Con

HAPTER 46

Sophia’s POV

I stormed out of Urban Next, greatly pissed off at Elijah. My mind raced, a tangle of frustration and disbelief. How could he be so blind?

“Sophia, wait!” Elijah’s voice rang out behind me, his footsteps pounding against the floor as he caught up with me in the hallway. I didn’t slow down,

“Sophia,” he repeated, more urgent now, grabbing my arm gently. “Please, just listen. Julia–or Sabrina -she’s been my friend since we were kids. I know her well enough to know she wouldn’t do something like this.”

I turned sharply, yanking my arm free. “Of course, you do. Because Julia’s Sabrina, right? And you’re always right about everything.” My voice dripped with sarcasm. “But let me tell you something, Elijah. You’re being quite unfair. These people that you choose to trust may have no credibility at all.”

He looked genuinely baffled and taken aback. “What do you mean?”

I scoffed, crossing my arms. “You also studied design, didn’t you? Surely you can see the similarities in our work. Julia’s–or should I say Sabrina’s–copy of the design was much rougher than mine. And you actually believed her claim that I was the one who copied her?”

His brows furrowed, confusion giving way to a defensive posture.

“You haven’t seen each other in decades, Elijah!” I pointed out, frustrated and hurt. “There’s no guarantee if she’s still the same person inside and out. You didn’t even recognize her as Sabrina when you first saw her!”

Elijah opened his mouth to argue, but I held up a hand to stop him.

“People change. And people lie.” I was angry and wasn’t planning to hold back. For many years, I’ve been so submissive and passive when it came to him. But I’ve changed too. “You think you know her because of some childhood bond, but you’re blind to the possibility that she could be deceitful now.”

We gazed at each other defiantly. Then I said, “Either way, I’ll finish the investigation and clear my name. I don’t need your misplaced loyalty complicating things.”

For a moment, there was silence between us, the air heavy with unresolved tension.

“You know what I think? This might actually have something to do with that architect,” he said with malice, his eyes boring into mine.

I blinked, taken aback. “You mean Craig? What are you talking about?”

He shrugged, a cold smirk playing on his lips. “I hear you two are very close. It’s possible he’s behind.

this.”

The accusation hung in the air like a bad smell. My mind raced, trying to comprehend the twist Elijah had just thrown into this complicated situation. Then I remembered it was exactly what Julia was insinuating earlier. Perhaps the two of them had discussed this before. That thought made me cringe.

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Craig was a good friend and had always been very professional. Our conversations only involved the project and he never once mentioned anything about Julia’s work. The idea that he could be involved

was absurd.

“Craig can’t have anything to do with it,” I said firmly

Elijah raised an eyebrow. “How are you so sure? Do you know him that well? What’s really going on between you two?”

The questions struck me like a physical blow, knocking the wind out of me. He was treading in dangerous waters.

“You’re trying to protect her, aren’t you? Your Sabrina?!” I shot back, my voice gaining strength from my rising anger. “You’re willing to implicate innocent people to shield your precious first love.”

Elijah’s expression hardened, but he didn’t deny it. The silence between us grew unbearable. I felt the sting of tears welling up in my eyes but refused to let them fall. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.

Without another word, I turned on my heel and left him, storming back inside. Luckily, Trevis and Julia weren’t around anymore. I went straight to my office, breathing heavily as I leaned against the closed door. I let out a shaky breath as tears filled my eyes.

My heart was racing, and I could still hear Elijah’s infuriating voice in my head, replaying our argument over and over. The man could get under my skin like no one else.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to see Craig opening the door. His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes that made me pause.

“Sophia,” he said, stepping into the room. “I heard raised voices. I ran into Trevis, and he mentioned the situation in passing, though we’re planning to meet up later. Is everything okay? How are you holding up?”

I sighed. “I’m not really… fine. I’m the one who reported Julia of possibly copying my design, but then she’s trying to turn it around. And now, she and Elijah have implicated you too.”

Craig looked bewildered. “I swear I haven’t told anyone else about your ideas or the design you and I have been working on. Remember we even wanted it to be a surprise to everyone? And I haven’t even been speaking with Julia about any of her designs!”

I plopped down onto my chair, burying my head in my hands. “Oh, god. This is just so messed up.”

“Hey…” Craig said softly, approaching me. “What matters is that you know you’re innocent and you’re the one who hasn’t done anything wrong.

I looked up and managed a faint smile. “Thank you, Perhaps we should just let Trevis finish up the investigation. I’m just afraid, though, that if it’s up to Elijah and Serena to decide on this, I’ll be the one who ends up with a tarnished name.”

“Hey, we don’t know that for sure yet…

He opened his mouth to say something more as I waited. But I saw him hesitate, making me narrow

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my eyes and wonder what it was about.

“What is it?” I urged.

But then, my phone rang and it was Daniel. I knew that he’d picked up my daughter from school today so I answered it quickly..

I

“I’m so sorry, Sophia,” Daniel immediately said when I answered his call. His voice sounded anxious. Reese kept insisting that she wanted to see you and where you worked, so I had to bring her with me. But I said we’d just meet you at the park beside your building. And then…”

My heart skipped a beat as I waited for him to go on,

… It seems I’ve lost her. I turned around to buy a balloon she wanted, and then suddenly, she’s gone!! can’t find her!”

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