How do I even start?
Luther’ POV
“Sophie Smith and Marya Sanders are the same person.”
The words left my mouth like a weight I couldn’t hold anymore. My whole body started reacting, my fingers trembled as a wave of shock took over me. I felt like the floor had been pulled out from under me.
“And she’s clearly using her stepson to get rid of Charlotte,” Mateo added, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the woman in the photo, my brother’s wife. A woman we all thought we knew.
How was Stanley going to handle this? How could he survive something this cruel? I remembered how broken I was when Brittany betrayed me. But I was young and blind. Stanley? He was older. Wiser. In love.
I trusted his choice to marry her. He seemed so sure. But now it’s obvious, he didn’t dig deep enough. If he had, he would’ve seen the cracks.
“How am I supposed to break this to Charlotte and Stanley?” I muttered, dropping the picture onto the desk. I buried my face in my hands, my whole being flooded by the weight of it all. “How do I even start?”
“I wish there was a simple way,” Mateo said quietly, but it offered no comfort. Telling them that the woman they welcomed into their lives had built it all on lies would shatter them.
“She tricked everyone,” I said, my voice muffled by my hands.
“No, not everyone,” Mateo countered. “We saw through her. That’s why we began digging into her story.”
He was right, though I never imagined it was this deep. I always sensed something off about her, but this? This was calculated.
“If Sophie is still alive,” I said slowly, trying to piece it together, “then who did Stanley bury?”
That question landed with a thud in my chest. My mouth went dry.
“It only means one thing,” Mateo replied. “Someone else died to cover her tracks. She vanished the only way she could, by making the world think she was gone for good.”
It made sense. Who would go searching for someone already declared dead?
“She planned this perfectly,” I said under my breath. “It’s no coincidence Charlotte’s dad died that night, and Sophie was shot just minutes later.”
The more I thought about Charlotte’s story, the clearer it became.
“She did it to hide what she’d done. She didn’t want the police involved. That’s why she pushed the case to Stanley. She knew getting the authorities too close would expose her secrets.”
I leaned back, my head full of every moment, every clue we missed. The truth was right there all along, we just hadn’t looked close enough.
“She’s either one hell of an actress,” Mateo said, tapping his fingers on the desk, “or she really loved Charlotte’s father, until greed took over again. Maybe she just couldn’t resist going back to her old ways.”
I nodded slowly, thoughts racing. “If she stole from her first husband and got Matthew involved in Charlotte’s father’s death… then…”
I couldn’t say it. The words caught in my throat, too heavy to speak.
“Then Stanley is her next target,” Mateo said for me. “And Charlotte too.”
Hearing it out loud hit hard. A chill ran down my back. I couldn’t let anything happen to Stanley. Not after everything we’d already been through. Not while I had the power to protect him. I ran a security company, for God’s sake. If I couldn’t keep my brother safe, then who could?
“I need to call them,” I said, reaching for my phone with shaking hands.
“Do that,” Mateo replied, already standing. “I’ll get a team to Stanley’s house. We’ll install hidden cameras. If we can, we’ll slip a tracker onto her too. We need to monitor everything she does.”
I nodded while dialing Stanley’s number. Charlotte was safe, she was staying at my house. But Stanley was still living under the same roof as that woman. He was exposed.
“They need to move fast,” I warned Mateo. “You know how Stanley gets about surveillance. He hates being watched. Says it invades his space.”
“We’ll deal with his tantrum later,” Mateo replied quickly. “Right now, it’s about keeping him alive.”
The line connected, and I didn’t waste time.
“Where are you?” I asked as soon as Stanley answered.
He sounded slightly amused. “Why is everyone suddenly checking on me today?”
My brow furrowed. “Everyone?”
“Forget it,” he said. “I’m at the office. Deep into a case. Why?”
His voice was calm. That alone made me breathe a little easier.
“Was just thinking maybe you’d come over for dinner tonight,” I said, pretending it was a casual invite. I just needed to confirm the house was empty. I couldn’t risk sending in our team if he or Sophie was home.
“Charlotte didn’t tell you she’s coming by after work?” he asked, sounding surprised.
I glanced at Mateo, who looked ready to bolt if I didn’t finish the call soon. He was tapping his foot now.
“Where’s her mother right now?” I asked, trying not to sound too interested.
“She’s still at work. Won’t be home till later.”
That was all I needed. I nodded at Mateo, giving him the silent signal to proceed.
In the back of my mind, though, another thought crept in: Why didn’t Charlotte tell me? Was she keeping things from me now?
I shoved the feeling aside. There were more urgent things to worry about.
“Let me get back to you.” I ended the call, still trying to figure out why Charlotte hadn’t told me anything about her visit to Stanley. She always kept me in the loop, until now.
“All clear,” I told Mateo. “Make sure the team gets in and out quickly. No delays. And I want every bit of footage sent to my phone, yours, and the company’s main control hub.”
“I’ll go with them,” Mateo said, standing up. “You stay here and figure out what you’re going to do next—because you’ll need a plan fast.”
He didn’t have to go out on the job, not with his position. But he knew I needed space, and he gave me that by handling the fieldwork himself.
“Thank you, Mateo. Honestly, if you weren’t here… I don’t know how I’d be dealing with all this.” My voice was low but sincere.
“I’ve got your back. Always.” With that, he left.
I tried calling Charlotte, but she didn’t answer. I didn’t try again. She was at my place, and the security there was rock-solid. No one, no matter how skilled, could breach it.
My eyes fell back to the photo on my desk. I picked it up again, studying every detail. Who was Sophie? Calling her a gold digger felt too soft. She wasn’t just after money, she was dangerous. Ruthless and cold.
She used people like tools and discarded them when she was done. She had no conscience, no guilt. And now, she was trying to destroy Stanley… and Charlotte.
But she’d slipped up. What she didn’t know was that we were onto her. The game she’d been playing, pretending to be someone else, covering her tracks, hiding her past, and even plotting her own daughter’s death, was about to end. Her time was running out.
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