Chapter 4

Lucas staggered backward. A bone-deep chill swept through him, freezing him from the inside out.

That couldn't be right. Emily had sworn that Sophie's grandmother had transferred to another hospital.

He snarled into the phone. "What the hell are you talking about? Did Sophie put you up to this?"

His phone chimed. A photo appeared on the screen.

It was a cremation certificate.

His assistant's voice stayed steady. "Mr. Hart, this is what I found. The date matches that day exactly."

The assistant paused, then added quietly, "I heard Sophie worked three jobs just to cover the cremation costs. Poor girl."

Whatever else his assistant said faded into white noise. Lucas couldn't hear it anymore.

Images flooded his mind—Sophie's face, cold and unforgiving. Her voice was flat and final. The way she'd looked at him like he was nothing.

Everything she'd said had been true.

He'd killed the person she loved most in the world.

And this was her revenge.

She'd erased herself from his life completely, leaving him with nothing but the weight of what he'd done.

Emily sauntered toward Lucas with practiced grace.

But the moment she got close enough to touch him, he shoved her away hard.

Lucas demanded, "You forged that transfer document, didn't you? You made Sophie misunderstand me!"

Emily's expression faltered for a second before she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

She kept her voice steady. "Lucas, what are you even talking about? I don't have that kind of power. Maybe Sophie made the whole thing up because she's never liked me. You know how she—"

His hand closed around her throat before she could finish.

Lucas leaned in close and spoke quietly. "I'm warning you right now. You better pray Sophie forgives me, or I'll send you to join her grandmother."

He released her and shoved her to the floor like she was nothing more than trash.

Lucas said, "Find out where Sophie is staying overseas and book me on the next available flight."

*****

My routine abroad had fallen into a comfortable rhythm. I spent my days moving between the research lab and the university library, barely noticing how quickly the weeks passed.

Before I knew it, my advisor was preparing to leave.

I wanted to send him off properly, so I made reservations at one of the city's nicest restaurants and invited the whole research team.

I had just reached the entrance when a sickeningly sweet voice called out from behind me.

Emily placed her hand over her mouth in exaggerated shock. "Sophie, you left Lucas and ended up with some old guy? Really?"

She widened her eyes as if she'd just pieced together a scandalous puzzle. "Oh my God, that's how you afforded to come abroad, isn't it? Now it all makes sense."

The people around us heard her words, and their eyes shifted toward me with sudden judgment.

One woman whispered loudly, "She's so young, but she does things like that. I never would've guessed."

Another voice chimed in, "She's pretty enough. I guess she's taking shortcuts with her looks."

Emily tossed her designer bag at me with the air of someone handing out charity. "If you needed money, you could've just asked me. For Lucas' sake, I would've helped you out."

A commanding male voice cut through her speech. "Who dares accuse Sophie in front of me?"

Emily sneered, "You're really protective, huh? Aren't you embarrassed—" Her voice grew weaker with each word.

Wesley turned around, and everyone followed the sound. Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Someone whispered, "Oh my God, that's Dr. Grant."

Another voice rose above the murmurs. "He's one of the top physicists in the world. I thought he traveled constantly. What's he doing here?"

A third person chimed in. "Oh, I remember now. He's here for some symposium."

Emily stared at his stern face, and all her bravado vanished. She stammered, "Dr. Grant, I didn't know it was you. Sophie's always hanging around guys, so I thought—"

I stepped forward and slapped her across the face. "Thought what? You know defamation is illegal, right?"

Wesley let out a cold snort. He pulled out a contract and held it up for everyone to see.

He commanded, "Take a good look at this."

Wesley carefully displayed the final page, which bore the official seal of the National Institute of Physics.

He continued, "Sophie's research has secured a partnership with the national institute. The initial grant is 300 thousand dollars. Why would she need to make money through shady means like you're claiming?"

Shocked whispers exploded through the crowd. "Three hundred thousand dollars?"

Even I was stunned. I had never imagined that a concept I had proposed during my experiments would be recognized by the national institute.

Wesley continued speaking. "Sophie was a hidden gem before, but now the dust has been swept away. Everyone can see her true worth."

I thought the drama would end there, but Lucas appeared from across the street and walked toward us.

Lucas called out, "I finally found you, Sophie. Why haven't you been answering my calls? I know everything now."