Chapter 120 THE END OF REVENGE
Chapter 120 THE END OF REVENGE
“Sophia, think about this. If Alexander gets out, what happens? He comes after you. After Helena. After everyone who testified against him.”
Sophia said nothing. Her mind was spinning.
After Victor and Thomas left, Sophia sat alone on the couch holding Victoria.
Her phone kept ringing. Marcus. Helena. The hospital.
She ignored them all. Victor was alive. Three years of grief… Three years of revenge…
All based on a lie. Not Alexander’s lie. The FBI’s lie.
Her phone rang again. Without checking the screen, she answered angrily.
“What?”
A familiar voice came through the line. “Sophia… it’s Alexander.”
The prison phone crackled. “My lawyer just called me.”
His voice sounded shaken. “He said Victor Lang is alive.”
There was a long pause. Then Alexander asked quietly,
“Is it true?”
“Yes.”
Silence stretched across the line. Then Alexander laughed—a harsh, bitter sound that made Sophia flinch.
“So I’m in prison for killing a man who isn’t even dead?”
“Yes.”
“That’s—” His voice cracked, then rose. “That’s insane! They can’t keep me here! There’s no body! There’s no murder! They have to let me out!”
“Your lawyer says they won’t,” Sophia said quietly. “They’re saying conspiracy to commit murder is enough. You planned it—even if you didn’t finish it.”
Alexander slammed his hand down on the table near him, the sound echoing in his small cell. “But that’s—Sophia, you have to help me! You have to tell them I shouldn’t be here! Victor’s alive! I didn’t actually kill anyone!”
Sophia’s stomach tightened. “You tried to. You hired Kozlov to kill him. You wanted him dead.”
“Yes! I was wrong! But I didn’t do it!” Alexander shouted, pacing. “Sophia, please! I’m Victoria’s father! She needs me! She needs both of us! You can’t let them keep me here for a crime that didn’t happen!”
Sophia looked down at Victoria, sleeping in her arms, her tiny chest rising and falling. “I… I don’t know if I can help you.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“I don’t know the difference anymore.” Sophia’s voice broke. “I destroyed my entire life thinking you killed Victor. I became someone I hate. I lost everything. And now I find out it was all for nothing? That Victor’s been alive this whole time?”
Alexander’s voice softened but still carried anger. “So we were both played. By Victor. By the FBI. By Helena. Three years OLD wasted—destroying each other. Don’t you think it’s time to stop? Don’t you think Victoria deserves parents who aren’t at war?”
“What are you asking me to do?”
“Testify. Tell the court Victor is alive. That the conspiracy charge should be dropped—no victim, no murder. Help me get out, so I can be a father to our daughter.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then I spend twenty years in prison… for trying to kill a man who’s probably having coffee in Manhattan right now,” Alexander spat, his voice filled with rage. “Is that justice? Is that what you want?”
After the call, Sophia’s hands trembled as she held Victoria. She pulled out her phone and dialed Victor.
“You lied to me,” she said the second he picked up. “For three years… you let me think you were dead.”
“I had no choice—”
“Everyone says that! ‘I had no choice.’ But you did! You could’ve told me! You could’ve found a way!”
Victor’s voice hardened. “And risk getting killed? Risk the entire investigation falling apart? Sophia, I was tracking fourteen criminal organizations—Russian mob, Chinese triads, corrupt politicians, dirty cops. If anyone knew I was alive, I’d be dead in a week.”
“So you let me ruin myself instead.”
“I didn’t ask you to fake your death! I didn’t ask you to become Elise Moreau! I didn’t ask you to marry Alexander or destroy him!” Victor snapped. “That was on you!”
Sophia felt the truth hit like a slap. “You’re right… I did that to myself.”
“Look, Sophia,” Victor said softer now, “Alexander Blackwood is dangerous. He ordered my death. He would have killed me if the FBI hadn’t stepped in. He belongs in prison.”
“Even though you’re alive?”
“Even though I’m alive. Because next time, it could be you. Or Helena. Or anyone who crosses him.”
Victor paused. “Don’t help him get out. Please. For Victoria’s sake.”
That evening, Helena showed up unannounced.
“You’ve heard,” she said, stepping into the penthouse without waiting for an invitation.
“Yes. Victor’s alive.” Sophia was exhausted, rocking Victoria in her arms. “Did you know?”
Helena hesitated. “Yes.”
“You knew? And you didn’t tell me?” Sophia’s hands shook, almost dropping the baby.
“The FBI made me sign an NDA,” Helena said calmly. “If I told anyone, I’d go to prison. I wanted to tell you every day. But I couldn’t.”
“So you let me base my entire revenge plan on avenging a man who wasn’t dead?”
Helena shrugged. “Your revenge was bigger than Victor. It was about Alexander leaving you, stealing your company, destroying your life. Victor’s ‘death’ just gave you the excuse you needed to act.”
Sophia hated that it was true.
“Alexander’s lawyer is filing to overturn his conviction,” Helena continued. “No victim, no murder. He could be out in months.”
Sophia’s stomach twisted. “Good. He shouldn’t be in prison for something that didn’t happen.”
“Are you insane?” Helena snapped. “If Alexander gets out, he’ll come after all of us—me, you, Victor, everyone who testified!”
“Or maybe he just wants to be a father and move on with his life,” Sophia said, setting Victoria down gently in her bassinet.
Helena’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t believe that.”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore!” Sophia cried. “Everyone’s lied to me! You, Victor, the FBI, Alexander, Vanessa… everyone! I can’t trust anyone!”
Helena softened slightly. “Then trust this: Alexander is dangerous. If you help him get out, you’re risking everything.”
Sophia stood at the window, staring down at the city lights. Victor was alive. Alexander might be free. Her revenge, her grief all based on lies.
And now she had to choose: help Alexander, or protect herself?
Love or safety. Truth or security.