Chapter 8.

The boardroom, was tense and filled with murmurs as Harold Montgomery faced his investors, clients, and business partners. His once powerful demeanor seemed to shrink as he tried to defend himself against accusations of corruption and unethical behavior. Harold, who used to be respected for his honesty, now found himself in a difficult position.

Harold coughed before speaking, his voice breaking. "These reports are not true," he said, sounding less sure than usual. "None of that is true. The Montgomery family has always been honest and behaved with integrity." However, nobody was paying attention. They had all seen the damning reports plastered across newspapers and screens, meticulously curated by Donald Sinclair and his allies. Harold could see the evidence they clutched in their hands, proof of his so-called deceit, crafted to perfection. The once unshakeable bonds of loyalty between Harold and his partners were now unraveling in front of him.

One of the investors broke in, saying, "We've agreed to end our contracts with you, Harold. Your reputation is damaged." "We can't afford to be linked to this... with you." Harold tried to speak up, but he couldn't find the right words. They all ignored him and left the room without looking at back. When the last partner left, Harold was left alone in the big boardroom, feeling the sound of the closing door reminding him of his failure.

That evening, Harold went back to the Montgomery mansion, feeling weighed down as he walked into the house that used to be grand. His shame weighed heavily on him, and the atmosphere in the house was filled with tension. As he walked on the marble floor, the sound of his footsteps could be heard echoing through the empty hallways. He then went to the dining room and gathered all the family members there.

Eleanor sat at the front of the long polished table, sitting up straight, staring at him with a mix of worry and concern. Across from her, Nathaniel and Victoria exchanged uneasy glances, sensing the gravity of their father's demeanor. Sophia, seated at the far end, watched in silence, her heart sinking as she braced for whatever devastating news was about to unfold.

Harold walked slowly to the table, his hands shaking as he held onto a chair. He couldn't sit down yet. The room was quiet except for the gentle ticking of the grandfather clock.

"I—" He tried to speak, but his voice got stuck in his throat. He couldn't look at them, not yet. "The business... the contracts... they're gone." " Eleanor gasped, and Nathaniel moved uncomfortably in his chair, feeling the tension increase between them. Victoria glanced at her brother, looking for comfort but not finding any.

"What do you mean... gone?" Eleanor questioned, her voice steely and quiet.

She already seen the news but didn't know that it had gotten to this. Harold eventually slumped in his chair, lowering his head. "They've terminated everything. The investors, the clients... Donald Sinclair... he orchestrated everything, and I—" He paused, biting back the bitterness in his throat. "I couldn't stop it. They've accused me of corruption, of deceit. The reports... they made it impossible for anyone to stay."

The table fell into silence, feeling heavy and suffocating. Sophia was shocked, covering her mouth with her hand, and Victoria looked tense, her usual calm breaking for the first time. "We lost everything?" Nathaniel asked in a low, disbelieving voice, clenching his hands into fists. "How could you allow this happen Dad?"

Harold glanced up and met his son's eyes, which were filled with a deep pain close to despair. "I didn't allow it to happen, Nathaniel. I have been fighting." "I tried my best, but it's over," the words lingered heavily in the air.

Victoria quickly stood up, causing her chair to screech against the marble floor. She asked, "Is the Montgomery name really ruined?" "Have we lost everything we've created and worked so hard for?" Harold couldn't muster the courage to respond.

Eleanor sat still, looking at the table with a pale face. "What are we going to do next?" she asked quietly, showing that she was starting to understand the seriousness of their situation. "We will need to sell," Harold replied sadly. The house, the cars, all of it. "There is no alternative."

The next week Sophia watched as the movers had already begin to strip the away valuable items from the mansion. Each piece of furniture being removed felt like a part of their history being lost.

She looked at her dad when he came in, looking pale and tired from the stress of his failing business. "We're losing it all," Harold said quietly to himself as he sat down in a chair. He covered his face with his hands, feeling too overwhelmed to talk to his family. The room was really quiet, only interrupted by the front door creaking now and then as the movers took away another valuable item from the Montgomery family.

Nobody could find the right words to say, not even Eleanor, who was always the one keeping the family united. But now, even her strength had faded away along with their wealth.

Victoria, ever the sharp-tongued one, couldn't hold back any longer. "This is your fault," she spat at Sophia, her voice slicing through the silence like a knife. "You brought this shame on us. We wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't—"

" Eleanor said firmly. She struggled to stay calm, but she couldn't ignore the fact that Victoria was right. "We're all suffering because of what you did, Sophia," Victoria continued, her voice colder than ever. "You are causing us to lose everything."

Sophia felt her heart beating fast, filled with guilt and shame. She tried to speak up to explain herself but couldn't find the words. Harold, still in shock, said nothing, his silence louder than any accusation.

Sophia was fed up with it all—their disappointment weighing heavily on her, the accusing looks making her feel like she was to blame for everything. She couldn't handle it anymore. She left the room without saying anything, slamming the door behind her and crying non-stop.

The sound of the door closing and her tears filled the empty halls of the mansion, shaking the family's strong foundation to its core. As time went by, things kept getting worse.

The Montgomery family had to leave their Victorian mansion, to a smaller, less fancy one far away from the city. It was a big change - they used to live in a huge Victorian mansion that showed off how successful they were. Now, they were in a simple home with plain walls that didn't feel very comfortable.

Harold gathered the family one evening, his face gaunt and defeated. The dining room, where they used to have fancy meals, was now a chilly room with mismatched furniture's scattered around.

"We're done," Harold said bitterly as he sat down. His eyes, which were once proud, now looked hollow and distant. He looked at Sophia, and the disapproval in his eyes was clear. "You, Sophia, have only brought shame upon us,".

Sophia felt sick to her stomach. She was shocked by what her father was saying. The man who used to care for her now saw her as a stranger who ruined all his hard work. "You've..." betrayed us," Harold continued, speaking in a cold tone.

Eleanor was standing next to him, with red eyes from crying, but she remained silent. Victoria stood in the corner, with a smirk on her face, not a bit bothered by Sophia's tears. Harold declared, "You can't stay here anymore," in a firm voice, making his decision clear.

Sophia felt the ground moving under her feet. The words hurt like a punch. She turned to Nathaniel, wishing he would speak up for her, but even he, her supportive brother, stayed quiet. "Dad, please..." Nathaniel's voice was barely audible as he attempted to ask for help for her.

Harold gave him a stern look to stop him from talking. "She has caused too much trouble," he said angrily. "There is no place for her here now."

That evening, Sophia gathered up the few things she still had. She walked around the house quietly, feeling heavy with the sad truth that she had no place to go. Her father's words kept replaying in her head, making her feel even more guilty and ashamed. She stopped at the front door, her hand shaking as she tried to open it. Eleanor showed up at the entrance, looking worried. "Where are you planning to go?" Eleanor inquired, her voice sounding firm, but there was a hint of worry in her eyes. Sophia avoided looking at her and quietly said, "Any where but here."

She opened the door and walked out into the chilly night. The bus was almost empty, with only the sound of the engine breaking the silence. Sophia watched the dark landscape go by as she sat near the window. The fog outside was dense, making everything look strange and eerie.

She didn't have a specific destination in mind, she just knew she had to escape from it all. She wanted to be far from her family, far from the shame, far from the life she used to have.

Her hand instinctively went to her belly, it was the result of the secret she still had caused her all these. The idea of bringing up a child by herself, without any help or money, made her very scared. However, she had no other option.

A strange sense of unease made her neck tingle. She looked around the bus and saw a man sitting a few rows behind her. He kept staring at her, observing everything she did. Sophia felt uneasy, but he didn't come closer. He just kept looking, making the bus feel creepy with his presence.

After a few hours, the bus arrived at a tiny, ordinary town. It was the type of place where no one would ever think to search for her. When Sophia got off the bus with her suitcase in tow, she felt a strange combination of relief and anxiety. The town was strangely silent, with empty streets as she walked through the mist, looking for somewhere to spend the night.

The motel room was a far cry from the luxury she had once known. The bed was lumpy, the walls paper-thin, and the sounds of a couple arguing in the next room made it impossible to relax. But it was better than being back in that house, where every glance was filled with accusation.

Sophia was sat at the edge of the bed, holding her phone, looking at the empty screen, hoping for a call from Alexander, but there was nothing. There were no messages or missed calls, only silence.

She let out a sigh, feeling sad as she got ready to switch off her phone for the night. As she was about to press the button, the phone suddenly lit up with a new message. Sophia frowned as she opened it and saw the words on the screen.

Her heart raced as she read, "You may think you got away, but I know your location." Sophia felt a chill as she read the message, her heart beating fast with fear.

Who could have sent this? How did they know where she was? Is there something more?

The screen faded to black, leaving Sophia alone in the darkened room, frozen with terror. The silence of the motel room felt oppressive, the weight of the message pressing down on her. She had thought she could deal with her parents sending her out but now, it seemed her past was catching up with her faster than she could run.

And this time, there was nowhere left to hide.