Chapter 11 - SOPHIE'S SECRET
Sophie knew something was wrong the moment Adrien asked her to sit down.
He was unusually calm.
That frightened her more than anger would have.
Daniel's voice came through the speakerphone.
"Sophie, we need to ask you about your background."
She looked from the phone to Adrien.
"What happened?"
Adrien hesitated.
"My father left a message."
Sophie went pale.
"What message?"
"Ask about Sophie."
For several seconds, she did not speak.
Then she lowered herself into the chair.
"I wondered when this would happen."
Adrien felt his chest tighten.
"When what would happen?"
Sophie looked at him.
"When someone discovered why I came to work here."
The room seemed to shrink.
Adrien stared at her.
"You weren't assigned to me by chance?"
"No."
His jaw tightened.
"Then who sent you?"
Sophie took a deep breath.
"Madeleine Arnaud."
Daniel immediately spoke.
"How do you know Madeleine?"
Sophie looked toward the window.
"She helped my family after my brother died."
Adrien remained silent.
Sophie continued.
"My younger brother, Thomas, was twenty-six. He worked as a technician at a medical equipment manufacturer that supplied products to the Valmont foundation."
She swallowed.
"He discovered that several devices had failed safety tests. His supervisor ordered him to approve the reports anyway."
Adrien felt a sickening familiarity.
Asterion.
The medical foundation.
The falsified records.
"What happened to him?" he asked.
Sophie looked down.
"He refused."
Her voice trembled.
"Two weeks later, he died in what the police called a workplace accident."
Adrien closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Sophie shook her head.
"Madeleine investigated his death. She found evidence that Thomas had been threatened after reporting the safety violations."
"By whom?"
"People connected to Gabriel Delacroix."
Adrien stared at her.
Sophie continued.
"Madeleine believed the same network might target you. When she learned you had been injured, she helped me apply for a position on your care team."
"You were watching me?"
"I was watching for signs that someone was interfering with your treatment."
Adrien felt betrayed.
"You should have told me."
"I wanted to."
"Then why didn't you?"
"Because Madeleine warned me that people around you had been compromised. I didn't know who I could trust."
Adrien laughed bitterly.
"Apparently nobody thought I deserved to know the truth about my own life."
Sophie lowered her head.
"You're right."
The admission surprised him.
She continued.
"I should have told you earlier. I thought I was protecting you, but I made the same mistake everyone else made."
Adrien looked at her.
"What mistake?"
"Deciding what you were allowed to know."
For a long moment, he said nothing.
Then Daniel spoke.
"Did Madeleine instruct you to tamper with the brace?"
Sophie looked horrified.
"No."
"Did she tell you to enter Adrien's room after hours?"
"No. I was assigned to his care. I reported the brace problem because I noticed a change in its configuration and his symptoms were worsening."
Daniel continued questioning her.
Sophie answered every question.
She provided her employment records, messages from Madeleine, and notes she had kept about Adrien's treatment.
She also admitted that she had delayed reporting Victor's suspicious visit because she lacked evidence and feared being dismissed.
Adrien listened.
Her secrecy hurt.
But the facts mattered.
Sophie had noticed the altered brace.
She had arranged the second opinion.
She had helped preserve evidence.
And she had never asked him for money or influence.
Finally, Adrien spoke.
"Did you know my wife was alive?"
Sophie shook her head.
"No."
"My father?"
"No."
"Did Madeleine tell you anything about them?"
"Only that your family had been targeted by people connected to the medical foundation."
Adrien studied her.
"Why did you stay after you realized how dangerous this was?"
Sophie looked at him.
"Because you needed help."
He waited.
She continued.
"And because I didn't want another family to lose someone the way mine lost Thomas."
Adrien felt his anger soften.
Not disappear.
But change.
He understood grief.
He understood what it meant to live with unanswered questions.
And he understood how easily the desire to protect someone could become another form of betrayal.
"I need time," he said.
Sophie nodded.
"I understand."
That evening, Daniel received a call from Madeleine.
She had found an old photograph among Thomas's belongings.
It showed Thomas standing beside a medical device prototype.
Three executives were visible in the background.
Victor.
Gabriel.
And a third man.
Daniel enlarged the image.
The man's face was partly obscured.
But Madeleine recognized him immediately.
She called Adrien.
"Your father was right about the person controlling the operation."
Adrien sat straighter.
"Who?"
Madeleine's voice trembled.
"The man in the photograph is not who he claims to be."
"Explain."
"His name is not Gabriel Delacroix."
Adrien felt a chill.
Madeleine continued.
May you like
"The real Gabriel Delacroix died twenty-three years ago."
END OF CHAPTER 11
