Chapter 18: The Call Before Death
972 Words
The room went silent.
Not the ordinary kind of silence.
The kind that made the air feel heavy.
Dangerous.
Sophia stared at Marcus.
Surely she had heard him wrong.
"Alexander's mother?"
Marcus nodded.
"The call lasted four minutes and twenty-three seconds."
Alexander's expression hardened immediately.
"No."
Marcus hesitated.
"The records are verified."
"No."
His voice was sharper this time.
Colder.
Alexander stood from his chair and walked toward the window.
Sophia watched him carefully.
For the first time since she'd met him, he looked conflicted.
Not angry.
Not furious.
Conflicted.
Because this wasn't Damien.
This wasn't Richard.
This was his mother.
Eleanor Knight.
The woman who had made it clear she didn't approve of Sophia.
The woman who believed Sophia wasn't worthy of the Knight family.
The woman who had openly called the pregnancy a mistake.
Sophia's stomach tightened.
Surely Eleanor wouldn't go this far.
Would she?
Marcus placed another document on the table.
"We also checked location records."
Alexander slowly turned around.
"What did you find?"
"Eleanor and Victoria met three times in the two weeks before Victoria disappeared."
Sophia felt her heart sink.
Three meetings.
Secret meetings.
None of which Alexander knew about.
The room suddenly felt colder.
Much colder.
---
An hour later.
Sophia stood alone on the balcony.
The city lights stretched endlessly before her.
Usually they comforted her.
Tonight they didn't.
Her thoughts kept returning to the same question.
Could Eleanor be involved?
The answer should have been obvious.
Eleanor hated her.
But hate wasn't the same as murder.
Was it?
The balcony door opened behind her.
She didn't need to turn around.
She already knew who it was.
Alexander.
He stepped beside her.
Neither spoke for several moments.
Finally Sophia broke the silence.
"Do you think your mother killed Victoria?"
Alexander's jaw tightened.
"No."
The answer came too quickly.
Too automatically.
Sophia noticed.
So did he.
After a moment, he sighed.
"I don't know."
The admission surprised her.
Alexander looked out over the city.
"My mother can be controlling."
A pause.
"Manipulative."
Another pause.
"Ruthless."
Sophia remained silent.
"But she's not a killer."
The conviction in his voice made her want to believe him.
Yet the evidence kept piling up.
And evidence didn't care about feelings.
---
The next morning, Alexander arranged a meeting.
With Eleanor.
His mother arrived at the penthouse shortly after noon.
Elegant as always.
Perfectly dressed.
Perfectly composed.
But the moment she entered, she knew something was wrong.
Her eyes moved between Alexander, Marcus, and Sophia.
"What happened?"
Alexander didn't waste time.
"Did you speak with Victoria the night she died?"
Eleanor froze.
Only for a second.
But Sophia noticed.
So did Alexander.
Slowly, Eleanor sat down.
"Yes."
Nobody spoke.
The admission alone was shocking.
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
"Why?"
Eleanor folded her hands in her lap.
"Because she called me."
"What did she want?"
A flicker of discomfort crossed Eleanor's face.
"She was upset."
"About?"
Eleanor glanced briefly at Sophia.
"The pregnancy."
Sophia felt her stomach tighten.
Of course.
Everything always came back to the baby.
Eleanor continued.
"Victoria believed Sophia trapped you."
Alexander's expression darkened instantly.
Eleanor sighed.
"I told her she was wrong."
The room fell silent.
Sophia blinked.
That wasn't what she'd expected.
Not at all.
Alexander looked equally surprised.
"You defended Sophia?"
Eleanor rolled her eyes.
"Don't look so shocked."
Nobody said anything.
Because everyone was shocked.
---
Then Marcus opened another file.
"What happened after the phone call?"
Eleanor frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"You were the last known person to speak with Victoria."
The older woman's expression hardened.
"Are you accusing me of something?"
"No."
Marcus's tone remained calm.
"I'm asking questions."
Eleanor leaned back in her chair.
"The conversation lasted a few minutes."
"And then?"
"She hung up."
Marcus nodded slowly.
"Did she mention meeting anyone?"
Eleanor hesitated.
A tiny hesitation.
But it was enough.
Alexander immediately noticed.
"Mother."
Eleanor looked away.
"What?"
"Who was she meeting?"
Silence.
A long silence.
Finally, Eleanor spoke.
"She said she was going to meet someone who could solve all her problems."
Sophia frowned.
"Who?"
Eleanor shook her head.
"She didn't say."
Marcus scribbled notes.
The room became quiet again.
Then Eleanor said something that made everyone's blood run cold.
"But she did mention one thing."
Alexander looked up.
"What?"
Eleanor's expression darkened.
"She said the baby was the key."
Sophia instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.
Fear creeping into her chest once again.
The baby.
Always the baby.
---
That evening, Marcus called with new information.
His voice sounded urgent.
Excited.
And worried.
All at once.
"We found Victoria's bank records."
Alexander immediately put the call on speaker.
"What about them?"
"There was a transfer."
Sophia looked up.
"A transfer?"
Marcus continued.
"Five million dollars."
The room froze.
Five million.
Not five thousand.
Not fifty thousand.
Five million dollars.
Alexander's eyes narrowed.
"From who?"
Marcus took a deep breath.
"We don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know?"
"The account doesn't exist."
Silence.
"What?"
Marcus sounded frustrated.
"The money came from a ghost account."
Sophia's stomach tightened.
Someone powerful enough to move millions without leaving a trace.
Someone careful.
Someone experienced.
Then Marcus delivered one final piece of information.
"The transfer happened six hours before Victoria died."
Alexander's face darkened.
"Meaning?"
Marcus's answer came immediately.
"Someone paid her."
Sophia felt a chill run down her spine.
Because if someone had paid Victoria...
Then she wasn't running from the mastermind.
She was working for them.
And whatever secret she'd been paid to protect...
It had cost her life.
Then Marcus added quietly:
"We traced where she went after receiving the money."
Alexander straightened.
"Where?"
Marcus exhaled.
"The cemetery."
Sophia frowned.
"The cemetery?"
"Yes."
A pause.
"To visit Richard Knight's grave."
The room went completely still.
Because if Richard was alive...
Then who exactly was buried in that grave?
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