Joanna Sherman’s heart jolted.
But she said aloud, "I should be asking what you’re up to."
"How am I supposed to know if Yasmine Reed is a good person or a bad one?"
"Lil was traumatized, and then Yasmine Reed ca to propose marriage. Her parents have already agreed, so what else could I say? All I could do was comfort her, of course."
"Is comforting her a cri?"
Joanna Sherman was clearly changing the subject.
The more she acted this way, the guiltier she seed.
"Sophia, I know you can’t stand seeing get ahead, so you’re using Lillian Forrest’s situation to co after ."
"But I have a clear conscience in this matter. You’d be wise to drop your twisted suspicions. Don’t delude yourself into thinking you can stir up trouble and affect !"
Joanna Sherman operated on the principle that as long as you act with enough self-righteous conviction, no one can do anything to you.
"Today’s project launch ceremony is for , but it’s also for the Grant Group and Zenith. If you take things too far, do you really think the Grant Group’s board of directors will let you off the hook?"
Joanna Sherman lifted her chin smugly, that familiar, condescending glint returning to her eyes.
Just then, Sophia’s phone rang.
Joanna shot her a glance and started to walk away.
Sophia held her phone, listening as Levin Sawyer said, "Faye, do you know what I’ve found out..."
"Joanna Sherman!"
After listening for just a mont, Sophia urgently called out to her.
She spoke to Levin Sawyer on the other end of the line. "Levin, repeat what you just said."
She aid the phone at Joanna Sherman.
Levin Sawyer’s voice ca from the phone. "This Joanna Sherman... she’s been having soone tail Liam Reed every day. It’s seriously twisted."
"I decided to just confront Liam Reed directly. Before I even had to raise a fist, the guy cracked. He admitted he was the one who assaulted Lillian Forrest."
"He also said he assaulted Lillian Forrest because he found out she had a boyfriend and was afraid he’d lost his chance, so he resorted to that desperate asure!"
As Joanna Sherman listened to Levin Sawyer’s words, the arrogance on her face vanished, her expression turning as white as a sheet.
Her lips trembled uncontrollably.
Sophia hung up the phone. "Joanna Sherman, you were having Liam Reed followed, weren’t you? So how could you not know what kind of person he is? How could you possibly not know that he was the one who assaulted Lillian?"
Sophia’s two rapid-fire questions hung in the air, her normally gentle gaze turning sharp as steel, locking onto Joanna.
"So, you were plotting to destroy Lillian from the very beginning!"
"You deliberately provoked Liam Reed by pushing Rhea Dunn and Lillian Forrest to go public with their relationship. Then you had him followed, waiting for him to assault Lillian so you could swoop in and play the part of a savior!"
"That way, you could use the ’favor’ of saving her to get an investnt from Jenson Forrest, and at the sa ti, you’d have the traumatized Lillian Forrest wrapped around your finger. And, of course, if Lillian actually married Liam Reed, you could use this little secret to blackmail him into doing your bidding!"
’Sophia... had guessed everything correctly!’
’Not a single detail was wrong!’
Joanna Sherman stared at her as if she were seeing a ghost.
This ti, her legs felt weak.
However, when she saw Vincent Grant approaching in the distance, she straightened her spine and said with a cold smirk, "Sophia, you have quite the imagination, spinning such a tale just to fra ."
"I admit I had Liam Reed followed. What does that prove? I did it because I heard he liked Lillian, and I was worried."
"I gave up after a few days when nothing turned up. That’s all."
"It’s true I asked about Lillian’s relationship with her classmate. The two of them were inseparable, so I asked about it as a joke. Is that a cri now?"
"As for your claims about having Lillian ’wrapped around my finger’ and using Liam Reed, that’s all complete nonsense."
"You’ve made all these accusations, but can you produce a single shred of evidence?"
Joanna Sherman tilted her chin up at Sophia, a smug smile playing on her lips.
Her gaze clearly said: ’So what if I did it?’
Arrogant. Smug. Utterly untouchable.
This was always her thod for bullying Sophia.
She would never leave any evidence, giving Sophia no grounds for accusation.
And yet, she always made damn sure Sophia knew it was her doing the tornting.
This side of Joanna Sherman was particularly vile.
Sophia clenched her fists tightly, hatred surging through her.
Vincent Grant arrived before them in an instant, with Cedric Grant at his side.
The arrogance on Joanna Sherman’s face vanished as if by magic when the two arrived, replaced by the pained expression of a victim, her eyes rimd with red.
"Sophia, I know you’re more capable than , so I’ve been working so, so hard to improve. I worked countless overti hours and endured so much to get this project approved, and I finally managed to secure the investnt."
"I really cherish this. Please, can you stop trying to tear down?"
With Joanna looking so pitiful and Sophia looking so furious, any uninford observer would think Sophia was bullying her.
"Mom, Auntie Joanna," Cedric Grant said, looking uneasily between the two. Although he felt like Sophia was bullying Joanna, he didn’t imdiately voice his accusation.
That had only been Auntie Joanna’s side of the story; he wanted to hear what his mother had to say.
Vincent Grant also stood facing them, lips pressed together, his gaze on Sophia devoid of pressure.
Sophia gave Cedric and Vincent an indifferent glance.
Then she turned and walked away.
Behind her, Joanna Sherman cursed inwardly: ’Fool!’
Cedric Grant watched Sophia walk away, anxious and sad. He tugged on Vincent Grant’s sleeve. "Dad, why didn’t Mom explain?"
’If she just explained, I’d believe her!’
Vincent Grant’s eyes followed Sophia’s retreating back for a long, long ti, and he didn’t say a word.
But the corner of his lips betrayed a deep sense of powerlessness.
Sophia’s expression just now had clearly told everyone she couldn’t be bothered to explain.
You only can’t be bothered when you don’t care.
After a long while, he patted Cedric Grant’s shoulder. "Let’s go sit over there."
Cedric Grant nodded, reluctantly tearing his gaze away from Sophia.
He wanted to chase after Sophia, but he had promised Auntie Joanna he would co and show his support today. It wouldn’t be right to leave.
Cedric Grant was actually very upset.
’If he’d known he would run into his mom, he never would have agreed to Auntie Joanna’s request.’
After Cedric Grant left, Joanna Sherman spoke again. "Vincent, it really wasn’t who started that. You know Sophia is a rocket genius now. Everyone treats her like a goddess. What standing do I have to cause trouble for her?"
Joanna Sherman’s tone was perfectly calibrated—a mix of defiance, disappointnt, and hurt that was designed to inspire pity.
"Go sit down."
Vincent Grant remained noncommittal.
’Joanna even felt that, even if he truly thought Sophia had bullied her, he wouldn’t intervene on her behalf anymore.’
’Was it just because she wasn’t as capable as Sophia?’
Joanna Sherman clenched her fists, her nails digging hard into her palms.
It seed only this pain could suppress the overwhelming disappointnt in her heart.
A mont later, she held her head high and strode after Vincent Grant.
Her eyes were filled with arrogance and confidence.
’She would win Vincent Grant over again with her own strength, and she would make him see that she, Joanna Sherman, was no less than Sophia Shaw.’
’She would make both Cedric Grant and Vincent Grant fix their gazes on her once more!’
Joanna Sherman sat down beside Vincent Grant and Cedric Grant, her expression perfectly natural.
Sophia had been about to leave.
But now, she’d changed her mind.
She quietly watched the woman sitting beside Cedric Grant and Vincent Grant, so radiant and brimming with confidence.
’Joanna Sherman was indeed smart. She always knew the most vicious way to bully soone, and she was an expert at hurting others without leaving a single trace.’
’But she had forgotten one thing: a victim doesn’t stay a victim forever.’
’Today, she would do sothing for Lillian and for her past self.’
’She would teach the perpetrator that so people are not to be ssed with.’
Sophia chose a seat in the last row and took out her phone. "Jacobs, I need you to do sothing for ."
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