Chapter 113 WEAPONS OF TRUTH
Chapter 113 WEAPONS OF TRUTH
Marcus frowned. “What way?”
“Helena has evidence,” Sophia said. “Proof of Rafael’s crimes. Money laundering. Fraud. Even connections to organized crime.”
Marcus crossed his arms.
“I thought you said you didn’t trust Helena.”
“I don’t,” Sophia replied. “But I trust the evidence.”
She pulled out her phone.
“What if we leak it anonymously?” she continued. “No link to Helena. No link to me. We send it to the FBI and let them handle Rafael.”
Marcus looked uneasy.
“That’s risky,” he said. “If anyone traces it back to you—”
“It won’t,” Sophia interrupted.
She was already thinking fast.
“We’ll use someone in the middle. Someone who can’t be connected to us.”
She looked straight at him.
“Rafael gets arrested. His takeover collapses. MLH stays independent.”
Her voice grew firmer.
“And I keep control.”
Marcus watched her for a long moment.
“And you keep your soul,” he said quietly.
Sophia frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”
Marcus leaned forward.
“If you take Tanaka’s deal,” he said, “you’ll always know you gave up. You’ll always wonder if you could have won.”
Sophia looked at him carefully.
“You think I should fight?”
Marcus smiled a little.
“I think you’ve been fighting your whole life,” he said. “Why stop now?”
Then his expression turned serious again.
“But Sophia… if you do this—if you go after Rafael with Helena’s evidence—you’re starting a war.”
“Not just with Rafael,” he continued. “Eventually with Helena too. And with anyone else who gets caught in the middle.”
He held her gaze.
“Are you ready for that?”
Sophia didn’t answer right away.
Instead, she placed a hand on her belly.
The baby kicked softly against her palm.
Victoria was moving again.
Sophia closed her eyes for a moment.
Was she ready for another war?
Eight months pregnant.
Facing federal charges.
Her ex-husband sitting in jail, hating her.
Everything in her life already felt like it was falling apart.
Finally, she opened her eyes.
“No,” she admitted quietly. “I’m not ready.”
Her voice trembled.
“I’m tired. I’m scared. And honestly… I just want all of this to end.”
Marcus nodded slowly.
“Then take Tanaka’s offer,” he said gently.
Sophia stood by the window, staring at the city lights below.
“But if I give up now…” she said slowly, “then what was all of it for?”
Marcus didn’t interrupt.
Sophia kept talking.
“Victor’s death. The surgery. All the lies. Everything I destroyed along the way.”
Her voice grew tight.
“If I just hand MLH over now, then Alexander was right about me.”
Marcus looked at her.
“He said I loved revenge more than anything else,” Sophia continued quietly. “And maybe he was right. Because I burned everything down for this company.”
She turned to face Marcus.
“And now I’m supposed to just give it away?”
Marcus stayed silent for a moment.
Finally he asked, “What do you want me to do?”
Sophia took a slow breath.
“Call Helena,” she said.
Marcus raised an eyebrow.
“Tell her I want the evidence on Rafael. All of it.”
“Tonight.”
Marcus studied her carefully.
“You’re sure about this?”
Sophia shook her head.
“No.”
Then she gave a small, bitter smile.
“But I’m doing it anyway.”
She looked at the contract from Tanaka one last time.
Then she tore it in half.
“I didn’t fight this hard just to surrender,” she said coldly.
“If Rafael wants a war…”
She dropped the ripped contract on the table.
“He’s going to get one.”
⸻
\### SOPHIA’S PENTHOUSE — THAT EVENING
Later that evening, Helena arrived at Sophia’s penthouse.
She looked slightly surprised when the door opened.
They hadn’t spoken in weeks.
Helena walked inside and sat down on the couch without waiting to be invited.
“You need something,” she said calmly.
Sophia didn’t deny it.
“Yes,” she said.
Helena leaned back.
“What is it?”
“The evidence on Rafael,” Sophia replied. “The nuclear option you mentioned months ago.”
Helena’s eyes lit up with interest.
“Oh?” she said slowly. “You’re finally ready to use it?”
“Rafael is trying to take MLH,” Sophia said. “A hostile takeover.”
She crossed her arms.
“In three days, he’ll have enough shares to control the company if I don’t stop him.”
Helena nodded thoughtfully.
“And the Japanese billionaire?” she asked. “Tanaka. I heard he offered to help.”
Sophia sighed.
Of course Helena already knew.
She always knew everything.
“He wants fifty-one percent of the company,” Sophia said. “If I accept, I’ll be working for him.”
Helena smirked.
“And your pride won’t allow that.”
She leaned forward slightly.
“Good.”
Sophia frowned.
“Pride keeps you alive in this world,” Helena said calmly. “People who surrender get eaten.”
Sophia looked straight at her.
“So,” she said, “are you going to give me the evidence?”
Helena leaned forward slightly.
“On one condition,” she said.
Sophia narrowed her eyes. “What condition?”
Helena folded her hands calmly. “When this is over—when Rafael is destroyed and you still have your company—you remember who helped you.”
Sophia frowned. “What do you mean by that?”
“It means,” Helena said slowly, “that when the FBI eventually comes after me—and they will—you testify for me.”
Sophia stiffened.
“You stand in court and tell them I helped you. That I played a key role in taking down criminals. That I deserve some leniency.”
Sophia stared at her.
“You want me to lie for you in federal court.”
Helena shook her head calmly.
“No. I want you to tell the truth—that I helped you. That part isn’t a lie.”
She reached into her bag and pulled out a small USB drive. Then she placed it on the table between them.
“Do we have a deal?”
Sophia looked down at the drive.
Inside it was evidence that could save her company.
Evidence that could destroy Rafael.
But the price felt heavy.
Her reputation. Her conscience. Maybe even legal trouble if she testified for Helena later.
Sophia slowly looked back up.
“Why are you really doing this?” she asked. “Why help me at all?”
Helena was quiet for a moment.
Then she spoke.
“Because you remind me of myself… thirty years ago.”
Sophia didn’t move.
“Smart. Angry. Ready to do whatever it takes to win,” Helena continued.