The Wife He Lost

PART 3 — THE WOMAN BEHIND THE LIES

Two days later, Vincent summoned Sophia to his private office.

She entered wearing an elegant white dress, carrying a designer handbag he had bought her.

“Vincent, you wanted to see me?”

He didn’t offer her a seat.

“Tell me why you were at the maternity hospital.”

Sophia blinked.

“I told you. I wasn’t feeling well.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

He pushed a medical report across his desk.

His security team had investigated the hospital visit.

Sophia had never been admitted. She had simply pretended to suffer a medical emergency to keep Vincent beside her.

His expression was cold.

“You used my concern to distract me from my pregnant wife?”

Sophia’s face turned pale.

“I was frightened! I thought you were going to leave me.”

“Leave you?”

Vincent stood.

“You’re my assistant, Sophia. Nothing more.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“But you told me I was more important than Claire!”

Vincent froze.

He remembered the birthday dinner.

The diamond bracelet.

The words he had spoken without hesitation.

Tonight, you are.

For the first time, he understood how cruel those words had been.

Sophia suddenly changed her expression.

“Vincent, there’s something else. Claire has been manipulating you. She probably got pregnant just to keep you from leaving her.”

Vincent’s eyes darkened.

“Enough.”

He picked up his phone and called Marco.

“Remove Sophia’s access to every company account. Have the legal department investigate every transaction connected to her.”

Sophia stepped backward.

“You can’t do this to me!”

“Get out.”

When the door closed, Vincent sat alone in his office.

He opened Claire’s last message.

I want a divorce.

He had dismissed it as a temporary tantrum.

Now he realized she had meant every word.

That night, he drove to Madison’s apartment himself.

Claire opened the door, wearing a soft cream sweater. One hand rested protectively over her stomach.

For a moment, Vincent couldn’t speak.

Then he stepped forward.

“Claire, come home. We need to talk about our baby.”

She looked at him calmly.

“Our baby?”

His eyes softened.

“Yes. Our child.”

Claire shook her head.

“You had five years to remember you had a wife, Vincent. You remembered only when you saw an ultrasound.”

“I made mistakes.”

“You forgot my birthday. You gave another woman the bracelet I wanted. You bought me a cake containing something that could kill me.”

Vincent lowered his head.

“I know.”

“No, you don’t.”

Her voice trembled, but she didn’t cry.

“You know what happened. You don’t know how it felt to be your wife.”

He reached for her hand.

Claire stepped back.

“Please don’t.”

Vincent looked at her stomach.

“Can I at least be part of my child’s life?”

“That will be decided legally. Not by your promises.”

She handed him an envelope.

Inside were the divorce papers, along with a letter from her attorney.

Vincent stared at the documents.

“Claire, I won’t sign these.”

She gave him a sad smile.

“You don’t have to love me anymore, Vincent. But you will have to respect my decision.”

Then she closed the door.

Vincent stood in the hallway, holding the papers.

For the first time in his life, his money, power, and reputation couldn’t make someone stay.

And across the city, Marco was about to deliver another devastating report.

Sophia hadn’t merely transferred company money.

She had been secretly working with Vincent’s business rival for nearly a year.

And the information she had stolen could destroy the Moretti empire.

But the most shocking discovery was still waiting.

Sophia had known about Claire’s pregnancy before Vincent did.