Chapter 126 MARRIED TO A STRANGER

Chapter 126 MARRIED TO A STRANGER


The response came instantly.

"Someone who knows exactly who you are. And soon, everyone else will too."

Sophia set the phone down, her mind racing. Someone was watching. Someone knew about Julian, about David, about everything.

A knock at the door made her jump.

She checked the peephole. Marcus. Claire beside him, pale and shaking.

Sophia pulled the door open. Claire fell into her arms, sobbing.

"I have it all," Claire gasped. "The records. The payments. Two years of proof. He was working for Rafael the whole time."

Sophia held her tight, looking over Claire's shoulder at Marcus. His face was grim.

"We need to go," Marcus said quietly. "If David knows Claire has the files, he'll come after them. Come after her. Come after you."

Sophia looked at Victoria's bassinet. Then at Claire's tear-streaked face. Then at her phone, the threatening messages still glowing on the screen.

"Where?" she asked.

Marcus pulled out his phone. "I have a place. Upstate. Remote. No one knows about it. We leave now."

Sophia nodded. "Then let's go."

She lifted Victoria from the bassinet, the baby stirring and letting out a soft whimper.

"Shh, baby," Sophia whispered. "Mama's got you."

Claire grabbed her bag. Marcus checked the windows, the doors, the street outside.

They were at the door when Sophia's phone rang again.

She glanced at the screen.

Federal Detention Center.

She answered, voice low. "Alexander?"

"Sophia." His voice was urgent. "My lawyer just called. Rafael's people are moving. They found out about the evidence Helena gave you. The USB. They're coming for it."

Sophia's blood ran cold. "How do they know about the USB?"

A pause.

"I don't know," Alexander said. "But someone's been talking. Someone close to you. You need to disappear. Tonight."

Sophia looked at Marcus, at Claire, at Victoria in her arms.

"We're already leaving," she said.

"Go. Don't tell anyone where. Don't use your phone. Don't use credit cards. I'll find you when it's safe."

"And you?"

Alexander's voice hardened. "I'm not going anywhere. If Rafael wants a war, he can have one. But he's not touching my family."

The line went dead.

Sophia slipped the phone into her pocket and stepped out into the night.

Behind her, the brownstone stood quiet, warm lights still burning in the windows. Home. For now, just a memory.

Marcus opened the car door. Claire climbed in first, then Sophia with Victoria.

As they pulled away from the curb, Sophia looked back at the house at the life she'd tried to build, the peace she'd tried to find.

It was already burning.

The drive north took three hours.

Marcus drove in silence, his eyes flicking constantly to the rearview mirror. Claire sat in the back with Sophia, Victoria asleep in her carrier between them. No one spoke. 

The only sounds were the hum of the engine and the occasional cry from the baby.

Sophia stared out the window as the city lights faded behind them, replaced by dark highways and then narrow roads cutting through dense forest. Every mile felt like leaving another piece of herself behind.

“How much farther?” Claire asked, her voice hoarse.

“Twenty minutes,” Marcus said. “The property is off-grid. No address. No GPS. Alexander bought it years ago under a shell company. Even his lawyers don't know about it.”

Sophia turned from the window. “Alexander owns it?”

“He wanted a place to disappear if everything fell apart. I guess he was smarter than any of us gave him credit for.”

The car turned onto an unmarked dirt road, barely wide enough for the vehicle. Trees pressed in on both sides, their branches scraping against the windows. 

The headlights cut through the darkness, revealing nothing but more forest.

Then, suddenly, the trees opened up.

A cabin stood at the end of the road small, rustic, utterly unremarkable. It looked like any other hunting lodge in the middle of nowhere. 

But as Marcus parked and killed the engine, Sophia noticed the details. Reinforced doors. Security cameras hidden in the trees. 

A satellite dish pointed at an angle that suggested encryption.

“This is it,” Marcus said.

Sophia lifted Victoria from the carrier, the baby stirring but not waking. Claire grabbed her bag. 

Marcus did a slow circle around the property, checking for anything out of place.

“Clear,” he said finally. “Let's get inside.”

The cabin was smaller than Sophia expected. A main room with a wood stove, a kitchenette, two bedrooms, and a bathroom. 

The furniture was basic , wooden chairs, a worn couch, a table that had seen better decades. 

But it was warm, and dry, and hidden.

Marcus lit the wood stove while Claire collapsed onto the couch. Sophia laid Victoria in a portable crib Marcus had set up in the corner, then stood back, watching her daughter sleep.

“We can't stay here forever,” she said quietly.

“We won't have to,” Marcus replied. “Alexander's lawyers are pushing for an emergency hearing. 

If they can prove Rafael is actively threatening you and Victoria, the judge might grant early release.”

“How long?”

“Days. Maybe a week.”

Sophia turned to face him. “And until then? We just hide?”

“Yes.” Marcus's voice was firm. “You hide. You stay alive. You keep Victoria safe. That's the only thing that matters right now.”

Claire sat up, rubbing her eyes. “What about David? If he's working for Rafael, he knows everything. He knows about the brownstone. 

He knows about Sophia's routines. He probably knows about this place.”

Marcus shook his head. “He doesn't. Alexander never told anyone about this cabin. Not even me until two hours ago.”

“Then how did you know?” Sophia asked.

Marcus met her eyes. “Because Alexander called me from prison six months ago and made me memorize the coordinates. 

He said if anything ever happened to him, I was supposed to bring you here.”

Sophia's throat tightened. “He planned for this.”

“He planned for everything.” Marcus sat down across from her. “Say what you want about Alexander Blackwood, but he loves his daughter. And he loves you. In his own broken way.”

The room fell silent. The fire crackled. Outside, wind rustled through the trees.

Claire's phone buzzed. She looked at the screen and went pale.

“What is it?” Sophia asked.

Claire held up the phone. A text message. From David.

“I know you're not home. I know you're with her. Tell Sophia she can run, but she can't hide. Rafael owns the roads, the cameras, the police. Every move she makes, he sees.”

Sophia took the phone, reading the words again.

Another message came through.

“Come home, Claire. We can fix this. Just give me the files. Give me the USB. And I'll make sure Rafael leaves you alone.”

Claire shook her head. “He doesn't want to fix anything. He wants the evidence.”

Sophia typed back: “You married me under false pretenses. You've been lying to me for two years. There's nothing to fix.”

The response came almost instantly.

“Then you've made your choice. Don't say I didn't warn you.”