Chapter 3 The Price of Revenge
“Because Alexander ruined me too,” Victor said, his voice tight. “Five years ago, I was his mentor at Blackwood Enterprises. I taught him everything deals, mergers, how to win.”
He paused, jaw clenched. “Then he stabbed me in the back. He stole my idea for a massive tech deal and framed me for embezzlement to save himself. I lost my company overnight. My name was dragged through the mud. I spent two years in court while his lawyers buried me.”
Sophia swallowed hard. “So he destroyed you too…”
Victor nodded. “And now he’s doing the same thing to you. He’s using your family’s business to bury his scandals.”
He held her gaze. “That’s why I stepped in.”
Her heart skipped. “Stepped in how?”
“The money,” he said calmly. “The five million in your offshore account I sent it.”
Sophia froze. It fit. Every loose piece suddenly clicked into place.
“The envelope,” she whispered. “At the church.”
Victor nodded once. “A head start. You’ll need every advantage if you plan to take him down.”
His voice hardened. “Alexander took everything from me. Now I’ll help you take everything from him.”
Sophia narrowed her eyes. “Why don’t you go after him yourself?”
Victor let out a dry laugh. “Because I can’t. I’m burned in their world. My name is poison.”
Then his gaze sharpened. “But you? You’re still clean. You’re the woman he humiliated. The bride he abandoned. People will pity you. Underestimate you.” He paused. “That’s your advantage.”
Victor stood and gestured toward a private gate nearby. “Come with me. I’ll arrange a private jet. No flight records. We leave tonight to a different country. I’ll explain everything on the way. The people I know. The evidence I’ve collected.”
Sophia’s heart pounded. She stayed seated.
She looked up at him. “How do I know you’re not working for Alexander?”
Victor didn’t rush to answer. He met her eyes, steady and calm.
“If I were working for Alexander,” he said, “you’d already be on a flight back to New York broken, silent, and owned by him. Instead, I’m offering you a way out.”
Sophia looked toward the gate. Then back at him.
Her voice was low, but firm. “If I come with you… there’s no turning back.”
Victor nodded once. “That’s the point.”
Sophia rose to her feet.
“Then let’s go,” she said.
THE NEXT MORNING - PARIS
The Plane touched down just as the sky turned soft pink and gold. Sophia stepped out into the cool morning air, a scarf wrapped around her newly dyed auburn hair, dark glasses hiding her tired eyes.
Inside the cabin, Victor Lang opened his briefcase and spread a few folders across the table.
“Get some rest if you can,” he said. “Once we land, nothing stays the same.”
She didn’t look at him. “Sleep ended the day I was left at the altar.”
Victor watched her for a moment, then nodded. “I understand.”
He slid a passport toward her.
Sophia glanced down and froze.
The name wasn’t hers.
Elise Monreau. French citizen. Born in Lyon.
No record. No past.
Her throat tightened. “This can’t be real.”
“It is,” Victor said evenly. “Alexander took your old name. Your old life. This one belongs to you now.”
Sophia traced the edge of the passport with her thumb. It felt heavy. Permanent.
“And Paris?” she asked. “Why Paris?”
Victor leaned back slightly. “Because Paris is where Alexander first learned to steal… and where his biggest mistakes are buried.”
Sophia’s eyes narrowed. That got her attention.
A few minutes later, Victor walked beside her, carrying her small bag. A sleek black Mercedes waited. The driver nodded at Victor and opened the door.
“First stop your new home,” Victor said. “Then we meet the woman who will change everything.”
Sophia slid into the leather seat. “You keep talking about her… who is she?”
Victor gave a small smile. “Margaux Duval. She eats men like Alexander for breakfast.”
SAFE HOUSE ~ LE MARAIS
The apartment was perfect. Third floor in the Marais, wooden beams, a balcony overlooking a hidden courtyard.
Fresh flowers were on the table, and new clothes hung neatly in the closet.
Victor gestured around the room. “I had everything handled. Clothes, shoes, the basics. All in your size.”
Sophia stared at him. “You planned all this?”
“I planned to stay alive,” Victor said evenly. “Rest tonight. Take care of yourself. You don’t need to think about anything else.”
She hesitated. “Shouldn’t we—”
He shook his head. “Not yet. Today is for rest. Tomorrow at three, we go to Margaux’s place. That’s when things get serious.”
Sophia let out a slow breath, her shoulders finally easing. “Serious,” she echoed. “I’m ready.”
Victor studied her, then nodded. “Good. Because once this starts, there’s no going back.”
He left.
That evening, Sophia stood alone on the balcony, the city quiet below. She unclasped the diamond necklace from her wedding day and held it in her palm.
She whispered to the night, “Sophia Hart is gone.”
After a beat, she closed her fingers around the diamonds.
“Elise Moreau begins.”
MARGAUX GRAND TOWNHOUSE ~ PARIS
The next day, Victor’s car pulled up in front of a grand townhouse near the Champs-Élysées. White stone walls, tall windows, flowers spilling from boxes everywhere.
A butler opened the door. “Madame Duval is expecting you.”
They walked through bright rooms filled with art. In the sunlit sitting room, Margaux Duval waited.
She was tall, silver hair swept into a perfect twist, cream silk flowing around her like quiet power. Her green eyes took everything in.
She rose as Sophia entered.
“So,” Margaux said calmly, her French accent smooth, “the bride he left behind.”
Sophia met her gaze. “No. The woman he underestimated.”
Margaux’s lips curved into a faint smile. “Good. Anger can be useful. Sit.”
She poured tea into delicate cups, the steam curling between them.
Victor opened his mouth to speak, but Margaux lifted a hand. “Leave us, Victor. I want to hear from her.”
He nodded, bowing slightly, and stepped back.
Margaux handed Sophia a cup. “Start from the beginning. Tell me everything he did the ugly, the cruel, every last bit.”
Sophia took a slow breath. “He called off the wedding. Said he was in love with my best friend. They walked out together, in front of everyone.” She paused. “But it wasn’t sudden. They’d planned it for months.”
Margaux didn’t blink.
“They used me,” Sophia went on. “Through the merger. Through my family’s company. He’s hiding fraud behind it.”
When Sophia finished, Margaux set her cup down with a soft click. Her gaze sharpened.
“You’ve been blind to him,” Margaux said quietly, her green eyes sharp. “But now… you will see everything. And you will strike back the right way.”
Sophia’s lips pressed together. “I will. I have to.”
Margaux nodded. “Good. Anger without control is useless. But with skill… it’s power.”
She leaned back, voice calm but edged with steel. “You should know he did the same thing to me. The same trick. He makes women fall for him, then uses them to reach their empires.”
Her tone darkened. “Ten years ago, he spread lies about my accounts. Bought my debts. I had to sell my first company for nothing. Almost lost everything my home, my name, my pride.”
Sophia leaned forward, eyes wide. “How did you survive?”
Margaux’s lips lifted in a small, knowing smile. “I vanished for a year. Learned new games. Came back stronger. Now I have more than he ever will… and the best part? He doesn’t even know I exist.”
She moved to the window, looking out at the city lights. “Victor tells me you want revenge.”
“I do,” Sophia said, her voice tight. “I want him to feel what I felt. Small. Broken. Humiliated. And watched by everyone.”
Margaux turned to face her, the silk of her dress catching the light. “Then you stay with me. Three years. These are my rules: you leave your old life behind. No contact with the outside world. For three years, you become someone else. Someone dangerous. Someone untouchable.”
Sophia blinked. “What about my family? My parents?”
Margaux’s voice hardened. “Victor and I will release a story to the media. That while heartbroken, you tried to escape to another country… and were involved in an accident. People will think you’re gone forever.”
Sophia’s heart clenched. “That will destroy my parents… my loved ones. They’ll think I’m dead!”
Margaux stepped closer, her gaze piercing. “Do you want revenge, or do you want to protect them? You can’t have both. To make your enemies believe you’re gone… you have to vanish completely. So girl… make up your damn mind ?.”
