Shadow Contract-Chapter 23: Sophie Holds the Line

The silence after the call ended was absolute.

Sophie held the phone against her ear. The dial tone hummed softly. A steady, rhythmic sound. Most people would have shaken. Most people would have dropped the device. Sophie did not.

She lowered the phone. She looked at the screen. **UNKNOWN NUMBER.** She did not panic. She did not breathe faster. She opened her contacts. She found the encryption app. She initiated a trace. It failed. The number was burned.

She expected that.

She stood up from the couch. She walked to the window. She looked out at the street below. Dark. Quiet. Empty. She pressed the call button again. She dialed the same number. It rang once. Twice.

Edward answered.

"You are persistent," he said. His voice was calm. Amused.

"You hung up," Sophie said.

"I said what I needed to say."

"No. You said enough to make me curious. But not enough to satisfy me."

Edward laughed. It was a soft sound. "You have not changed, Sophie. Still trying to control the room."

"I am not trying to control anything. I am gathering data."

"From me?"

"From the situation."

Sophie leaned against the window frame. Her reflection stared back at her. Pale. Focused.

"Where are you," she asked.

"Somewhere safe."

"That is not a location. That is a state of mind."

"Then interpret it however you like."

Sophie paused. She let the silence stretch. She knew Edward hated silence. He filled it with words. Words contained secrets.

"Dante was at the warehouse," she said.

"Yes."

"He let you go."

"He did not let me do anything. I left."

"Because he chose mercy."

"Because he chose weakness."

Sophie tapped her fingernail against the glass. Tap. Tap. Tap.

"He told me you were dead," Edward said.

"He told you the truth. I am not."

"He lied about the method."

"He protected me."

Edward sighed. The sound crackled over the line. "That is what I mean. You defend him. Even when he hides the cost."

Sophie’s eyes narrowed. "What cost."

"You know what I am talking about, Sophie. The demons."

She went still. Her grip on the phone tightened. "Kairo and Mūn," she said.

"You know their names."

"I know what they take."

Edward was silent for a moment. He realized he had slipped. "So he told you."

"He tells me nothing. I watch."

Edward laughed again. This time, it sounded genuine. "Admirable. Truly. You are playing a game with pieces you cannot see."

"I see enough."

"Do you. Do you know why he forgets things?"

Sophie’s heart beat once. Hard. "Memory loss," she said.

"Specific memories. The ones he values most."

Sophie closed her eyes. She remembered Dante’s hesitation in the safehouse. The gaps in his stories.

"Every time he uses them," Edward said. "He loses a piece of you."

Sophie did not react. She did not gasp. She stored the information.

*Item one: The cost is memory.*

"Why tell me this," she asked.

"Because you deserve to know what you are dating. A man who is erasing himself to keep you breathing."

"And you," Sophie said. "What are you erasing?"

"Nothing. I remember everything."

"Even the things that hurt."

"Especially those."

Sophie pushed off the window. She walked back to the table. She picked up a pen. She wrote on a notepad.

*Item two: Edward remembers everything. Pain is his fuel.*

"You said Dante is lying," Sophie said.

"About his nature. About his origin."

"Who made him, Edward."

Edward paused. The silence was heavy. "Ask Ogata," Edward said.

*Item three: Ogata is the key.*

"Is Ogata alive," Sophie asked.

"For now."

"Where."

"That is for Dante to find. Not you."

"Why not me."

"Because you are the leverage. If you know too much, you become a target."

"I am already a target."

"Yes. But now you are a willing one."

Sophie stopped writing. She looked at the three points. Memory. Pain. Ogata. It was enough. For now.

"You want me to leave him," Sophie said.

"I want you to choose."

"I already chose."

"Then you will bear the cost."

"I will."

Edward sighed. The amusement was gone. "You are as stubborn as he is. It is exhausting."

"It is effective."

"Perhaps."

Edward paused. "Do not come looking for me, Sophie. When the time comes, I will find you."

"I will be ready."

"I know."

The line went dead.

Sophie lowered the phone. She looked at the notepad. The three points stared back at her. She did not waste time. She did not process the fear. She opened her contacts. She dialed Dante.

He answered on the first ring. "Sophie." His voice was tight. Worried.

"I am safe," she said.

"Did he threaten you."

"No. He talked."

"What did he say."

"Everything verbatim. Listen carefully."

She heard him shift on the other end. The engine of his car hummed in the background.

"I am listening," Dante said.

"First. He confirmed the memory loss. He knows the demons erase your past."

Dante was silent.

"Second. He is not running. He is waiting. He uses pain as fuel. He remembers everything."

"Third."

"Ogata. He told me to ask Ogata. He implied Ogata is alive. And accessible."

Dante’s breathing changed. It became slower. Controlled.

"Did he give a location."

"No. He said you need to find him. Not me."

"Why."

"Because I am leverage. He wants me vulnerable."

"You are not vulnerable."

"I am dangerous. He knows that."

Dante exhaled. The sound was rough.

"Where are you."

"Safehouse. Jōkan."

"I am twenty minutes out."

"Twenty is too long."

"It is all I have."

Sophie looked at the notepad. She flipped it over.

"Dante."

"Yes."

"He said you are lying to me. About your origin."

Dante paused. "I am not lying. I am withholding."

"There is a difference."

"Yes."

"Do not lie to me again."

"I promise."

Sophie closed her eyes. "Drive fast."

"I will."

She ended the call. She placed the phone on the table. She walked to the kitchen. She opened a drawer. She took out a knife. She placed it next to the phone. She sat down.

She waited.

The house was quiet. But the air was charged. Edward had made his move. Dante was coming. And Sophie was ready.

She looked at her reflection in the dark window. Her eyes were gray. Cold. She was not a victim. She was a player. And the game was just beginning.

Author Note: Thank you for reading Chapter 23! Sophie is not just a love interest; she’s an operator. She got the intel. Now Dante is racing back. What will happen when they reunite? Drop your thoughts in the comments! Don’t forget to add Shadow Contract to your library and vote with power stones. See you in Chapter 24!