The conference room at the law firm was suffocatingly quiet. William sat on one side of the long table, Sophie Laurent on the other. Between them lay the divorce papers.
Sophie looked exhausted. Her eyes were red, but her resolve was steel. “I don’t want alimony, William. I just want out.”
William picked up his pen, guilt gnawing at him. He had used her as a shield against his grief, and now he was discarding her. “Sophie, I–“
The door opened. Lady Beatrice Croft swept in, followed by her personal attorney.
“Beatrice, this is a private mediation,” William snapped.
“I am merely here to ensure the settlement is fair,” Beatrice said, her voice dripping with venom. She slid a thin blue folder across the table toward William. “Before you weep over breaking this poor girl’s heart, you should know she was paid to break yours.”
William frowned. He opened the folder. Inside was a contract dated six months ago.
*Service Agreement. Objective: Infiltrate Croft Penthouse. Client: Lady Beatrice Croft. Agent: Sophie Laurent.*
William stopped breathing. He read the terms: *Gather evidence of unfitness. Report on emotional state. Payment: Debt Relief for Laurent Senior.*
He looked up at Sophie. The “Collateral” damage of his life. She wasn’t looking at him; she was staring at her hands, tears sliding silently down her cheeks.
“Is this true?” William whispered, his voice trembling with disgust. “You were a spy? The night of the storm… the panic attacks… it was all a job?”
“It started as a job,” Sophie choked out, risking a glance at his horrified face. “But I fell in love with you, William. I never sent the reports. I tried to tell you–“
“Get out,” William said, looking at her as if she were a stranger.
Sophie signed the papers with a shaking hand, stood up, and fled the room. She ran straight to the elevator, down to the street, and into the waiting car of Dr. Lucas Hale, leaving the toxic orbit of the Crofts forever.