed to get a promotion badly. The meeting ended after that. Everybody was gathering around Sophia. Amelia was quietly putting her things away. Maybe she should talk to Sophia. Maybe she should tell the truth. Maybe. Then somebody said her name. "Miss Hart?" Amelia looked up. It was the boss’s helper. "The boss wants to see you " he said. Amelia was confused. "The boss?" " Now " he said. Something did not feel right. It felt very wrong. Amelia nodded and followed the helper out of the room. The walk to the boss’s office felt long. By the time she got there, she was very anxious. The helper opened the door. "Go in " he said. Amelia went inside. The boss was sitting at his desk. He looked very cold. Colder than she had ever seen him. There was a file on his desk. "Sit down " he said. Amelia sat down. The boss opened the file. He did not say a word. He just pushed some papers towards her. "Explain this " he said. Amelia was confused. She picked up the papers. When she saw what they were she felt very scared. They were about money. They said she had taken a lot of money from the company. They all had her name on them. "What is this?" she asked quietly. The boss folded his arms. "You tell me " he said. Amelia’s hands were shaking. "I have never seen these before " she said. The boss said the company had already looked into it. "No " Amelia said. She shook her head. "This is not possible " she said. The boss did not change his face. "A lot of money is missing from the company " he said. Amelia felt her heart drop. "I did not take any money " she said. The boss said the proof said she did. "It is fake " Amelia said. The boss told her to be careful. "I swear I did not do this " Amelia said. The boss sighed. For a moment he looked a little sad. Then his face got hard again. "The company has already decided what to do " he said. Amelia felt something in her stomach. "What have you decided?" she asked. The boss looked at her. "You are fired " he said. The whole world stopped. Amelia stared at him. She was sure she had heard wrong. "What?" she said. "Put your things in a box " the boss said. Amelia said no. The words just came out. "No this is a mistake " she said. The boss said the proof was clear. Amelia said he knew her. The boss said that did not change anything. Amelia felt tears in her eyes. She did not let them fall. Not in front of him. Not in front of anybody. Somebody had set her up. She knew it. She knew who it was. Sophia. Only Sophia could have done it. Only Sophia would get something from her losing her job. Only Sophia wanted her to go away. Proving it was a different story. The boss stood up. "Security will take you out " he said. Amelia just sat there. Three years. Three years of work. Gone. Just like that. Twenty minutes later Amelia was standing in the lobby. She had a cardboard box in her hands. She felt very ashamed. People were staring at her. Some people were whispering. Others were pretending not to look. The rumors had already spread. "She is the one who took the money." "I never trusted her." "What a shame " they said. Each word hurt her more than the last. Amelia looked down. Kept walking. The doors to the lobby opened. Fresh air hit her face. She should have felt better. She felt empty. Her whole future had fallen apart in one afternoon. Just as she got to the steps she heard a voice. "Leaving already?" Amelia stopped. She turned around slowly. Sophia was standing behind her. She was still smiling. She was still perfect. She was still winning. The sight of Sophia made Amelia feel sick. "What do you want?" Amelia asked. Sophia looked surprised. "What kind of question is that?" she said. Amelia said Sophia knew what she meant. The smile on Sophia’s face got bigger. For a second neither woman said a word. Then Sophia took a step closer. "You look upset " Sophia said. Amelia laughed in a way. "Should I not be?" she said. Sophia shrugged. "Maybe you should not have taken the money " Sophia said. Amelia got very angry. "You set me up " Amelia said. Some people who worked there looked over. Sophia made her eyes big. "Amelia how could you say that?" Sophia said. Her voice sounded hurt. Amelia wanted to scream. Sophia was good. Too good. She could pretend to be a victim whenever she wanted. Amelia said Sophia had taken her idea. Sophia smiled. It was a smile. Amelia saw it. "Can you prove it?" Sophia said. The question hit Amelia like a slap. Because she could not prove it. Not yet. Sophia took a step closer. " What if people believe me and not you?" Sophia said. Amelia's breath stopped. There it was. The truth. Not enough to prove it. Enough to know. Sophia was responsible. She always had been. Sophia took a step back. " Luck finding another job " Sophia said. Then Sophia turned around. Walked away. The people who worked there followed her away. Like they were following a queen. Amelia was standing alone. Where Sophia wanted her. Alone. Ashamed. Destroyed. Then Amelia's phone rang. The screen said Victoria Hart. Her stepmother. Amelia closed her eyes. Of course. Sophia must have told her already. Amelia answered the phone. "Hello?" Victoria did not say hello. "Come home " Victoria said. Amelia said she had just lost her job. Victoria said she knew. The answer was too quick. Too quick. Which meant Sophia had called her. Maybe they had planned everything together. "Come home now " Victoria said. Amelia asked why. Victoria did not say anything. Then Victoria spoke again. What she said made Amelia's blood run cold. "Your punishment is waiting " Victoria said. The call ended. Amelia stared at her phone. Punishment? What punishment? Had she not lost enough already? No job. Ashamed. Accused in public. What could they take from her? Then Amelia got a message from a number she did not know. It said one sentence. A sentence that changed everything. "Your father never meant to leave you with nothing " it said. Amelia's eyes got big. Before she could react she got another message. It said if she wanted to know the truth about her money she should not trust Victoria Hart. Amelia's hands started shaking. Money? Truth? What was happening? Who was sending these messages? Why now? Then Amelia got another message. It had a picture of a paper. A paper with her father's signature. Amelia's breath stopped. She stared at the picture. She could not move. She could not think. Because for the time, in years... She thought about it. Figured out that maybe everything she knew about her father's death was not true. She was thinking about her father's death. Everything she believed might have been a lie. Her father's death was something she thought she understood. Now she was not so sure and she thought that maybe her father's death was not what she thought it was.