Chapter 125 Chapter 125
Hailey’s POV
I sat up in bed, my heart pounding from being jolted awake by Sophia’s screaming. My mind was still foggy from sleep, trying to process what was happening.
“Give what back?” I asked, genuinely confused. “Sophia, what are you talking about?”
“Sophia, comport yourself!” Damien’s voice was sharp and commanding from the doorway. “This is completely inappropriate behavior….”
But Sophia ignored him completely, a raging bull that couldn’t be stopped. She advanced on me, her face twisted with fury and accusation.
“You provide my property right now,” Sophia said, her voice shaking with rage, “or you’re going to hate my next move.”
“I don’t have any property of yours!” I protested, pulling the blanket up higher around me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“Don’t play stupid with me,” Sophia hissed, leaning over the bed. “My sapphire necklace. The one that belonged to my mother. The pink heart sapphire I showed you yesterday. It’s gone from the vault!”
I felt my jaw drop. “What?”
“You heard me,” Sophia said. “It’s missing. And you’re the only person who knew I had it. The only person who saw me take it!”
I stared at her in complete disbelief. “You think I stole your mother’s necklace?”
“I don’t think…..I know,” Sophia said. “You were there. You saw it. You saw how valuable it was. And now it’s gone!”
“Sophia, that’s insane,” I said, finding my voice. “I didn’t take anything from you. I went straight to my room after our conversation yesterday. I never went near Elena’s room again!”
“Liar!” Sophia screamed.
“Sophia!” Damien’s voice cut through like a whip. He moved into the room, positioning himself between his daughter and me. “That is enough. You don’t accuse people of theft without proof.”
“I have proof!” Sophia insisted. “She was there! She saw the necklace! She knew where it was kept! Who else could have taken it?”
Damien’s expression hardened as he processed what Sophia was saying. He turned to look at me, and I saw something shift in his eyes.
“You were in Elena’s room yesterday?” he asked, his voice carefully controlled.
My stomach dropped. “I… Sophia was already in there. I saw her go in….”
“You went into Elena’s room,” Damien repeated, and I heard the anger building beneath his calm exterior. “The room I sealed. The room I specifically said was off-limits to everyone.”
“Damien, I can explain….” I started
“And not only did you violate that boundary,” he continued, his voice getting harder, “but you allegedly took a piece of Elena’s treasured jewelry without taking permission from me? Without even asking?”
“I didn’t take anything!” I protested. “Damien, you have to believe me. I didn’t touch that necklace!”
“She’s lying!” Sophia insisted. “She’s the only one who knew about it!”
“Sophia, you had no right to be in that room either,” Damien said, turning his anger on his daughter now. “You had no right to go into your mother’s room, to take out her jewelry without my permission!”
“It was my mother’s!” Sophia shouted back. “It was supposed to be mine! She promised it to me!”
“That doesn’t give you the right….” Damien started.
“It gives me every right dad!” Sophia screamed before Damien could even finish his statement. “I have every right, to step into my mother’s room, took anything of hers because that was the only memory she left for me. The only person who doesn’t deserve to be there is….” Her fave move toward. “She! She is a thief, she stole from my mother and you’re blaming me again, just like you always do!”
“Sophia you are…..” Damien started….
But I was barely listening to their argument. My mind was racing, putting pieces together.
Sophia had sworn yesterday, on that very sapphire, that she would make my life miserable. That she wouldn’t let me live happily.
And now, less than twenty-four hours later, the sapphire was conveniently missing and I was being accused of theft.
I started laughing. I couldn’t help it. The absurdity, the obviousness of the setup, it was almost insulting.
“What’s so funny?” Sophia demanded, whirling back to face me.
“You,” I said, my laughter taking on a slightly hysterical edge. “This. Is this your plan all along, Sophia? You swore on that sapphire yesterday that you’d never let me live happily. You made this dramatic vow to destroy my life. And now, suddenly, it’s missing and you’re blaming me?”
“Because you took it!” Sophia insisted.
“No,” I said, my laughter dying as anger replaced it. “You hid it. Or you threw it away. Or you’re lying about it being missing at all. This is exactly the kind of petty, manipulative game you would play.”
“How dare you….” Sophia started.
“How dare I?” I interrupted, my voice rising to match hers.
“How dare YOU? You’re a disgrace, Sophia. A complete disgrace to your mother’s memory. She would be ashamed of you!”
Sophia’s face went white, then red with fury.
“And you know what else?” I continued, unable to stop myself now that I’d started. “You’re a spawn of the devil. You brought Tyler into this house and got Marco killed. You nearly got all of us killed. And now you’re playing these sick games, trying to frame me for theft because I dared to exist in your father’s life!”
“SHUT UP!” Sophia screamed.
“You’re pathetic,” I said, my voice dropping lower but no less intense. “Your mother would be disgusted by what you’ve become. By the jealous, vindictive, manipulative….”
The slap came so fast I didn’t see it coming.
Sophia’s hand connected with my face with enough force that my head snapped to the side. The sharp crack of skin on skin echoed through the room.
I felt myself tipping, my balance compromised from the force of the blow and my position half-sitting.