The Sister in the Shadows
Chapter 05 - The Sister in the Shadows
Sophia chose a crowded café in Brooklyn for their meeting. She arrived wearing a baseball cap and looking over her shoulder every few seconds.
Unlike Daniel, Sophia had no interest in appearing powerful. She spoke softly and carried the nervous exhaustion of someone who had spent years surviving the same family.
“My mother thinks loyalty means silence,” she told Emma. “Daniel thinks love means ownership.”
Sophia revealed that Evelyn had controlled both children through money and fear. When Sophia tried to report suspicious accounts at the family company, Evelyn placed her in a private treatment center and told everyone she had suffered a breakdown. Daniel visited once—not to comfort her, but to warn that no one would believe her.
After leaving the center, Sophia pretended to be obedient while copying files from Evelyn’s office. She knew about the necklace, but not what it contained.
“Why contact me now?” Emma asked.
“Because I watched my brother hit you, and my mother looked annoyed that he did it in public.”
Sophia offered to remove the pendant from the safe during Evelyn’s charity luncheon. In return, she wanted Emma to protect an employee named Marcus Lee, the foundation’s former accountant. Marcus had discovered the fraudulent transfers and disappeared three months earlier.
Richard reacted badly when Emma told him. He believed Sophia might be bait. Noah agreed the risk was high, but he also noted that Sophia’s records matched details never released publicly.
Emma made the decision.
At noon the next day, Sophia entered the Reeves estate while Emma and Noah waited in a car two blocks away. Richard monitored from another vehicle, reluctantly respecting Emma’s plan.
Twelve minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Sophia finally called, breathing hard. “The safe is empty.”
A crash sounded behind her.
“Sophia?” Emma said.
“I found something else.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Your mother’s accident wasn’t an accident.”
The line went dead.
Seconds later, smoke rose above the Reeves estate.
Emma ran from the car before Noah could stop her. By the time she reached the gate, alarms were screaming and servants were rushing outside.
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Evelyn stood on the front steps, perfectly composed.
“There she is,” Evelyn said as police vehicles arrived. “The woman who sent my daughter to burn down my house.”
