The next morning, Nathan sent me seven messages.

I didn’t open any of them.

Not because I wanted to punish him.

Because for the first time in three years, I didn’t feel the need to explain why I was hurt.

That was the difference.

Before, I always fought for him to understand me.

I wrote long messages.

I explained every detail.

I reminded him of every promise.

I told him exactly where he had hurt me.

And every time, somehow, I ended up apologizing for making him feel bad.

Not anymore.

At eight in the morning, I arrived at the law firm.

The same office where I had spent countless nights building my reputation.

The same place where Sophie had slowly entered my world.

Seven years of friendship.

That was what everyone kept reminding me.

Seven years.

As if time automatically meant loyalty.

But I had learned something important.

A person could stand beside you for seven years and still choose to stand against you in one moment.

When I entered the conference room, Sophie was already there.

She looked tired.

Her eyes were red.

She stood up immediately.

“Vera, can we talk?”

I placed my folder on the table.

“We can talk about work.”

Her expression changed.

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

She lowered her voice.

“Are you really going to treat me like a stranger because of one misunderstanding?”

I looked at her.

“One misunderstanding?”

She became quiet.

“The car yesterday?”

“The car was just the moment I stopped pretending.”

Sophie looked hurt.

“Do you really think I wanted Nathan?”

I didn’t answer immediately.

Because the truth was complicated.

Maybe she didn’t plan everything.

Maybe she didn’t wake up one day deciding to destroy my relationship.

But some people didn’t need a plan.

They only needed opportunity.

“You knew exactly what you were doing.”

Her eyes widened.

“That’s unfair.”

“No.”

I opened the case folder.

“You knew Nathan was picking me up after the biggest case of my career.”

Silence.

“You knew I had been preparing for months.”

Another pause.

“You knew that night mattered to me.”

She looked away.

“And you still called him because you said you felt dizzy.”

Her lips parted.

But she had no answer.

Because there was one thing about the truth.

It didn’t need a defense.

Before she could say anything else, our senior partner entered the room.

Everyone stood.

He looked at me.

“Vera, congratulations again on the Crosswell case.”

“Thank you.”

Then his expression became serious.

“I heard you are making changes to the legal team.”

I nodded.

“Yes.”

Sophie immediately looked at me.

“What changes?”

I opened another document.

“Starting today, Sophie Lane will no longer be part of my cases.”

The room became silent.

Sophie stared at me.

“Vera…”

I continued calmly.

“All files, research notes, and client communications will be reviewed.”

Her face turned pale.

“Are you accusing me of something?”

“No.”

I looked at her.

“I’m protecting my work.”

That sentence hurt her more than an accusation.

Because Sophie knew.

My career was the one thing I had built without anyone’s help.

The one thing no one could take from me.

After the meeting, Nathan appeared outside my office.

He looked angry.

Not heartbroken.

Angry.

“Are you serious?”

I continued organizing documents.

“About what?”

“Sophie.”

I looked up.

“What about her?”

“You removed her from the case.”

“Yes.”

“Because of yesterday?”

I smiled slightly.

“No.”

“Then why?”

“Because I no longer trust her.”

Nathan stared at me.

“You are letting your personal feelings affect your professional decisions.”

I almost laughed.

“That’s interesting.”

“What?”

“Because yesterday you didn’t seem concerned about personal feelings when you prioritized her over me.”

His jaw tightened.

“That is different.”

“Why?”

He didn’t answer.

Exactly.

He had no answer.

Then he said something I never expected.

“I think you are jealous.”

For a moment, I just looked at him.

Not angry.

Not hurt.

Just disappointed.

“Jealous?”

“Yes.”

He stepped closer.

“You see Sophie as a threat.”

I closed the folder in front of me.

“No, Nathan.”

I looked directly at him.

“I see Sophie as someone who crossed a line.”

“Because she sat in my car?”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“Because you made me feel like a stranger while she was becoming the person you considered first.”

He became silent.

That was when I knew.

He understood.

He just didn’t want to admit it.

Three days later, something happened that neither of them expected.

The firm received an anonymous report.

It was about Sophie.

Not about her relationship with Nathan.

Something much worse.

The report contained copies of several documents.

Documents showing that Sophie had taken credit for research she didn’t complete.

Work that I had done.

Notes that carried my name.

Evidence that she had slowly been presenting my ideas as hers.

I sat in my office reading the files.

My hands were calm.

Because suddenly everything made sense.

The late-night messages.

The constant need to be around Nathan.

The way she always volunteered to “help” with my cases.

She wasn’t only trying to take my boyfriend.

She had been preparing to take my place.

That afternoon, Sophie came to my office.

She closed the door.

“You reported me?”

I looked at her.

“No.”

Her face changed.

“Then who did?”

“I don’t know.”

She laughed bitterly.

“Of course.”

I watched her carefully.

“Sophie.”

“What?”

“Why?”

Her expression froze.

“Why what?”

“Why did you need everything I had?”

For the first time, the confident woman disappeared.

“I was tired.”

“Tired of what?”

“Of always being behind you.”

I stared at her.

“You were my best friend.”

She laughed.

“Exactly.”

Her voice became colder.

“You always had something.”

“The successful career.”

“The respect.”

“The relationship.”

“And everyone thought you were the better one.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“You didn’t want my life.”

She looked at me.

“You wanted everyone to stop seeing me as second.”

I shook my head.

“No.”

I picked up the folder.

“You wanted to become me.”

Her eyes filled with anger.

And that was the moment I realized something.

Nathan had lost a woman who loved him.

But Sophie…

Sophie had lost something much bigger.

Her entire future.

Because tomorrow morning, the partners would decide whether she stayed at the firm.

And I had one final piece of evidence.

The piece that would reveal exactly how far she had planned everything.

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