Chapter 8 - The Secret Vincent Had Been Hiding
Anna played the recording three times.
Each time it hurt more.
**Bring the documents. Anna can never know.**
Vincent had invited Sophia.
He had lied.
When he arrived the next morning, Anna was waiting.
She placed the phone between them.
“Listen.”
The recording played.
Vincent closed his eyes.
Anna laughed bitterly.
“So there was a secret.”
“Yes.”
Daniel stepped closer.
“What documents?”
Vincent looked at Anna.
“Medical records.”
Her expression changed.
“Whose?”
“Mine.”
Silence.
Vincent sat down.
“Six months before the crash, I was diagnosed with a cardiac condition.”
Anna stared at him.
“What?”
“It wasn’t immediately life-threatening. But my father died young from something similar.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You were pregnant.”
“That’s your excuse?”
“No.”
He looked ashamed.
“It’s the reason I gave myself.”
Anna folded her arms.
“What does Sophia have to do with it?”
“Her father funded a private cardiology research program in Switzerland. Sophia knew one of the specialists.”
Daniel frowned.
“So she arranged treatment?”
“Yes.”
Anna’s anger shifted.
“Why invite her on our vacation?”
“She had the full diagnostic file from Switzerland and insisted on bringing it personally.”
“You could have said no.”
“I should have.”
Vincent looked directly at her.
“I should have told you everything.”
Anna sat down across from him.
“What did you mean when you said I could never know?”
Vincent’s jaw tightened.
“I had been warned that stress could complicate your pregnancy.”
Anna laughed in disbelief.
“So your solution was to secretly meet with your ex-girlfriend?”
“Yes.”
“That is unbelievably stupid.”
“I know.”
Daniel almost smiled.
Vincent ignored him.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
Anna’s eyes filled with tears.
“You keep saying that.”
He fell silent.
“That’s what you always did, Vincent. You decided what I could handle. You decided what I needed to know. You decided Sophia could join our trip. Then when everything collapsed, you decided you had time to leave me behind.”
Vincent lowered his head.
“You didn’t protect me.”
“I know.”
“You controlled the truth.”
“Yes.”
“And Sophia learned how to use that.”
“Yes.”
For the first time, Anna realized something important.
Sophia had exploited cracks in their marriage.
But she had not created those cracks.
Vincent had.
Anna had.
Silence had.
Fear had.
And maybe, if anything between them was going to survive, they would have to stop blaming Sophia for every wound that existed before the crash.
Vincent reached into his coat.
He placed a flash drive on the table.
“What’s this?”
“Everything.”
Anna frowned.
“Every Moretti account. Every trust. Every legal document involving you or Leo. My medical records. My communications with Sophia. My will.”
“Why are you giving me this?”
“Because you were right.”
His voice was quiet.
“I controlled information because I thought control meant protection.”
He pushed the drive toward her.
“No more secrets.”
Anna looked at it.
Vincent continued.
“My updated will leaves half my estate directly to Leo.”
“I don’t want your money.”
“I know.”
“And the other half?”
Vincent looked at her.
“To you.”
Anna immediately shook her head.
“No.”
“Not because I expect you to come back.”
He held up a hand.
“Because three years ago, everything I had was already supposed to be yours.”
Anna stared at him.
Before she could answer, her attorney called.
She listened quietly.
Then looked at Vincent.
“What?”
Anna put the phone on speaker.
Her attorney’s voice filled the room.
“Sophia just accepted a plea interview.”
Vincent’s expression hardened.
“She’s talking?”
“Yes.”
“About the sabotage?”
“About everything.”
A pause.
“Including why she believed Vincent would rescue her first.”
Anna slowly looked toward her husband.
The past was about to speak.
May you like
And this time, neither of them could hide from it.
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