Chapter 3 - Kolya
I stared at the door in disbelief. How could she pretend not to know who I was after everything she had done? I couldn’t believe her gall. I turned and headed to my office. She won’t be able to keep up the act for long. Not now that she’s married to me. The truth will come out.
Standing by the window in my office, I poured myself a drink.
Staring out, my mind continued to dwell on this predicament.
One thing was for sure. She was a good actress.
Maybe she missed her profession. If this lawyer, who is screwing over people who didn’t do anything, doesn’t work out, she could always audition for a movie or something.
Maybe if they do a remake of Overboard, she could play in that. I smiled, thinking of her on a yacht going overboard. It would make an interesting movie.
I had supper alone and sent her food up to the room with one of the maids. Tomorrow I will face her again and try to sort out this shit pile she caused.
As dawn broke, I got up, dressed, and headed to the kitchen. I bought a variety of herbal teas. Yet, I didn’t know which she would like. Closing my eyes, I picked one and added a bag to the cup. I decided to take her breakfast up myself. I wanted to see if her memory was any better this morning.
While I waited for the tray, I had two slices of toast, some bacon, and my morning coffee. Heading up, I wondered if I would find any information at her house. With a woman like her, I doubted it, but I would send some men over to check just in case.
I unlocked the door and entered. Sophia was standing by the window, her back to me. “Good morning,” I said, closing the door behind me.
“Morning,” she mumbled back, not turning.
Stepping to the dresser, I placed the tray down as I spoke. “I brought you breakfast and some tea.”
“You have the wrong person,” she said. Her voice was soft and filled with sorrow. “I don’t know who you are, what you want, or what you think I did. But I know you have the wrong person.”
For a brief second, I felt sorry for her, then I thought of all the cases against me. My concern was quickly replaced with anger. “You will stay in this room until you tell me the truth!” I spat at her and left, locking the door again.
I fumed around until lunchtime. My mind went over the evidence again and again. How dare she deny it? I did my research, and I knew it was her. This time, when I entered, she was sitting in the corner of the room on the chair close to the window.
“You ready to talk about it yet?” I asked, placing the tray down next to the other one. I was glad to see she ate most of the food. At least she wasn’t starving herself.
“You have the wrong person. I do not know what you want or who you are. Please tell me.” She replied sulkily.
I picked up the breakfast tray and left feeling angry all over again. How dare she deny it. Supper was the same as breakfast and lunch. All she kept repeating was that she didn’t know who I was or what I wanted from her. I left the tray in the same spot and locked her in again.
I skipped supper, replacing it with a drink I took out to the back porch. She will break, she will come clean and tell me who put her up to this. No person can live in isolation for long, and a woman like her wouldn’t last a week.
The next day was more of the same, and the next. I’d take her breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and she’d proclaim her innocence. She kept insisting I had the wrong person. She kept saying she didn’t know who I was or what was going on.
I was getting tired of the routine. I considered withholding her meals, but starving her seemed too extreme. Would that achieve anything? Probably not a smart move. She was more resilient than I had anticipated. She had to know, after all, her name was in all the documents.
By Friday, I was running out of ideas on how to make her admit to it all without torturing her. As I brought up her supper, I paused at the door. I inhaled slowly and exhaled through my nose. The tray rested steadily in my palm. I will try again.
Unlocking the door, I pushed it open and walked in. “Dinner, dear,” I said in a soft tone. Pushing the door closed lightly with my foot, my eyes land on her curled up against the headboard. Her back was pressed tightly to it. Her feet were drawn up, and her head rested on her knees.
“Listen, please,” she said, lifting her head slowly. I could see the glistering of tears as they swelled in her brown eyes.
Stepping towards the dresser, I placed the tray down without saying a word.
“I swear,” she continued. “You’ve got the wrong woman. I’ve never met you before. I don’t…”
Just like that, like a thin twig, my patience snapped.
Lifting my head to face her, I couldn’t keep it in anymore.
I noticed her body relaxing slightly, as if she were relieved that I hadn’t lunged at her.
I didn’t even give her time to continue as I snapped back at her.
“That’s funny, really funny considering you’ve filed eight lawsuits against me! ”
Her posture was rigid again. I could see utter confusion on her face. “What?” she breathed out softly. “I’ve never filed a lawsuit against you or anyone else, for that matter.”
The act was getting old, and her words twisted something dark inside me. “We’re married,” I spat back. “What’s the point of lying to me now!” Spinning on my heels, I rushed to the door. “Eat, I’ll have someone collect the plate later,” I added before slamming the door behind me and locking it.
Normally, I’d take it back when I brought the next meal, but I needed time. I didn’t know if I would be bringing the next meal. I was tired of this game. If she couldn’t be honest, maybe she deserved to be completely alone. I didn’t feel like going through another session of denial with her.
Walking to my office, I poured a drink and sat down behind my computer. Staring at the screen, I wondered if there was someone I could ask to assist with a deep dive. How would I know the truth and get to the bottom of this?
If I could learn everything about her life, maybe she would open up if I confronted her with it. My fingers flew over the keys. Using her name and address, within seconds, the information appeared. All I could find was what I already had.
I couldn’t find anything new or different about her. So, why was she so insistent that she was the wrong person? I spent most of the evening battling on different sites. By midnight, I felt desperate.
Picking up the phone, I called my sister, Clara. Maybe her husband, Iosif, would know who could help me. All I needed was a name. I knew it was late, but in this life, no one sleeps.
The phone rang twice, and then Clara’s gentle voice came through. “Brother, what’s wrong? Is everything okay?”
Taking a deep breath, I replayed why I was calling as quickly as I could, not wanting to keep her.
“I’m so sorry to bother you so late. Everything is fine.
I need help with a deep dive into someone.
I didn’t know who to ask. I’m sorry for disturbing you, but do you maybe know who would be able to get intel for me? ”
I could hear the concern in her tone as she replied. “Yes, sure, no problem. Just give me the name, and I’ll have someone send you what they can find. Are you sure everything is fine? Is there something I can do?”
“All good, sis, thank you so much. I’m texting you with the name. Sorry for disturbing you so late. Have a good one,” I said before hanging up and texting her.
I passed the hallway for the rest of the evening. By five, I got an email. Rushing to my computer, I opened the file received anonymously. As I read through the information, I couldn’t believe it. Sophia was set up just like me.
The information relayed her entire life. Where she was born, grew up, her schools, friends, and family. It listed her father and mother, their occupations, medical records, and even tax filings. There was a lot more than I could have asked for.
Skimming through it, I found most of it to be useless until I came to her employment history. The firm’s name wasn’t visible on the employment record. However, the resume and records appear quite impressive.
She progressed from intern to general assistant to personal assistant within a year. Re-reading it, I scrolled to the bottom of the page to see what firm it was. I noticed she had also completed studies to become a lawyer, yet it didn’t indicate whether she had her license.
I sat frozen in the moment as my eyes caught the firm’s name. How can she be the boss if she’s the personal assistant? Is Sophia innocent after all?
Scrolling back up, I read it again and again. My brain slowly processed what I missed. Sophia was innocent! I took the wrong woman and forced her into marriage. I’ve been treating her like, like… Sitting back, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. My chest felt tight as urgency filled me.
The owner of the company was, in fact, a woman called Melody Liams. Searching for her name, I found it all. She was a high-profile lawyer and the owner of the company.
My blood ran cold as I scanned the information I could find on Melody. Melody knew I’d come for her, and she changed the basics so it would reflect Sophia and not her. How cold can a woman be to use her assistant like this? She filed the lawsuits using Sophia’s name.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. Pushing my hands through my hair, I swallowed hard. My eyes were glued to the screen. “Please let me be wrong, let these details be incorrect. Oh, God, please,” I huffed.
I checked and re-checked the details, did more searches.
All the evidence made it clear. I ruined an innocent woman’s life.
This wasn’t just my fault. This cowardly lawyer used Sophia as a shield.
The veins on my head pumped as my anger ignited.
I never stopped for a second to even consider her youthfulness.