Diane’s POV
My phone vibrated against the nightstand, jolting from a rare mont of peace. Joan had finally convinced to take a nap after all the drama that has taken over my life recently. I blinked at the screen, my heart skipping when I saw Noah’s na.
"Hello?" I answered, voice still thick with sleep.
"So it’s true then." Noah’s voice ca through cold and hard, nothing like the warmth I’d grown accustod to. "You’re pregnant."
The last remnants of drowsiness evaporated instantly. I sat up straight, one hand instinctively moving to my belly.
"Noah, I—"
"I had to find out from the internet, Diane. Your interview is trending everywhere. Photos of you with your baby bump. And in all our conversations, you never thought to ntion you’re pregnant?"
I closed my eyes, guilt washing over in waves. I’d been so focused on the Sophie and Liam revelation, on my father being alive, that I hadn’t even considered how Noah would react to learning about my pregnancy this way.
"I’m sorry," I said, aning it. "I wanted to tell you, but—"
"But what?" His voice cracked with emotion. "But you didn’t trust enough? After everything we’ve been through?"
I rubbed my temple, feeling a headache forming. "It wasn’t about trust, Noah. I was being careful. I didn’t want to risk Liam finding out."
"Risk Liam finding out?" The hurt in his voice sliced through . "You thought I would tell him? That I would betray your confidence?"
"Not intentionally," I clarified quickly. "But you were his best friend for years. You two still talk. Things slip out in conversation. I couldn’t take that chance."
"Things slip out?" Noah repeated, his voice rising. "Is that what you think of ? That I’m so careless gossip who can’t keep a secret?"
I sighed, pressing my fingers harder against my temple. "That’s not what I ant."
"Then what did you an, Diane? Because from where I’m standing, it sounds like after everything—after I helped you get that eting with the board, after I stood by you even when it cost my friendship with Liam—you still see as his friend first. As soone who might hurt you."
The raw emotion in his voice made my chest tighten. I hadn’t considered how my caution would feel from his perspective—like a fundantal lack of faith in him.
"Noah, please try to understand. I’ve been betrayed by everyone I trusted most. My husband. My sister. Even my parents lied to my entire life about my father. I was just trying to protect myself and my babies."
"From ?" The question hung in the air, heavy with accusation and hurt.
"No, not from you specifically," I said, struggling to explain. "From any possibility of Liam finding out. I couldn’t risk it."
"You know I haven’t even seen Liam since the charity gala?" Noah’s voice had gone quiet now, which sohow felt worse than his anger. "After I saw how he treated you, I cut ties. He’s called countless tis, but I haven’t picked up once. But you still couldn’t trust with this."
I swallowed hard, guilt expanding in my chest. "I’m sorry, Noah. I should have told you."
"Diane." His tone changed, beca hesitant. "I need to ask you sothing, and I need you to be honest."
Sothing in his voice made brace myself. "Okay."
"Are you using to get back at Liam?"
The question hit like a physical blow, knocking the breath from my lungs. My mind raced through our interactions, the late-night phone calls, the kiss, the weekend getaway, the way I’d leaned on him for support with the board. Had I been using him?
The silence stretched between us as I couldn’t form a response.
"Noah, I’ve been through a lot," I finally managed. "I’m not sure I want to have this conversation now."
"Diane." His voice hardened. "Tell the truth. Are you using ? Is that what this is?"
Deep down, I knew there was truth to his accusation. In the beginning, after Liam’s betrayal, I had seen Noah primarily as a ans to an end—a connection to the board, a way to take Synergy Sphere from Liam, to use Noah to get back at Liam just like what he had done to with my sister. I’d been so consud with my need for revenge that I hadn’t considered Noah’s feelings, how my actions might affect him.
But sowhere along the way, things had changed. I’d co to value his support, his perspective, his friendship. There had been monts when Liam was the furthest thing from my mind during our conversations.
Before I could formulate a response that captured this complexity, Noah spoke again, his voice flat.
"Anyway, I managed to talk to Mr. Guerrero and so of the other board mbers. They want to et with you. You can call him directly now." The bitterness in his tone was unmistakable. "Since that’s all you’ve ever wanted from —to use to enact your revenge."
"Noah, that’s not entirely true," I protested, my throat tight with unshed tears. "Yes, at first maybe, but—"
"Please, Diane," he cut off. "For now, I’m staying away from you and from this whole situation with Liam."
The betrayal in his voice pierced my heart. "Noah, please just let explain—"
But the line had already gone dead. I imdiately tried calling back, only to receive an automated ssage that the number I was trying to reach had restricted my calls.
"Damn it!" I threw my phone onto the bed, tears of frustration sliding down my cheeks. Another relationship damaged, perhaps beyond repair. Another person I’d hurt with my single-minded focus on revenge.
I was still sitting there, staring at the wall, when the bedroom door opened. My mother stood in the doorway, hesitating.
"Diane? Is everything alright? I heard you shouting."
I wiped hastily at my tears. "I’m fine. Just... just a difficult call."
She stepped into the room, concern etched on her face. "I’ve been looking for you. I have sothing important to show you."
I gestured for her to co in, grateful for the distraction from my thoughts about Noah. She sat beside on the bed, setting a manila folder on my lap.
"What’s this?" I asked, opening it curiously.
"Evidence," she said simply. "Against Liam."
My fingers trembled as I lifted the first docunt—a deed to the mansion Liam and I had bought together, now solely in his na. I flipped to the next page, finding records of offshore accounts, details of money siphoned from Synergy Sphere’s accounts, docuntation of illegal dealings and bribes and lastly the property where Synergy sphere sits on.
"Oh my God," I whispered, my eyes widening as I realized what I was holding. "This is... this is everything. All his dirty secrets."
I looked up at my mother in disbelief. "How did you get this? Where did this co from?"
She hesitated, her eyes dropping to her hands. "It’s from Sophie."
My body went rigid, the na landing like a slap. "Sophie? How did she get these? Is she still seeing Liam?" I let out a bitter laugh. "How shaless. Does she think she can fool by bringing all this evidence to buy her way back into my good graces?"
I shook my head vehently. "Well, newsflash—I’m not forgiving her that easily. I’ll use these docunts, of course. I’d be a fool not to. But she should stay away. Far away."
My mother placed a gentle hand on mine, stilling my angry movents as I shuffled through the papers. "Diane, listen to . Sophie didn’t do this to be forgiven."
"Then why?" I demanded. "Why would she suddenly decide to help after everything she’s done?"
"Because Liam is planning to kill you," my mother said softly, her eyes filled with fear.
"She called to et yesterday. I didn’t tell you because I knew you might not approve, and because you’re still so angry with her. Though, by the ti I got ho you were sleeping so I didn’t want to wake you. Diane, she risked her life to get these docunts."
"What do you an, ’risked her life’?" I asked, suddenly uneasy.
My mother pulled out her phone, tapping the screen a few tis before handing it to . "Listen to this. She recorded it last night."
I took the phone cautiously, pressing play. Liam’s voice filled the room, slurred but unmistakable:
"Then I’ll make sure she regrets it. I’ve got people who can take care of problems like this. Make them look like accidents."
Sophie’s voice next: "Like at the farrs market? Was that supposed to be an accident?"
Liam’s cold laugh sent shivers down my spine. "Would have been, if that lawyer friend of hers hadn’t pulled her out of the way. Perfect opportunity, wasted."
"And now?"
"Now I need to be more careful. But there are other ways. Ways that can’t be traced back to ."
I stopped the recording, my hands shaking violently. "He really did try to kill that day. And he’s still planning to..." I couldn’t finish the sentence, my mind reeling with the confirmation of what I’d suspected but couldn’t prove.
"Sophie drugged him," my mother continued, her voice low. "After he fell asleep, she broke into his safe and stole these docunts. She’s staying in a hotel now, afraid to go back to her apartnt in case he figures out what she’s done."
The image of my sister—the woman I’d sworn to hate eternally—risking everything to protect was impossible to reconcile with the betrayal that had torn us apart.
"Why would she do that?" I whispered, more to myself than to my mother. "After everything..."
"Because you’re her sister," my mother said simply. "And despite everything, that still ans sothing to her."
I sat in stunned silence, looking down at the docunts in my lap—physical proof of both Liam’s cris and Sophie’s unexpected courage.
"I don’t know what to feel," I admitted finally. "About any of this."
My mother squeezed my hand. "You don’t have to decide right now. Just know that Sophie may have done sothing truly unforgivable, but she’s trying, in her own way, to protect you now."
I nodded slowly, my emotions too tangled to sort through. I turned back to the docunts, focusing on what they ant for my fight against Liam.
"These offshore accounts," I said, studying the numbers. "He’s been hiding millions. Money that should have been declared as part of our assets in the divorce."
As I flipped through more pages, anger replaced my confusion. "Look at this," I said, pointing to a series of transactions. "He’s been systematically draining company funds into these private accounts for years."
The more I read, the clearer it beca that Liam’s financial cris went far beyond hiding assets from —he’d been defrauding Synergy Sphere.
"That son of a bitch," I muttered, my hands starting to shake again, but this ti with rage rather than fear. "All this ti, he’s been stealing from the company while accusing of trying to take what doesn’t belong to ."
A strange, fierce joy suddenly surged through . I looked up at my mother, a smile spreading across my face. "He thinks he can kill ? Well, let him try."
My mother’s eyes widened with alarm. "Diane, you need to be careful. This isn’t a ga."
"Oh, I know that," I said, gathering the papers and stacking them neatly. "Better than anyone. But Liam made a crucial mistake."
"What’s that?"
I placed a protective hand over my now heavy belly, feeling one of the twins shift beneath my palm. "He thought I was broken. That he’d stripped of everything—my marriage, my dignity, my future. But he was wrong."
I stood up, suddenly energized. "I’m going to keep these till Joan gets ho. With her legal expertise and these docunts, we can destroy him. Legally. Permanently."
"But what about the threat to your life?" my mother pressed. "Shouldn’t we go to the police?"
I nodded. "Let wait for Joan to get here first."
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