Chapter 4 - SOPHIE’S SECRET
I called Sophie at 8:06 that morning.
She didn’t answer.
At 8:08, I called again.
Straight to voicemail.
At 8:11, I sent a message.
I’m not angry with you.
Three dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
I waited.
Nothing.
At 8:14, I typed again.
But I need the truth.
This time the response came.
I’m sorry.
Two words.
I read them until they stopped looking like language.
Elena was sitting across from me in her office conference room.
We had arrived forty minutes earlier.
Her staff had not started work yet.
The floor was quiet.
Chicago traffic moved far below the windows.
“Show me.”
I handed her the phone.
She read Sophie’s message.
“Don’t push too hard.”
“I raised her.”
“I know.”
“I raised that girl.”
“I know.”
“She stood beside Claire.”
“Rachel.”
“She smiled in that picture.”
Elena leaned forward.
“Sophie is seventeen.”
“That doesn’t make it hurt less.”
“No.”
“It makes it complicated.”
I hated that word.
Daniel used it.
Now Elena was using it.
But unlike Daniel, Elena wasn’t using complexity to erase responsibility.
She was asking me to see a child inside the betrayal.
I typed.
Can we meet?
Sophie replied almost immediately.
Dad said not to talk to you.
My chest tightened.
Elena’s mouth became a thin line.
I wrote.
I’m asking you, not your father.
No response.
Then my phone rang.
Sophie.
I answered instantly.
“Hi.”
There was breathing.
Then a shaky voice.
“Rachel.”
I closed my eyes.
She sounded five years old again.
Standing in our kitchen after dropping a glass.
“I’m here.”
“I didn’t want to go.”
“To Italy?”
“Yes.”
“Okay.”
“Dad said it was important.”
“Why?”
Silence.
“Sophie.”
“He said everything was going to change after the trip.”
My eyes met Elena’s.
“What did that mean?”
“I don’t know.”
“You do.”
“I swear.”
Her voice cracked.
“He said you two were separating.”
“When did he tell you that?”
“Last year.”
I stopped.
“Last year?”
“Yes.”
“He said you knew.”
I almost laughed.
Instead, I felt something sharp move through my chest.
“What exactly did he say?”
“That you were unhappy.”
I looked away.
“That you didn’t want to be married anymore.”
“What else?”
“He said you were talking about moving.”
“Where?”
“Seattle.”
My sister lived in Seattle.
Daniel had built a believable lie using real pieces of my life.
“He said you wanted to start over there.”
Sophie was crying now.
“And Claire?”
“He said she was his friend.”
“At first?”
“Yes.”
“When did that change?”
“Christmas.”
My fingers tightened around the phone.
“Claire was at our house before Christmas.”
Sophie went silent.
“I saw the photograph.”
A tiny sound.
Almost a sob.
“What happened that weekend?”
“Rachel.”
“Please.”
“I can’t.”
“You can.”
“Dad will kill me.”
The phrase froze me.
Not literally.
Probably.
But fear was fear.
“Sophie, has your father threatened you?”
“No.”
“Has he hurt you?”
“No.”
“Then why are you afraid?”
She cried harder.
“Because everything is messed up.”
I softened my voice.
“Tell me where you are.”
“At Grandpa’s.”
“Is Daniel there?”
“Yes.”
“Is Claire?”
Silence.
“Sophie?”
“Yes.”
My jaw tightened.
“Can you leave?”
“I don’t know.”
“You have your car.”
“Dad took my keys.”
Elena sat upright.
“Why?”
“He said I’m too upset to drive.”
“Is Ethan there?”
“Yes.”
“Does he have his phone?”
“Dad took it.”
Elena wrote something.
GET ADDRESS / CALL POLICE IF HELD.
I shook my head.
“Sophie.”
“Yes?”
“Are you free to walk out of the house?”
“I think so.”
“Then I want you to do something.”
“What?”
“Go outside.”
“Dad will see.”
“Tell him you need air.”
Silence.
“Can you?”
“I think so.”
I heard movement.
A door.
Voices in the distance.
Daniel.
I recognized him immediately.
“Sophie?”
“One second.”
His voice became louder.
“Who are you talking to?”
Sophie didn’t answer.
“Sophie.”
Then the line went dead.
I stood.
“Elena.”
“I heard.”
“I’m going there.”
“No.”
“Elena.”
“No.”
“That girl is scared.”
“Then we do this correctly.”
She grabbed her phone.
Five minutes later, she had spoken to an attorney who handled juvenile-family issues.
Ten minutes after that, we had confirmation that because Sophie was seventeen and not under formal restriction, Daniel could not legally prevent her from leaving simply because he wanted to control a conversation.
But that didn’t mean barging into Richard’s house was intelligent.
So Elena made another call.
To Sophie’s biological mother.
I had not spoken to Amanda Bennett in nearly four years.
Our relationship had always been polite.
Sometimes warm.
Sometimes tense.
She loved her children.
She also disliked Daniel enough that I used to privately think she was unfair.
I understood her better now.
Amanda answered from Arizona.
Elena explained only that Sophie was distressed and wanted to leave Richard’s home.
Amanda’s response was immediate.
“I’m calling my daughter.”
Three minutes later, Sophie texted me.
Mom told Dad I’m leaving.
Then.
Can you pick me up at the coffee shop on Wells?
I was there twenty-seven minutes later.
Sophie walked in wearing leggings, a gray sweatshirt, and no makeup.
She looked exhausted.
When she saw me, she stopped.
I stood.
For one second, neither of us knew what to do.
Then she crossed the room.
I expected words.
Instead, she threw both arms around me.
And broke.
“I’m sorry.”
I held her.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t know what to do.”
People glanced at us.
I didn’t care.
After twelve years of marriage, the first person from Daniel’s family to cry for hurting me was a seventeen-year-old girl.
We sat in a corner.
Elena ordered hot chocolate for Sophie without asking.
Some habits survive disasters.
For several minutes, Sophie couldn’t talk.
Then she reached into her sweatshirt pocket.
“I brought something.”
My heart changed rhythm.
She placed a small silver key on the table.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know exactly.”
“Elaborate.”
“I found it in Dad’s office.”
“When?”
“December.”
“Last December?”
She nodded.
“The weekend Claire was at the house?”
Another nod.
I waited.
Sophie twisted the sleeve of her sweatshirt around her fingers.
“Dad told us you went to Seattle because you two had decided to separate.”
“He lied.”
“I know that now.”
“He said Claire was helping him with some hospital charity project.”
I said nothing.
“She slept in the guest room.”
“Are you sure?”
“I saw her go in there.”
That didn’t matter.
Not really.
But I appreciated that Sophie wanted me to know.
“What happened?”
“Grandpa came over.”
My attention sharpened.
“Richard?”
“Yes.”
“Lauren too.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“They were in Dad’s office.”
“With Claire?”
“Yes.”
“What were they doing?”
“I wasn’t supposed to hear.”
Sophie looked down.
“Dad yelled.”
“What did he say?”
“He said, ‘Michael kept copies.’”
Elena and I looked at each other.
“Anything else?”
“Grandpa told him to calm down.”
“Did they say Michael Reeves?”
“No.”
“Just Michael?”
“Yes.”
“What did Claire say?”
Sophie swallowed.
“She said if someone found the original study, they were all finished.”
The coffee shop seemed to go silent around me.
“What study?”
“I don’t know.”
“Did Daniel say anything else?”
“He said the files had been moved.”
“Where?”
“That’s what the key is for.”
I stared at it.
“How do you know?”
“Because Grandpa asked where the key was.”
She pushed it toward me.
“Dad said it was in his desk.”
“So you took it?”
“Not then.”
“When?”
“This morning.”
I blinked.
“You took it today?”
“Yes.”
“From Richard’s house?”
“No.”
“Dad had his work bag.”
She looked terrified.
“I knew I was going to call you.”
“Sophie.”
“I didn’t know if it mattered.”
“It might.”
“I’m sorry.”
I covered her hand with mine.
“Stop apologizing.”
Tears filled her eyes again.
“There’s more.”
Of course there was.
“What?”
She looked at Elena.
Then at me.
“Dad didn’t bring Claire to our house because they were dating.”
I waited.
“He brought her because she was scared.”
“Of what?”
“Someone had broken into her apartment.”
Elena leaned forward.
“When?”
“The night before.”
“Did they call police?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“What was taken?”
Sophie wiped her face.
“She said her laptop.”
My stomach tightened.
“Anything else?”
“A blue folder.”
Elena asked, “Did she describe it?”
“She kept saying it had ‘adverse outcomes’ in it.”
I knew that phrase.
Medical research.
Complication rates.
Deaths.
Unexpected events.
Virex.
Michael Reeves.
My husband.
The room tilted slightly.
“Sophie, why didn’t you tell anyone?”
“Dad told us Michael was obsessed.”
“Obsessed with what?”
“Destroying him.”
“Why?”
“He said Michael was jealous.”
“Of Daniel?”
She nodded.
“That Michael wanted Dad’s position at the hospital.”
“Did you believe him?”
“I was sixteen.”
The words were defensive.
Then her face crumpled.
“Yes.”
She whispered it.
“Yes, I believed him.”
I squeezed her hand.
“He’s your father.”
“That isn’t an excuse.”
“It explains why.”
She cried quietly.
I thought about the last year through Sophie’s eyes.
Her father tells her his marriage is ending.
He introduces another woman slowly.
Grandfather accepts her.
Aunt accepts her.
Everyone behaves as though this new arrangement is legitimate.
What exactly was a sixteen-year-old supposed to do?
Then I remembered something else.
“Sophie.”
“Yes?”
“Why Italy?”
She wiped her eyes again.
“I don’t know.”
“You said Daniel told you everything would change after the trip.”
“Yes.”
“Was there an event?”
“I think so.”
“What?”
“Claire had a dress.”
“What kind of dress?”
“White.”
My stomach twisted.
“How white?”
Sophie hesitated.
“Wedding white.”
Elena went very still.
“Were they planning to marry?”
“They couldn’t.”
Sophie looked at me.
“You’re still married.”
“Apparently that hasn’t stopped much.”
“No.”
She shook her head quickly.
“It wasn’t a wedding.”
“Then what?”
“An engagement dinner, maybe.”
I stared at her.
Daniel was going to announce an engagement to his mistress while still legally married to me.
In Rome.
Surrounded by the family that had already replaced me.
The humiliation was almost impressive.
But something didn’t fit.
Why the postnup?
Why my trust?
Why the transfer marked Complete after Italy?
Elena saw the same problem.
“Rachel.”
“I know.”
“This isn’t just about Claire.”
“No.”
Sophie looked confused.
“What?”
I took the silver key.
It had a number stamped into one side.
614.
“Did Daniel ever mention a storage facility?”
“No.”
“Safety deposit box?”
“No.”
“Hospital locker?”
Sophie’s face changed.
“What?”
“Dad has a locker at the old research building.”
Elena leaned forward.
“What building?”
“St. Vincent Research Annex.”
I knew it.
The hospital had closed the annex almost two years earlier.
Daniel told me the property was waiting to be sold.
“Why does he still have a locker?”
“I don’t know.”
“How do you know he does?”
Sophie looked at the key.
“Because I saw another one exactly like that once.”
“Where?”
“On his hospital badge.”
I stared at the number.
An old hospital research building.
A dead cardiologist.
A hidden study.
Forged documents.
Money routed through Richard’s company.
I felt the shape of something enormous beginning to emerge.
Then Sophie whispered something.
“There’s another reason Dad wanted you to sign the papers.”
My eyes lifted.
“What papers?”
“The ones he brought home six weeks ago.”
The postnuptial agreement.
“How do you know about those?”
“I heard Grandpa talking.”
“What did he say?”
Sophie looked sick.
“He said if you signed before Rome, nobody would have to worry about what happened to Mom.”
I froze.
“Your mother?”
“No.”
Sophie shook her head.
“Your mom.”
My blood went cold.
“My mother died fourteen years ago.”
“I know.”
“Daniel didn’t know her.”
“I know.”
“Then what are you talking about?”
Tears filled Sophie’s eyes.
May you like
“I don’t know.”
“But Grandpa said your mother’s trust was never supposed to belong to you.”
