Chapter 9

Three months later, in court.

Alexander was sentenced to fifteen years for fraud and extortion. Sophia's assets were preserved, but her acting career plummeted.

After the verdict, she stopped me outside the courthouse. "James, can we start over?"

Looking at her gaunt face, I felt no more emotion. "I promised you three chances. The first time, at the Marlen Tower office, I took back the watch. The second, I retrieved it after Alexander pinned it down. The third, on the beach—I showed you the ring."

"All three are spent, Sophia."

She nodded slowly, as if she'd expected that answer.

"Then can I at least thank you? For building the case against him. For protecting my assets even when I didn't deserve it."

"You don't need to thank me. I did it because it was right. Not because of us."

She flinched at "us"—the word that used to mean everything and now meant nothing.

"James, I know this doesn't change anything, but… I donated the ring money."

"What?"

"The expensive watch I bought Alexander—I couldn't return it, so I sold it. And the equivalent of what your ring cost, I donated to the scholarship fund you set up for underprivileged students. Under your name."

I stared at her.

"I found the fund when I was going through old emails. You started it two years ago, using money from your company. You never told me."

"It wasn't relevant."

"It was entirely relevant. While I was flying to Paris with Alexander, you were funding education for kids who couldn't afford it." Her voice wavered. "That's who you are. And I forgot."

She bowed slightly—a genuine bow, not the practiced one from red carpets.

"Goodbye, James. I hope whoever you love next never forgets."

She turned and walked toward a modest sedan. No driver. No entourage.

I watched her go.

The nineteen-year-old Sophia was gone. The twenty-seven-year-old was shattered.

But somewhere in between, maybe—just maybe—the real Sophia was starting to emerge.