Chapter 3

"Yes." Sophia replied calmly. "Once the baby arrives, it's going to need more space, so I've just cleared out some clutter."

"If you need any help moving things, just give us a shout," Melissa King said with concern, her eyes drawn to Sophia's rounded belly. "Don't overdo it, especially with the baby. You could hurt yourself."

Sophia found their worry amusing. When they agreed to help Joshua stage his death, did they not consider the emotional turmoil it would put her through? Yet now, moving some things made them anxious.

"I'm fine. I'll be careful."

"Um..." Melissa hesitated before bringing up the topic. "You used to text Joshua all the time, but you’ve stopped. Why is that?"

When Joshua supposedly died, his phone stayed with Sophia. Later, his parents, Melissa and Edison, took it, assuring her they'd keep the number active and encouraging her to continue messaging him for comfort. Sophia had been touched by their gesture, thinking they wanted to support her grief. So she poured out her heart every day, sharing everything with Joshua like she used to, despite never receiving a reply.

Upon discovering Joshua was alive, Sophia stopped messaging. She knew he had the phone. She couldn't imagine how he felt reading her messages of longing and sorrow, ignoring her pain with each one.

"No one reads them anyway. There's no point." Sophia replied flatly.

Melissa appeared flustered. "Someone does read them. We read them, of course."

Sophia's stare bore into Melissa, who was momentarily frozen. Edison nudged her, prompting his wife to add, "We look when we have time."

"Yes, yes, we do," Melissa agreed.

Sophia heard their awkward attempt and chose not to play along. It baffled her that Joshua, supposedly preoccupied with his affair with Eliza Frost, still cared about her lack of messages.

After seeing Joshua's parents out, Sophia went outside. Lost in thoughts of leaving town, she didn't realize she was being followed until she turned into a quiet alleyway. It was too late—she was caught.

A man snatched her purse and tried to assault her. Terrified, Sophia fell to the ground, crying for help. Panicked, the man fled, leaving her alone in the alleyway.

In pain and struggling to rise, Sophia noticed blood pooling beneath her. Her stomach ached fiercely, and she couldn't move. Desperate, she found her phone, dropped during the attack, and called Joshua's parents, but no one answered.

As the blood flowed faster, Sophia grew pale and weak, fearing the worst. In panic, she dialed Joshua's number. He would see the call; he'd asked his parents why she stopped messaging. Surely he was keeping an eye on his phone.

"Joshua, please answer. I need you." Sophia clutched the phone, cold sweat trickling as the blood continued to spill. A wave of fear enveloped her, fear of dying like her mother.

Call after call went unanswered. In agony, she sent him a message.

[Joshua, help me.]

She hoped he'd grasp the urgency in reading it.

Clinging to that hope, Sophia tried calling once more. This time, the call connected.

"Hello?" Sophia's heart leapt. "Joshua, it's me. Help me."

"You knew he wasn't dead, didn't you?" Eliza's voice responded, leaving Sophia momentarily stunned. "Where's Joshua?"

"Oh, he's in the shower."

"Why call his parents and him? They're all tied up."

"They're there too?" Sophia was incredulous.

Eliza boasted, "Yeah, they're in the kitchen, whipping up a nutritious meal for me."

"They were too busy to take your call, and Joshua said the constant ringing was annoying, so he handed me his phone."

"You don't believe me? I can let you listen."

Eliza walked into the bathroom and draped herself over Joshua in the shower.

"Can I join you?"

Joshua turned and embraced her, his voice husky. "Trying to seduce me again? Aren't you worried about tiring yourself out?"

"I'm fine. I just want you," Eliza whispered, guiding his hand to her chest. "Don't you want me?"

"I do," Joshua said, kissing her urgently. "I never knew you had so many moves."

"Do you like them?"

"I love them," he said, eyes dark with desire.

He eagerly peeled away her clothes, pressing her against the shower wall.

Eliza gasped, then noted breathlessly, "Your phone stopped ringing."

"Good. Fewer distractions." Joshua focused solely on her.

"Aren't you worried she might really need help?" Eliza asked unevenly.

"It's nothing serious," Joshua replied. "She wouldn't call a dead man's phone if it were."

"She just misses me too much."

Eliza laughed, "You're bad, Joshua."

"I'm worse," he growled, pulling her closer.

The phone filled with the sounds of their intimacy, tormenting Sophia with each note.

She didn't remember ending the call, only Joshua's cold words haunted her mind. Each sentence felt like a dagger, piercing her heart.

Lying on the ground, feeling the blood still flowing, life seemed to seep away.

Despair and fear engulfed Sophia. She worried her uncle wouldn't reach her in time. Afraid she would die trapped in Joshua's web of deceit.

Before losing consciousness, Sophia dialed 911.

When she awoke, she found herself in a hospital bed.

Sophia's eyes had barely opened when Melissa began scolding her.

"Sophia, how could you be so reckless?"

"We told you, whenever you want to go somewhere, we’ll come with you. Don't go alone."

"Now look, you encountered a criminal and lost the baby!"

"Or is it because Joshua's 'death' made you not want the baby, and this is your excuse?"

"Sophia, you better have an explanation."