Brandon's ride was parked down in the underground garage.
The two of them hopped into the backseat together.
When the car door shut, nobody said a peep.
Silence spread through the cramped space like wildfire.
After an eternity, Brandon's frosty voice finally cut through the stillness of the car. "Don't you have anything to explain to me?"
Sophia pursed her lips tight, stewing in silence for a good long while before she murmured, "If you've got something to ask, just spit it out."
Brandon turned to her. "Back at Wye City Hospital, you threw me a curveball, made me think you'd terminated the pregnancy." He stated it as fact, not a question.
Sophia's lips pinched even tighter, but she gave a small nod. "Yes."
"And your dropping out, that was just another trick up your sleeve, huh?"
"Yes," Sophia pursed her lips. "If you wouldn't back off, I had no choice but to drop out."
"The first time I bumped into Theresa in Wye City, you got wind of my suspicions about her identity, so you cooked up a scheme with a random Joe to play Theresa's mom."
Sophia shifted her gaze slightly away. "Yes."
Brandon continued, "Later, when I wanted to swing by your place, you guessed I still had doubts, so you led me on a wild goose chase to a fake address."
"Yes." Sophia's voice was soft. "That was my office. Theresa lived upstairs."
"That time in June when you were hospitalized, the 'termination of pregnancy' discharge summary in your bag, you dangled that in front of me on purpose." Sophia's upper teeth were now biting down hard on her lower lip, her head turned slightly towards the window, yet she nodded lightly. "Yes."
"The night you added me out of the blue, it was to send me that report because you knew I'd been snooping around, asking your classmates about you."
"Yes."
"When Kent had that rendezvous with Susan in Skyrim City, you flew out there just to cover your tracks?"
"Yes," came the hesitant yet steady reply.
Brandon's eyes were growing colder by the second. "In the mall in Skyrim City, you saw me coming."
Sophia hesitated, but still nodded. "Yes."
Brandon. "What about the surveillance footage after that? Who helped you pull the wool over my eyes? Ivan? Did you rope him in to throw me off your scent?"
"No." Sophia spoke softly, "He just happened to be at the mall and took care of it on his own."
"He knows about Theresa?" Brandon asked, his voice icy.
Sophia gave a gentle nod. "Yes."
Brandon cracked a hollow smile.
"So what about after that?" Brandon looked at her. "You threw me off by making me believe you were with him, all to keep Theresa under wraps?"
Sophia nodded gently. "Yes."
"The day at the office, you caught me with Theresa and chickened out of showing up." Brandon eyed her. "You also saw me snagging Theresa's hair. You figured the jig was up about her being my daughter, and that's when you started plotting to take Theresa and bolt."
Sophia's throat tightened, but she still nodded. "Yes."
"You set up that dinner date on purpose, looking for the chance to switch the samples." Brandon's gaze was fixed on her. "All to buy you guys time to make a getaway. You knew full well, even if I was sure Theresa was my kid, even if I knew the paternity test was bogus, without solid proof for the time being, I couldn't touch you. By then, you'd have already taken Theresa out of the West district, and I'd be left with no evidence to prove anything. Right?"
Sophia's lower lip was nearly bleeding from the pressure, but she nodded again. "Yes."
"To throw me off the scent, you've been playing nice these past few days, pretending to go along with things, pretending you're willing to start over with me."
Sophia stayed quiet, her lips sealed, but her expression said it all.
"How could you do this?" Brandon's fingers clenched uncontrollably around Sophia's chin, his eyes reddening with anger, "How dare you? Again and again, Sophia, how dare you?"