Chapter 2 - The Heartbreaking Answer
Sofia didn't stop crying. The humiliation of being accused of theft, the sheer terror of Vincent’s furious screaming just moments ago, and the massive weight of the secret she carried were completely overwhelming her.
She looked away from the powerful man, her voice cracking as she finally answered him.
"To see if you were a good man," Sofia sobbed, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.
Vincent swallowed hard, a sickening, heavy knot forming in his chest. A good man. He had just dumped a young woman's personal belongings onto the floor over a misplaced watch. He had treated her like absolute garbage for the last three months she had worked here, entirely convinced she was just another expendable piece of the household staff.
He hadn't been a good man. He had been a monster.
Vincent looked back down at the faded photograph. Then, his eyes slowly shifted to the yellowed, folded letter Sofia was holding so tightly against her chest.
Vincent desperately reached a hand out across the cold marble floor toward her.
"Sofia," Vincent whispered, his voice trembling with an emotion he hadn't felt in thirty years. "Please. Let me see it."
Sofia took a sharp, terrified step backward on her knees, pulling away from his touch. She clutched the letter tighter.
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"No," Sofia cried. "You'll destroy it. Just like you destroy everything else."
👉 What exactly is written in the yellowed letter that Sofia is so desperate to protect?
