CHAPTER 8 — Sophia Knocked on My Door at Midnight
It was nearly midnight when my doorbell rang.
Claire had insisted I shouldn't be alone.
She looked through the security camera and froze.
"Madison..."
"It's Sophia."
I opened the door myself.
She looked nothing like the glamorous woman from the airport.
Her mascara had run.
Her expensive coat was wrinkled.
She looked exhausted.
And terrified.
"I know you hate me."
She spoke before I could say a word.
"But if you don't let me inside..."
"I may not survive the week."
Those weren't the words I expected.
I stepped aside.
She entered.
The moment the door closed, she burst into tears.
"Ethan lied to both of us."
I crossed my arms.
"Start talking."
She reached into her handbag and placed a small flash drive on the kitchen table.
"I copied everything."
"Every email."
"Every payment."
"Every fake consulting contract."
I stared at the tiny silver device.
"What is this?"
"The evidence that can put Ethan in prison."
Claire gasped.
Sophia continued.
"I wasn't supposed to fall in love with him."
"I was hired to build a business relationship."
"He convinced me his marriage was already dead."
"I believed him."
She lowered her head.
"But then I discovered what he was really doing."
"He wasn't just taking bribes."
"He was approving medical devices that doctors inside his own hospital had already flagged as dangerous."
The room fell silent.
"What?"
"Three patients died after receiving one of those devices."
My hands began shaking.
"No..."
"He knew the risks?"
Sophia nodded through tears.
"He signed the approval anyway."
"For money."
I felt sick.
The man I married had once cried after losing a patient during residency.
Now...
He was allegedly risking lives for profit.
Sophia pushed the flash drive closer to me.
"I was the anonymous informant."
"I contacted the FBI six months ago."
I stared at her.
The woman I thought had destroyed my marriage...
Had actually begun trying to expose Ethan long before I discovered the affair.
But before I could respond, every light in the house suddenly went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Then Claire screamed.
Outside...
May you like
Someone had cut the power.
And a black SUV slowly rolled into my driveway.
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