Page 113 of Mission: Possible

Sophie stared at her blanket, her shame coloring her face. "I fell in love with him. I think Zach realized that because he started threatening to tell Austen everything. He said he would kill him too, and me. Insisting on a pre-nup was the only thing I could think of to protect him. No matter what Zach threatened to do, he'd never get a penny out of Austen through me. And the longer I stayed with Austen, the kinder he became, and I started to see how terrible things were, how manipulative Zach was. Then, one day, I found something."

"Go on," said Austen.

"An annulment certificate," she said. "Zach annulled our marriage right after we said our vows and never told me. When I found out, I was so shocked. I thought I was married to that bastard. Instead, he duped me. I could have left without staging my death!"

"Why would he do that?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe he regretted it. Maybe there was another woman. I have no idea. But I saw an opportunity to right a wrong although I think I got it all wrong." She yawned shakily.

"Since Sophie’s marriage to Zach was annulled, she was free to marry me," explained Austen. "She used her own birth certificate, not her sister-in-law’s. We are legally married. I think."

Sophie clasped his hand harder. "I should never have done that to you though. I should have told you everything up front."

"You wanted to," he said. "I knew you wanted to put more distance between you and Zach. You kept saying that. I should have put you on a plane and hidden you somewhere he could never find you. Especially with the baby."

Sophie's hand slipped to her stomach. "I knew I couldn't hide the baby forever. I told Zach I'd had enough. I told him I was staying with Austen and would tell the police everything so he could never come near me again. I had the cash as evidence of what he had done. That's when he smashed my head into the banister and pushed me down the stairs. I remember the most searing pain, then nothing. He left me there to die in Austen's home."

"Ourhome," said Austen. "I've already told Sophie the rest. How Zach wanted to know who would inherit the money if I died. And he came here to kill her when it looked like she would awaken soon, and probably would have tried to kill me too. Maybe not then, but eventually. If not for Manny, he might have succeeded."

"I am so sorry," sobbed Sophie, a weak hand rising to cover her eyes as her jaw wobbled.

"I think Zach realized his scheme to fleece Austen went off the rails quite a while ago," I told them. "That's why he devised the scheme for the bank robbery. He reeled in another woman and engaged her brother to join the team. Probably gave them wild stories too. I'm almost certain he killed her brother."

"We ran ballistics on the gun he had with him when we took him into custody," said Maddox. "It came up as a match to the bullet removed from Mackleton. That's good enough for me."

"He was going on the lam with a woman and we're not confident that she would have survived very long since he was eliminating anyone who could report him," I told them. "But he can't be charged with what-ifs."

"We don't need to," added Maddox. "Zach Gallo was charged with so many crimes, the DA feels like it's his birthday."

"What happens to Sophie now?" asked Austen.

I glanced around, looking for any indication of the answer. I had no clue.

"Nothing. She'll be required to testify against Zach of course, without any spousal privilege to spare him." Maddox turned his attention to Sophie. "You weren't involved in the bank robberies so we'll take your testimony, and you never committed bigamy. If Austen chose to divorce you for fraud, it’s a reasonable possibility, and the insurers will certainly want their money back on the policy they paid out to Zach."

"That sounds bad. I don't want my baby born in jail." She gripped Austen's hand harder. "You'll look after him or her always, won't you?"

"You'll do that as our baby's mom," said Austen. "I'll get the best lawyers for Sophie and make sure the policy Zach cashed in is paid back in full. I don't blame Sophie for any of this."

"You don't?" she whispered hoarsely, staring at him, hot tears filling her eyes.

"No, sweetheart. You did your best in a terrible situation and everything you could to protect me. It might not have started out that way but if your actions weren't coming from love, then I don't know what love is," said Austen. "Thank you, Lexi, for all of your help. You did exactly what I needed from you."

"You're welcome," I said, taking that as my cue to leave. I nodded to Solomon and we both moved toward the door. Before leaving, I turned back, "I hope everything works out for the two of you. I really do," I told them.

"Thanks," said Austen. "From both of us."

"Let's all take a break now," said Jord. "Rest up, because I'll need to talk to you both again soon."

"I'll walk out with you," said Maddox, stepping behind us as we filed from the room. He ushered us through and closed the door. We took off down the corridor before locating a quiet place to talk.

"That is an amazing tale," I said. "I think I believe her."

"Me too," said Jord.

"Did the coin turn up in Zach's possession?"

"It did," said Maddox. "With all the hallmarks of Joe Bagshot's involvement."

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