The Betrayed Oath

Chapter 3

Sophia, don't tell me you're surprised. Elise's voice played on a loop in my head, each word sharp as a blade. Men like Alex… they always have a backup plan. And women like you? You're just the warm-up act.

A warm-up act. Is that all I'd ever been to Alex?

"Sophia, why are you doing this to yourself?" Grace's voice crackled through the phone, laced with concern. "Digging into it isn't going to change anything. It'll just hurt more."

She didn't get it. She didn't know the half of it.

Because the more I pulled at the threads of Alex's lies, the more they unraveled. And what lay underneath was worse than I ever imagined.

The glow of my laptop screen cast eerie shadows on the walls. My pulse pounded in my ears as I stared at the transaction history on the screen. A series of payments, Alex's account to Elise's.

Not a one-time mistake. Ongoing.

My breath hitched as I grabbed my phone and called him. He answered on the second ring.

"We need to talk."

Fifteen minutes later, Alex stood in my doorway, his face pale, eyes darting between me and the screen. I held up my phone, the evidence glaring back at him.

"You owe me more than silence, Alex. What the hell is this?" My voice cracked, but I refused to let the hurt show.

His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. "Sophia, I, "

"Don't lie to me. Not again." The words were sharp, edged with months, years, of betrayal. "Are you paying her to keep quiet? Or is this something else?"

The room felt suffocating. The weight of his silence pressed down on me like a vice.

"It's not what you think," he finally muttered.

I let out a hollow laugh. "Oh? Then enlighten me. Because from where I'm standing, it looks like you've been financing your mistress."

His shoulders sagged. Guilt flickered in his eyes, just for a second, but I caught it.

"She threatened me," he admitted, voice barely above a whisper. "If I didn't send the money, she said she'd ruin everything."

My stomach churned. Threatened? Alex wasn't the victim here. He was complicit.

"And you thought keeping me in the dark was the solution?" I spat.

He looked away, jaw tight. His carefully constructed facade was crumbling, piece by piece.

"I was trying to protect you," he said weakly.

"Protect me?" I echoed, laughing bitterly. "By lying? By letting her control our lives?"

I took a step back, the distance necessary to keep from completely losing it. Elise's smirk flashed in my mind, so damn smug, so damn certain she'd won.

Not this time.

"I'm done, Alex." My voice came out steadier than I expected. "Done with your lies, your excuses, all of it."

He called after me, but I didn't stop. Didn't even look back.

The night air slapped against my skin as I stepped outside, my hands shaking as I dialed Grace's number.

"I need your help," I said when she picked up. "There's something about Elise… something I have to uncover."

Hours passed in a blur as Grace and I combed through records, social media, anything that could give us leverage.

Then,

"Wait." Grace's voice sharpened. She turned her laptop toward me, eyes gleaming.

On the screen was a grainy photo of Elise wrapped around an older man. The caption read:

Elise Montgomery and Thomas Kerrington spotted at gala.

My stomach dropped. Thomas Kerrington. A name that dripped power, wealth, and scandal.

Grace exhaled, her expression dark. "She's not just a gold-digger. She's a professional."

Article after article connected Elise to powerful men, men whose lives had mysteriously fallen apart after meeting her.

And one name kept surfacing. Over and over.

Alex.

Elise wasn't just using him. She was destroying him.

"Sophia," Grace said cautiously. "If she's capable of this…"

I shook my head, already making my decision.

"I need to know the truth, Grace. All of it."

And the truth came at a price.

I found the final piece of the puzzle on a bank statement, Elise's account details. Alex's payments were there, just like I'd seen.

But so was something else.

Another set of transactions. From Elise's account… to Thomas Kerrington.

My breath stalled in my lungs.

"What the hell is this?" I whispered.

Grace's face was pale. "It's leverage."

Leverage for what? A setup? A cover-up? The pieces weren't fitting, until I saw the date of the last transfer.

One week ago.

"She's still working with him," I murmured. "And Alex… he's their pawn."

Before I could process it, my phone buzzed.

A message. No name. Just a number I didn't recognize.

"Meet me tomorrow. Midnight. The truth will cost you, Sophia."

A shiver ran down my spine. I didn't need to guess who sent it.

Elise.

The screen dimmed, but her words burned in my mind.

The clock was ticking. And I was running out of time.