Chapter 443 The Last Lie

Chapter 443: Chapter 443 The Last Lie

The recording ended.

But it wasn’t over.

“There’s more,” Morgan said with a bitter smile.

“Just when I was preparing to leave the Hill family with Rose and the money I’d been given, I was planning to find a way to clear Sophia’s name. I was going to leave everything behind and seek justice for her.”

Her voice shook.

“Then I was in that car accident.”

Another revelation hit the room like a bomb.

Daisy had recently been sent to prison for arranging an attempt on Morgan’s life.

Now the pieces suddenly fit together.

It had never been about Morgan’s antique shop.

Someone had wanted her dead because she knew too much.

Because she could expose the truth.

Because she had to be silenced.

Smack!

Before anyone could fully process what Morgan had said, a sharp slap cracked through the room.

Rose had somehow broken free of James’s grip.

Her eyes were bloodshot.

She crossed the room and struck Victoria across the face with everything she had.

Victoria stumbled and fell to the floor.

Blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Rose’s chest heaved.

She had lost every last bit of restraint.

She grabbed Victoria’s wrist when the woman tried to shield herself.

Then she slapped her again.

And again.

She couldn’t even speak.

No insults came.

No accusations.

There were simply too many emotions trapped inside her.

All she could do was hit her.

Victoria tried to protect herself, but Rose didn’t stop until her own palm was red and swollen.

Ryan finally stepped forward.

He caught Rose by the wrist and gently pulled her away.

She was exhausted.

Her legs barely seemed capable of supporting her.

Ryan slipped an arm around her waist before she could fall, allowing her to lean against him.

Rose didn’t even seem to realize whose arms were holding her.

Everything inside her had broken open.

The woman who had destroyed Sophia’s life was standing right in front of her.

The same woman had nearly destroyed Morgan, too.

Rose had lost her mother when she was young.

She had been left alone and sent away to a remote place, forced to survive without the family she should have had.

For years, she’d wondered why her life had been so difficult.

Now she knew.

And the answer was so cruel that it made her feel sick.

Everything connected.

Every tragedy.

Every misunderstanding.

Every loss.

It had all been sitting beneath the surface, waiting for the truth to finally tear everything apart.

“No...”

Victoria struggled to push herself upright.

“This is Morgan’s revenge against me. She hates Daisy, and she’s using that hatred to destroy me.”

She looked toward Derick desperately.

“Derick, you have to believe me.”

Her face was covered in scratches, one cheek already swelling from Rose’s blows.

She crawled toward him on her knees.

“You know me.”

Her voice broke.

“Sophia saved me. She took care of me when I had nothing. She was the person who helped me survive. How could I ever—”

“Don’t touch me.”

Derick’s voice was barely recognizable.

He looked deathly pale.

The polished, dignified man everyone knew was gone.

He grabbed Victoria by the collar and pulled her toward him.

“You killed Sophia.”

His voice shook.

“You killed my Sophia.”

Victoria struggled to breathe.

“You deserve to die.”

For a moment, Derick looked as though he might actually kill her.

This was the woman who had lied to him for decades.

The woman whose suffering he had spent years feeling guilty over.

The woman he’d protected because he believed she was the victim.

And now he knew she might have been the person who destroyed everything.

Victoria’s feet barely touched the floor as he dragged her forward.

“Derick...”

Alicia stared at them, her face ghostly pale.

She had always suspected there were things about the past she didn’t know.

But she had never imagined anything like this.

The truth was far worse than she’d expected.

There was evidence.

There was a recording.

And now everything Victoria had built her life around was collapsing.

Alicia had thought that if she separated herself from Victoria while there was still time, she could preserve her own place in the Taylor family.

But now...

Grace suddenly sank back into her chair.

The truth was unbearable.

Her beloved Sophia had suffered all those years ago because of this.

Morgan watched Derick’s grief-stricken face.

Then she laughed.

It wasn’t a happy laugh.

It was bitter and almost cruel.

“Derick, what right do you have to act like this?”

Derick froze.

“You helped create this.”

Morgan’s voice sharpened.

“You want to blame Victoria now? Fine. But don’t pretend you had nothing to do with what happened to Sophia.”

Derick’s face went blank.

Morgan wasn’t finished.

“Do you know what else happened?”

She stared directly at him.

“On Sophia’s birthday, Victoria deliberately got you drunk.”

Derick’s expression changed.

“She drugged herself and ended up in your bed.”

Victoria’s eyes widened.

Morgan continued.

“Then she turned around and made it look as though Sophia had drugged her and arranged for other men to assault her. She claimed she’d somehow ended up in your room by mistake.”

Derick’s breathing became uneven.

“You believed her.”

Morgan’s voice trembled with anger.

“You convinced yourself Sophia had done something horrible to Victoria. You thought Sophia was jealous and would do anything to get rid of her.”

“You called it protecting Victoria.”

“You called it making things right.”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“But behind Sophia’s back, you were already taking care of Victoria. You were giving her money and resources while pretending you were simply trying to make up for what you believed Sophia had done.”

“And when you found out Victoria was pregnant, you hid it from Sophia.”

Derick’s body went rigid.

Morgan’s voice broke.

“Then, when Victoria was six or seven months pregnant, she showed up in front of Sophia with her pregnancy impossible to hide.”

“She demanded that Sophia acknowledge her.”

“She taunted her.”

“And then she threw herself down the stairs.”

Derick’s face drained of color.

“She made it look as though Sophia had pushed her.”

Morgan stared at him.

“And you believed her.”

“You became the one who destroyed Sophia’s marriage.”

“You became the person who cut Sophia off from you completely.”

Her voice cracked.

“Derick, you were worse than Victoria.”

The words echoed through the room.

Derick swayed as though he’d been struck.

He released Victoria.

Then he stumbled backward and collapsed into a chair.

He had thought Victoria murdering Sophia was the worst part.

He had been wrong.

The entire chain of events had begun with a lie.

Sophia hadn’t drugged Victoria.

She hadn’t tried to ruin her.

She hadn’t tried to hurt her unborn child.

And yet the woman Derick had believed was the victim had been given protection, money, and a comfortable life for decades.

While Sophia was dead.

While her daughter grew up without her.

Derick covered his face with one hand.

He couldn’t breathe.

Victoria had deceived him so completely that he’d spent years mourning the wrong person.

Morgan’s words finally broke open the grief she’d carried for decades.

But the relief of finally telling the truth only made the pain worse.

It was pain for Sophia.

For the life she’d lost.

For a marriage built on genuine love that had been destroyed by lies.

“You monster.”

Diana’s voice shook.

She looked at Derick, her eyes filled with anger.

“No wonder Sophia became so depressed.”

She clenched her fists.

“She reached a point where she didn’t even care whether you believed her anymore. She didn’t have the strength left to keep explaining herself to someone who had already decided she was guilty.”

Her voice hardened.

“And in the end, she was right. It wasn’t worth wasting another breath trying to convince you.”

All the wealth.

All the polished appearances.

All the years of pretending.

They had been ripped away in a matter of hours.

There was nowhere left for Victoria to hide.

Rose’s breathing became faster.

Her head throbbed violently.

She could almost feel the pain her mother had lived through.

She had never imagined the truth could be this cruel.

“How could this happen...?”

Alicia sat frozen in her hospital bed.

The revelations had shaken her to her core.

She hadn’t known.

Or at least, she hadn’t known everything.

Tears filled her eyes.

“How could you do this?”

Her voice trembled.

“Whatever happened between you and Sophia, it wasn’t your decision alone. You had no right to destroy her life. You owe her an apology.”

For the first time, Alicia seemed determined to draw a line between herself and Victoria.

She didn’t defend her.

She didn’t make excuses.

Even though she was still attached to IV lines and unable to get out of bed, she spoke firmly.

Victoria stared at her.

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Then she realized something.

It was already over.

There was no way back.

But Ryan spoke before anyone else could respond.

“Do you really think that’s enough to separate yourself from her?”

He was still holding Rose.

His eyes shifted toward Alicia.

Alicia’s face went pale.

Her heart began pounding.

“Mr. Knight, I have feelings too.”

Her voice was weak.

“Why are you saying this to me?”

Ryan’s expression didn’t change.

“You keep saying you don’t know who your biological parents are.”

“You say you were innocent.”

“You say you knew nothing.”

His gaze sharpened.

“Have you forgotten that when you were in high school, you secretly had a paternity test done without telling anyone in the Taylor family?”

Alicia’s face went completely white.