Chapter 9 - The Box in the Hallway
Lucas immediately stopped Sophia.
“Don't touch it.”
She stared at the box.
“Was that there before?”
“No.”
Lucas called Michael.
The box was eventually examined before Sophia opened it.
There was nothing dangerous inside.
Only belongings.
Her belongings.
A necklace.
Several photographs.
A spare phone charger.
A notebook.
And her old phone.
Sophia stared at it.
“I thought they destroyed this.”
Lucas looked at Michael.
“Can it still work?”
“We'll find out.”
The phone was turned over for examination.
Its contents became another source of evidence.
Deleted messages remained recoverable.
Draft emails showed Sophia had repeatedly tried to contact Lucas.
Some had never been sent.
There were also voice recordings.
Sophia had begun recording conversations after realizing nobody might believe her.
Lucas listened to only one.
Eleanor's voice said:
“Lucas has responsibilities. He doesn't need you creating problems while he's away.”
Sophia answered, “I'm his wife.”
Eleanor laughed.
“You're temporary.”
Lucas stopped the recording.
He placed the phone down.
Sophia watched him.
“You don't have to hear everything.”
“I know.”
For months, Sophia had carried the burden of proving what happened.
Now Lucas understood that healing might require something different.
She didn't need to prove it to him anymore.
“I believe you,” he said.
Sophia nodded.
“I know.”
This time, she really seemed to.
They walked through the house slowly.
The kitchen.
Living room.
Nursery.
Sophia stopped at the nursery door.
Lucas waited.
She entered.
The crib remained where it had been.
The curtains were half open.
For several seconds she said nothing.
Then she walked to the window and pulled the curtains fully apart.
Sunlight flooded the room.
Lucas smiled.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“Lucas.”
“You opened the curtains.”
She looked around.
“So?”
“They were closed when I came home.”
Sophia understood.
A tiny symbolic act.
But sometimes tiny acts mattered.
“We need new paint,” she said.
Lucas blinked.
“What?”
“This color.”
She gestured toward the wall.
“I hate it.”
Lucas laughed.
“You picked it.”
“I was pregnant. Pregnancy me had terrible judgment.”
“So we're staying?”
Sophia looked around.
“I didn't say that.”
“Right.”
“But if we do…”
She pointed.
“No beige.”
“Understood.”
For the first time, they discussed the house as theirs again.
Not Eleanor's.
Not a crime scene.
Not a place of fear.
Theirs.
That evening, however, Michael called.
Eleanor wanted a meeting.
Lucas immediately said no.
Then Michael explained.
“She says she has information about Audrey.”
Lucas frowned.
“She's still doing this?”
“Apparently.”
Sophia overheard.
“What information?”
Michael answered carefully.
“She claims Audrey initiated the financial scheme.”
Lucas felt exhausted.
Each woman continued blaming the other.
But this time there was a difference.
Eleanor claimed to possess records investigators had not found.
Lucas had no interest in meeting her.
Michael didn't need him to.
“If the records exist, her attorney can provide them.”
“Good.”
But Eleanor attached one condition.
She wanted Lucas to hear a personal statement.
Lucas refused.
That evening, Sophia asked why.
“Because I know what she'll say.”
“What?”
“That she did everything for me.”
Sophia became quiet.
Lucas continued.
“She'll say she was protecting the family.”
“Maybe.”
“She'll say Audrey manipulated her.”
“Probably.”
“And eventually she'll say you misunderstood.”
Sophia looked at him.
“You really know her.”
“I should have known her sooner.”
Sophia took his hand.
“You were gone.”
“I still should've—”
“No.”
Lucas stopped.
Sophia's voice was gentle but firm.
“We're not going to spend the rest of our lives arguing about which one of us should have stopped something we didn't create.”
Lucas stared at her.
Then nodded.
She was right.
The people responsible for the harm were responsible for it.
Nobody else.
The next day, Eleanor's attorney delivered the records without receiving the meeting she wanted.
Michael reviewed them.
Then he called Lucas.
For once, the news was unexpectedly simple.
Eleanor had told the truth about one thing.
Audrey had initiated the first questionable transfer.
But Eleanor had authorized what followed.
Both had participated.
Neither could hide entirely behind the other.
Lucas listened quietly.
When Michael finished, he asked one question.
“Is there anything else Sophia needs to do?”
“No.”
“Then we're done for today.”
Lucas hung up.
Sophia was in the nursery holding a paint sample.
Not beige.
Definitely not beige.
“What do you think?”
Lucas looked at the color.
“Perfect.”
“You didn't even look.”
“I learned something during deployment.”
“What?”
“Some battles aren't worth fighting.”
Sophia threw the paint sample at him.
Lucas laughed.
And from the crib, Leo suddenly made a tiny sound that almost resembled a laugh too.
For the first time, their house sounded like a home.
But before they could fully reclaim it, Lucas had one final decision to make.
May you like
The military had called.
And what they offered would determine whether he might have to leave Sophia and Leo again.
