Chapter 5 - THE BABY THEY ALREADY KNEW ABOUT
Sophia knew I was pregnant before Vincent did.
That revelation frightened me more than the vial.
“How?”
I whispered.
Detective Bennett showed me the messages.
A photograph of my pregnancy test.
Taken inside my bedroom.
Timestamp:
Tuesday morning.
Less than one hour after I discovered the pregnancy.
Someone had entered our room.
Or had access to the security system.
My skin crawled.
Then another photograph appeared.
The baby socks.
The cream box.
The tiny white pair I had saved for three years.
Sophia had seen everything.
“She knew why I called Vincent.”
Caroline looked furious.
“And she deliberately kept him away.”
I nodded slowly.
The bakery.
The sunrise.
The messages.
Sophia hadn’t merely wanted my husband.
She wanted to prevent me from telling him.
Arthur looked sick.
Then Detective Bennett continued.
“We also found a message Sophia sent before entering your home yesterday.”
She read it.
He still thinks Claire is just jealous. I can make him do the rest himself.
I stopped breathing.
The room became silent.
Sophia had manipulated him.
Yes.
But Vincent had still done it.
He had held my face.
Ignored my allergy.
Forced the bite into my mouth.
No amount of manipulation erased his hand.
His choice.
His responsibility.
I looked toward Arthur.
“Does he know?”
“Yes.”
“What did he say?”
Arthur hesitated.
“He vomited.”
I looked away.
For the first time, I understood that guilt could be physical.
But sympathy was dangerous.
I wasn’t going to turn his suffering into proof that he deserved forgiveness.
Then Teresa spoke.
“Claire, you need to know something about Sophia.”
I looked at her.
“What now?”
“She couldn’t have known about your pregnancy unless someone inside the house helped her.”
Arthur’s expression changed.
The Moretti home had security everywhere.
Staff background checks.
Restricted access.
Private cameras.
Only a handful of people could enter our bedroom unnoticed.
Vincent.
Me.
Teresa during visits.
Arthur in emergencies.
And our house manager, Elena Walsh.
My stomach tightened.
Elena had worked for us since our wedding.
She knew everything.
My allergy.
My medicines.
My routines.
My doctors.
She was the woman who found me crying after our second failed fertility treatment.
She had held my hand.
Made tea.
Told me not to lose hope.
“Where is Elena?” I asked.
Arthur went pale.
“She called in sick yesterday.”
Detective Bennett’s phone rang.
She listened.
Then stood.
“We found her car.”
My chest tightened.
“Where?”
“Near the river.”
“Is she alive?”
The detective hesitated.
Then shook her head.
I covered my mouth.
Another body.
Another secret.
Then Bennett continued.
“There was a letter inside the vehicle.”
“What letter?”
She looked directly at me.
“It was addressed to you.”
The first line read:
Claire, I’m sorry. I told Sophia about the baby because I thought she would finally leave Vincent alone.
May you like
The last line was worse.
“But Sophia already knew something about your child that even your doctors haven’t discovered yet.”
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