Chapter 13: A Dangerous Discovery

The small lamp in Sophia's room flashed as she stared at the USB drive plugged into her laptop. The coded file seems large on her screen, with many folders connected to it, it is a source to secrets that could bring everything to the limelight. Her fingers were placed over the keyboard, slightly shaking as she prepared to start opening the folders. She had no experience in decoding, but she couldn't let that stop her now.

Taking a deep breath, Sophia opened the basic decryption tools she had downloaded earlier. It was an elementary setup, far from the finished product, but it would have to do. She clicked away at the file line by line, each tiny breakthrough bringing her closer to the truth.

After hours of serious work, the files finally opened. Many folders with documents filled the screen, each more incriminating than the last. As she scrolled, a name jumped out at her like a dagger to the chest: Victor Moreno.

Her father.

Sophia's breath seized as she clicked on the accompanying documents. They detailed financial transactions, meetings, and agreements, proof that Victor had been working with the same enemies targeting Dante. Her mind went off as she tried to arrange the information together. Her father hadn't just betrayed Dante; he had betrayed her too.

Sophia relaxes back in her chair, her head spinning. Memories of her father flashed through her mind: his serious lectures about loyalty, his protective presence when she was younger, and his rare moments of being friendly. None of it made sense now. How could the man who had raised her, be part of something so dangerous and unheard of?

Tears rolled down her eyes, but she wiped them away, forcing herself to stay focused. She couldn't afford to fall apart. Not yet.

The more she read, the worse it got. The documents implicated Victor in financing the attacks on Dante's company and his personal life. There was even information that Victor had known about the tragedy that claimed Dante's family.

Sophia's hands changed into fists. She wanted answers, but confronting Victor wouldn't be easy. He wasn't just her father—he was a powerful figure who had always been several steps ahead of everyone around him.

But she couldn't ignore this.

Sophia barely had time to understand the information she just discovered before a sharp knock at her door moved her out of her thoughts. She quickly minimized the screen and pulled the USB drive from her laptop, keeping it in her pocket.

The door swung open, and Dante stepped inside without waiting for an invitation. His expression was stormy, his eyes dark with suspicion.

"You've been avoiding me," he said, his voice low and firm.

Sophia's heart seized, but she kept her face to her side. "I've been busy."

"Busy doing what?" Dante stepped closer, his presence as imposing as ever. "You've been acting strange. Sneaking around. Avoiding conversations. What are you hiding, Sophia?"

Her pulse quickened. "I'm not hiding anything," she said, though her voice didn't support her confidence.

Dante narrowed his eyes. "Don't lie to me. I've given you more chances than I give to people. If you're working against me I want to know now"

"I'm not," Sophia interrupted, her voice rising. "Why do you always believe anything bad about me? Maybe if you trusted me for once, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Dante's jaw tightened, and for a small moment, they both kept quiet among them. The tension among them was visible, each of them waiting for the other to put a stop to the argument.

Finally, Dante sighed, he put his face in his hand and later brought his head upright back. "Trust isn't something I give freely, Sophia. Not anymore."

Sophia took a step forward, her anger was already showing from her attitude. "I know that you've gone through tragedy before, I know you've lost people you love. But you can't keep distrusting everyone. Not everyone is your enemy."

Dante's gaze softened for a few seconds before getting serious again. "You will need to Prove it," he said. "If you're not hiding anything, then prove it."

Sophia swallowed hard. She couldn't discuss what she had found with him now. "I don't have to prove anything to you if you don't trust me, that's your business," she said with a firm voice.

Dante looked closely at her for a long moment before leaving the room. As he left the room with the door closed. Sophia breathed out shakily, her knees shaking and she almost fell to the floor from the pressure she felt from their conversation.

Sophia knew she was running out of time. Dante's suspicion was increasing, and the longer she waited, the more dangerous her situation became. She needed to confront her father—and soon.

She pulled out her phone and looked closely at the coded message from her mysterious ally. The last one had warned her to act quickly, but she didn't expect she was going to uncover something personal.

Typing out a reply, she asked: "What do you know about Victor Moreno's involvement?"

The response came almost immediately: "He's deeper in than you realize. Be careful."

Sophia's stomach twisted. She needed a plan.

The next morning, Sophia made the call she had been scared of. Her father answered on the second ring, his deep voice sending a shiver through her body.

"Sophia," Victor said, his tone warm and steady. "how can I be of help to you my daughter?"

"We need to talk," she said, her voice firm.

"Is something wrong?"

"I think you already know the answer to your question."

There was a little silence on the other side of the line before Victor replied, his tone changed immediately. "Where are you?"

Sophia hesitated. She couldn't tell him she was still with Dante. "Somewhere safe," she said.

Victor sighed. "You've always been dramatic, Sophia. Just tell me what this is about."

"You've been working with Dante's enemies," she said bluntly. "I've seen the proof."

The silence that followed was scary.

"Sophia," Victor said finally, his voice very calm. "You don't understand what you're getting yourself involved into."

"Then make me understand what is going on," she asked. "How could you do this? How could you betray me?"

"It's not that simple," Victor said. "Everything I've done has been for our family."

Sophia held her phone tightly. "Don't lie to me. You didn't just betray Dante, you betrayed me. You've been lying to me my whole life. Haven't you?"

Victor's voice became cold. "Be careful, Sophia. You're already entering into a dangerous zone. You don't know the full story."

"Then tell me," she said, her voice breaking. "Tell me the truth."

But Victor didn't answer. The line went dead, leaving Sophia staring at her phone in doubt.

As the day went on, Sophia couldn't forget the feeling that she was being watched. Every small sound from the yacht, every shadow seemed to look larger than it should.

That evening, as she sat in her room trying to arrange her next move, a note was kept under her door.

"You're running out of time. Choose your side wisely."

Sophia's blood went cold. The message wasn't signed, but she had a deep feeling it wasn't from her ally.

Sophia looked carefully at the note, her mind racing. She is now in too deep a place of lies, betrayal, and danger, and the walls are already becoming tighter. With Dante increasingly not trusting anyone and her father's secret warnings, she didn't know who to trust anymore.

But one thing was certain: if she didn't act soon, she might not get another chance.

As the yacht moved gently on the water, Sophia made a silent promise to herself. She would uncover the truth, no matter the cost.

But realistically, she couldn't forget the feeling that the risk might be more than she was prepared to accept.