The Truth
2024 Words
CHAPTER 7
My heart stopped.
"How did you get this number?" I asked.
"I'm head of security for Cross Empire, Mrs. Cross. I can get any number." Marcus's voice was professional. Careful. "I need to meet with you. Tonight. It's about Isabella Chen."
I sat down on Maya's bed. "What about her?"
"Not over the phone. Can you meet me at the coffee shop on Madison and 52nd in one hour?"
"Why should I..."
"Because you were right. About everything."
The line went dead.
I stared at my phone.
Maya was watching me. "Who was that?"
"Damien's head of security. He wants to meet. He said I was right about Isabella."
"So Damien believed you?"
"I don't know." I stood up. "But I need to find out."
"Sophia, this could be a trap..."
"Or it could be proof." I grabbed my jacket. "I have to go."
"Then I'm coming with you."
"Maya..."
"No arguments. You're not going alone."
One hour later...
The coffee shop was quiet. Late evening. Only a few customers.
Marcus Webb sat in a corner booth. Tall, fifties, grey hair, serious face. He had a folder in front of him.
I slid into the booth across from him. Maya sat next to me.
"Mrs. Cross." Marcus nodded. Then looked at Maya.
"She's my friend. She stays."
"Fair enough." He pushed the folder across the table. "You should look at this."
I opened it.
Bank statements. Phone records. Private investigator reports. Photos.
My hands started shaking.
"What is this?" I whispered.
"Proof that Isabella Chen is exactly what you said she was." Marcus leaned forward. "After you left Mr. Cross's office today, he called me. Asked me to investigate her. Quietly."
"He didn't believe me..."
"He didn't want to believe you. But he's not stupid. Something you said got to him." Marcus tapped the folder. "I've been digging for six hours. What I found... it's bad."
I looked down at the papers.
Bank statements showing Isabella's accounts nearly empty. Credit cards maxed out. Her divorce settlement from her previous husband: zero dollars due to an ironclad prenup.
Phone records showing hundreds of calls to someone named Marcus Ashford.
Wait.
"Marcus Ashford?" I asked.
"Her boyfriend. Or one of them." Marcus pulled out a photo. "This was taken three days ago."
The photo showed Isabella kissing a man outside a hotel. Not Damien. Someone else.
My stomach turned.
"She's cheating on him?"
"Has been the whole time. Marcus Ashford is a struggling artist she's been with for two years. She's been supporting him with money from various... relationships." Marcus pulled out more documents. "Before Damien, there was Jonathan Webb, that's the divorce that left her broke. Before that, Robert Chen. Before that, three others. All wealthy. All ended in divorce. All with her getting a payout."
"Except Jonathan," I said, reading the divorce decree. "His prenup was airtight."
"Exactly. Which is why she needs Damien. He's worth billions. Even with a prenup, if she gets pregnant, she can fight for more in a divorce. Her lawyer already has the strategy mapped out."
He showed me emails. Between Isabella and her lawyer. Planning exactly how to trap Damien. How to get pregnant fast. How to maximize her payout.
I felt sick.
"Does Damien know?"
"Not yet. He told me to investigate but I report to him tomorrow morning." Marcus looked at me. "I wanted you to see this first."
"Why?"
"Because you tried to warn him. Because you could have just let him get destroyed, but you didn't." Marcus closed the folder. "That takes integrity. He didn't believe you, but you were still trying to protect him."
Tears burned my eyes. I pushed them back.
"What are you going to tell him?" I asked.
"Everything. But I thought you deserved to know that you were right. That you're not crazy. That you did the right thing."
I nodded slowly. Couldn't speak.
Maya put her hand on mine.
"There's more," Marcus said quietly. "Isabella knows you overheard her. She's been making calls. Putting out feelers to damage your reputation. Calling potential clients for your business. Spreading rumors that you're unstable. Vindictive."
My blood ran cold. "She's already starting?"
"She's scared. You're the only one who knows the truth. She wants to discredit you before you can tell anyone."
"But I already told Damien..."
"And he didn't believe you. She needs to make sure it stays that way." Marcus stood. "I'll show him this evidence tomorrow. He'll believe it. He has to. But you should know, when this comes out, Isabella is going to come after you hard. She'll blame you. She'll try to destroy you."
"Let her try," I said quietly. "I'm leaving New York anyway."
Marcus frowned. "You're leaving?"
"The divorce is almost final. I have no reason to stay."
"What about Mr. Cross?"
"What about him?"
"He's going to need..."
"He's going to need to figure it out himself." I stood up. "Thank you for showing me this. Thank you for believing me. But Damien made his choice. He chose not to trust me. That's on him."
I walked out of the coffee shop.
Maya followed.
Outside, the cold air hit my face. I breathed deep.
"You okay?" Maya asked.
"No." I laughed, but it came out broken. "I was right. About everything. And he still didn't believe me."
"He will tomorrow. When Marcus shows him the evidence..."
"It won't matter." I pressed my hand to my stomach. "He should have believed me today. He should have trusted me. But he didn't. And I'm done waiting for Damien Cross to see what's right in front of him."
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number. Again.
I almost didn't answer. But I did.
"Hello?"
"Sophia." Damien's voice. Rough. Strained. "Where are you?"
"How did you..."
"Marcus called me. Told me you met with him. Told me about the folder." A pause. "I'm looking at it now."
Oh.
Oh no.
"Damien..."
"You were right." His voice cracked. "About everything. Isabella is... god, she's been playing me this whole time."
I didn't know what to say.
"I'm sorry," he continued. "I'm so sorry. You tried to warn me and I threw you out. I called you a liar. I... f**k, Sophia, I'm so sorry."
"Okay."
"Okay?" He sounded desperate. "That's all you have to say?"
"What do you want me to say, Damien? I told you the truth. You didn't believe me. Now you have proof and suddenly you believe Marcus but not me?" Anger rose in my chest. "I came to your office to help you. To warn you. And you treated me like I was jealous. Like I was lying."
"I know..."
"No, you don't know." My voice was shaking. "You don't know what it cost me to walk into that office. To see you again. To try to save you even though you broke my heart. I could have let Isabella destroy you. I could have walked away. But I didn't. Because despite everything, I still cared about you."
Silence.
"And you threw it in my face," I finished quietly.
"Sophia, please. Let me explain..."
"There's nothing to explain. You trusted her over me. You chose her over me. Again." I wiped my eyes. "You always choose everyone over me."
"That's not..."
"It is. It always has been. I was never your choice, Damien. I was just convenient. And now I'm not even that."
"Where are you?" His voice was urgent now. "I need to see you. I need to talk to you..."
"No."
"Sophia..."
"I'm leaving New York. Tonight. The divorce will be final in a few months. Your lawyers can contact mine."
"You can't leave..."
"Watch me."
I hung up.
My hands were shaking so hard I almost dropped the phone.
Maya pulled me into a hug. "You did good."
"Then why do I feel so bad?"
"Because you still love him."
"I hate that I do."
"I know, honey. I know."
We stood on the sidewalk. People walking past us. The city alive and busy and completely unaware that my world was falling apart.
Again.
My phone started ringing. Damien. Again.
I turned it off.
"Let's go home," I said to Maya. "I need to finish packing."
Meanwhile...
Damien stared at his phone.
She'd hung up on him.
She was leaving.
Tonight.
He looked at the folder Marcus had given him. Photos of Isabella with another man. Bank statements showing she was broke. Emails planning how to trap him. Phone records proving she'd been lying about everything.
Everything Sophia said was true.
And he'd called her a liar.
He'd thrown her out of his office.
He'd chosen Isabella over her.
Again, Sophia had said.
She was right.
He always chose wrong.
He grabbed his jacket. His keys. Headed for the door.
"Damien?"
Isabella stood in the doorway of his penthouse. She had a key. He'd given her a key.
God, he was an i***t.
"We need to talk," she said, walking in. She was smiling. Beautiful. Perfect.
Completely fake.
"Yes," he said coldly. "We do."
Her smile faltered. "What's wrong?"
"Who's Marcus Ashford?"
Her face went white.
"I...I don't know what..."
"Don't lie to me." He threw the folder on the table. Photos scattered. "My head of security is very thorough. I know everything, Isabella. The boyfriend. The debt. The plan to get pregnant and divorce me. All of it."
She stared at the photos. Then at him.
Her mask dropped.
"So what?" she said. Voice hard now. Cold. "You were easy money, Damien. You were so desperate to believe I still loved you that you didn't see what was right in front of you."
"Get out."
"Gladly." She grabbed her purse. "You're boring anyway. Always working. No fun. Marcus is way better in bed."
She walked to the door.
Stopped.
Turned back.
"Your little wife warned you, didn't she?" Isabella smiled. Mean. "Sophia. She came to your office. Told you I was using you. And you didn't believe her."
Damien's jaw clenched.
"That's what I thought." Isabella laughed. "You threw away a woman who actually loved you for me. A woman who tried to save you even after you destroyed her. And you still chose me." She opened the door. "You're not just boring, Damien. You're stupid."
She left.
The door slammed.
Damien stood in his empty penthouse.
Surrounded by expensive things.
Completely alone.
Isabella was right.
He was stupid.
Sophia had tried to warn him. Had walked into his office knowing he probably wouldn't believe her. Had risked everything to save him.
And he'd thrown her out.
Called her a liar.
Accused her of being jealous.
He pulled out his phone. Called her again.
Straight to voicemail.
He called Maya. No answer.
He called his driver. "Take me to Maya Rodriguez's apartment. Now."
Twenty minutes later, he was pounding on Maya's door.
Maya opened it. Looked at him like he was dirt.
"She doesn't want to see you."
"I need to talk to her. Please."
"No."
"Maya, please. I know I screwed up. I know I don't deserve it. But I need to see her. I need to apologize..."
"She's not here."
His heart stopped. "Where is she?"
"Somewhere you can't hurt her anymore." Maya started to close the door.
Damien put his hand on it. "Is she leaving? Tonight?"
"That's none of your business."
"Maya, please..."
"You had three years to see her, Damien. Three years to choose her. You didn't. You chose everyone else. Every time." Maya's eyes were hard. "She tried to save you today. One last time. Even though you broke her heart. And you spit in her face."
"I know..."
"No, you don't know. You don't know what it took for her to walk into your office. You don't know what it cost her." Maya stepped closer. "She's done, Damien. She's done trying to save you. She's done loving you. She's done."
"I can fix this..."
"No. You can't." Maya pulled the door closed. "Leave her alone. She deserves better than you."
The door clicked shut.
Damien stood in the hallway.
Alone.
She was gone.
Sophia was really gone.
And it was entirely his fault.
- Writer
