Chapter 13 - Sophia Read the Affidavit Daniel Wrote About HerSophia sat inside her attorney’s office staring at Daniel’s draft affidavit.
Her lawyer, Erin Walsh, said:
“You don’t have to read every line.”
“I do.”
The document described Sophia as unstable.
Infatuated.
Persistent.
It claimed Daniel had repeatedly attempted to end “inappropriate contact.”
Sophia laughed bitterly.
“He booked our hotel rooms.”
“I know.”
“He gave me his house code.”
“I know.”
“He told me he loved me.”
Erin nodded.
Sophia read:
Ms. Blake indicated jealousy toward my wife and expressed fantasies regarding my home.
Sophia looked up.
“That’s a lie.”
“Then we respond with evidence.”
Sophia’s messages showed the opposite.
Daniel:
Imagine waking up here when Claire is gone.
Sophia:
I don’t want her house. I want you.
Another:
DANIEL: Maybe someday you’ll redesign the bedroom.
Sophia:
That feels creepy.
She had forgotten writing it.
Now it saved her.
Sophia sent the evidence to Erin.
Then called Claire.
“I saw what he wrote.”
Claire’s voice remained guarded.
“I’m sorry.”
“He was going to make me the crazy girl.”
“Yes.”
“And you the crazy wife.”
“Yes.”
Sophia went silent.
“We were competing for the same liar.”
Claire almost smiled.
“I wasn’t competing.”
Sophia flinched.
“Right.”
Claire softened slightly.
“What are you going to do?”
“Tell the truth.”
“Good.”
Sophia asked:
“Do you hate me?”
Claire considered.
“Sometimes.”
Sophia appreciated the honesty.
“I hate me sometimes.”
“Don’t use shame as an excuse to stop taking responsibility.”
Sophia went quiet.
Then:
“Okay.”
Claire surprised herself again.
The anger toward Sophia had changed.
Not vanished.
Changed.
Daniel was thirty-five.
Sophia was twenty.
She was an adult.
Responsible.
But Daniel had entered the relationship with fifteen more years of experience, a marriage, access to wealth, and a fully developed plan.
He told Sophia only the version that made him sympathetic.
Sophia still chose the affair.
Claire could hold both facts.
That afternoon, Claire received an email from the national hospitality group interested in investing in her company.
They were pausing discussions.
Reason:
recent concerns regarding internal governance and ownership uncertainty.
Claire stared.
“What ownership uncertainty?”
Her CFO answered:
“Someone contacted them.”
Daniel.
Claire knew before they traced it.
The investor had received a letter from Daniel’s attorney asserting that Daniel might have a marital interest in Claire Weston Studio’s appreciation.
Legally, he could assert claims in divorce.
But the timing was designed to frighten the investor.
Maya was furious.
“He’s trying to damage value so you feel pressure.”
Claire looked at the paused investment.
“This costs me millions.”
“Potentially.”
“What can we do?”
“Respond accurately.”
Claire did.
No emotional accusation.
No affair details.
She sent the investor:
Corporate ownership records.
Claire’s sole shareholder status.
Confirmation that divorce property claims did not alter current company ownership.
Independent counsel contact.
Then she called Daniel.
First direct call in days.
He answered immediately.
“Claire.”
“You contacted Meridian Hospitality.”
Silence.
“My attorney did.”
“Why?”
“To preserve my rights.”
“You have no ownership rights in the company today.”
“I may have marital claims.”
“Which a divorce court can address.”
Daniel said:
“You were going to sell before I got anything.”
“It was a minority investment.”
“Same difference.”
“No.”
He laughed bitterly.
“See? This is what I mean. Everything is yours until I prove otherwise.”
Claire’s voice became quiet.
“You’re willing to damage the value you say you deserve.”
Daniel went silent.
She continued.
“That tells me this was never about fairness.”
“What was it about?”
“Winning.”
Daniel ended the call.
Ten minutes later, Claire received a message from Sophia.
A photograph of Daniel’s old separation spreadsheet.
At the bottom was a line Claire had missed.
If studio deal stalls, Claire becomes more settlement-motivated.
Claire stared.
Daniel had planned for this too.
May you like
If he could not capture the company’s rising value—
he would threaten the deal until Claire paid him to disappear.
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