“And you…” I tried to continue, but my vision went black. I heard Sebastian shout my name in panic, and then I lost consciousness.
When I finally woke up, a nurse stood beside my bed, checking the IV that was delivering nutrients into my bloodstream.
“She’s severely malnourished. Look how thin she is! She’s pregnant and still underweight. Are you her husband? Has she not been eating properly at home?”
No one had ever called Sebastian out to his face like that. He only lowered his head, looking troubled and conflicted. The nurse shot him a disapproving look, shook her head, and left.
A moment later, his phone rang. He answered immediately. “Cancel all my appointments. I don’t care what it costs. I have something more important to deal with for the next few days.”
After hanging up, he sat beside my bed, his worry plain on his face. I wanted nothing to do with him and turned away.
He hesitated. “Sofia, didn’t you want that scale? Didn’t you ask me to buy it?”
I glared at him. “Why would I do that?”
He paused, then said uncertainly, “To help manage your weight during the pregnancy?”
“When did I ever say that?”
He frowned. “You never said you wanted to lose weight?”
“I’m pregnant, Sebastian! You expect me to go on a diet?”
I slapped him with what little strength I had left. I was so weak there was barely any force behind it. But his eyes reddened, and he caught my hand, holding it tight.
“This is all my fault, Sofia. I should’ve looked into it before jumping to conclusions. I thought you kept asking me for money because you wanted expensive things.”
I gave a bitter laugh and grabbed my phone. “You want to know why I kept asking? Because you gave me one dollar a day to eat!” I opened my transaction history and thrust the screen in front of him.
He stared at the numbers, his eyes narrowing. Taking the phone, he went through every transaction, his expression darkening with each one.
I scoffed. “You started at four dollars. Then you cut it in half. Then in half again.”
He looked at me helplessly. “Sofia, I didn’t…”
“Then who kept ordering the cuts to my food allowance?”
“I did.” He nodded slowly. “But I said to cut four million dollars in half.”
I froze. Before either of us could say another word, his phone buzzed with a message from Camilla. She’d sent another receipt, this one for a staggering $4.68 million at Bergdorf Goodman.
A voice message followed, her tone accusing.
Camilla: [Mr. Moretti, Ms. Hayes has taken another ten million from your account without authorization! This is only the first bill. She’s planning to buy more!]
My eyes widened. “Ten million?”
Sebastian stared silently at the screen, his brow furrowed. I turned to him in disbelief. “The first time I took your money, it was ten dollars. The second time, it was one hundred-dollar bill. Where the hell did this ten million come from?”
“It’s okay.” He gently covered my hand with his.
Then, without a change in expression, he replied to Camilla.
Sebastian: [Bring the receipts. All of them. Come to the hospital.]
Camilla arrived soon afterward, wearing designer labels from head to toe. She paused in surprise when she saw me, then turned to Sebastian. “Mr. Moretti.”
He looked straight at her. “Tell me, Camilla. How much did Sofia steal?”
“Ten million dollars!” she answered without hesitation, then almost immediately amended it. “Of course, that was only the first time. The second time, Ms. Hayes emptied your entire safe and spent every penny on luxury goods.”
She shot me a cold, contemptuous look. I held up my phone so they could see my monthly income and expenses. “I only have a few dollars a day! How am I supposed to afford luxury goods?”
Camilla barely glanced at my records before giving a scornful laugh. “Oh, please, Ms. Hayes. Now you’re faking bank statements?”
She pulled a thick stack of documents from her handbag. “These are all your transactions since you got pregnant. Every payment went straight into your account, exactly as Mr. Moretti instructed.”
She spread the documents across the table. They showed a series of transfers from the personal allowance account Sebastian had set up for me, supposedly into a bank account in my name.
My heart pounded as I stared at the records, trying to make sense of them. “That’s impossible! I never received any of that money!”