I didn’t know that Tina would be so shameless as to pretend to faint.
“President Fuller, I believe she will wake up soon,” Sonia uttered coldly while resting her arms on her chest.
Now that she was still in Toby’s arms, Tina could not help but exert more pressure on her hand that hung in the air. What does she mean by that? Could she have noticed that I am faking it?
Toby seemed to have understood what Sonia was implying, for he lowered his eyes and gazed at Tina for a while.
After failing to detect any oddity, he looked up at Sonia. “What do you think I should do?”
She smiled. “It’s simple—just release her. If she has really fainted, she’d definitely react when she lands on the ground. Why don’t you try it out on her?”
Upon hearing that, Tina’s heart pumped even harder. How could Sonia force me to wake up with that horrible suggestion? She’s cruel and malicious!
Toby frowned at the suggestion and replied, “What kind of idea is that? Have you ever considered that Tina would be injured if I let go of her while she is unconscious?”
Tina let out a relieved sigh. Great, looks like he won’t listen to Sonia.
Sonia’s gaze swept across Tina’s forehead, where Tina’s worried wrinkles were smoothened after being ‘saved’ by Toby. A smirking Sonia added, “If you don’t have the heart to test it out, why don’t we use another method?”
“What is it?” he questioned and Tina, who was in his arms, perked up too.
“You will know soon.” Sonia flashed a mischievous grin and tapped on her phone screen before approaching them.
The sound of Sonia’s footsteps had caused Tina to panic. Sonia, what are you cooking up this time?
No matter what would happen next, Tina was determined to endure it to prevent from exposing herself.
Sonia walked up to Tina and under Toby’s watchful gaze, she placed her phone by Tina’s ear, after which she tapped the ‘play’ button on the screen.
Bang!
A loud sound exploded from the speakers, causing Toby to tense up from the shock. He was close to releasing his grip on Tina and causing her to land on the ground.
Thankfully, he was acutely aware of the fact that he was holding someone, which allowed him to avert the crisis.
Much to Sonia’s great surprise, even though he was frightened by the loud sound, Tina didn’t move whatsoever in his arms with her eyes closed, as though she had really fainted.
Her lack of reaction caused Sonia to frown. An average person who pretends to faint would definitely jump when he or she hears the loud sound.
Despite what had just happened, Tina had suppressed her natural reaction, which required a lot of effort on her part.
Sonia could only accept her defeat in the face of Tina’s sheer persistence. “I apologize, President Fuller. Looks like I have made a wrong guess. Miss Gray seems to have fainted for real.” She kept her phone away and smiled.
If Tina would not wake up after being frightened by the obstreperous sound, Sonia figured that it was useless to insist on proving Tina wrong. Any attempt to do so would only amplify her own insensibility.
If she wanted to lodge a police report on Tina, she could do that anytime because she had the recording in her hands.
When Tina heard that Sonia had thrown in the towel, she silently let out a huge sigh of relief. It appears that Sonia will not try to expose me anymore.
Anyway, Tina made note of Sonia’s prank on her, determined to exact revenge by inflicting double the torture next time.
“I will call you when Tina wakes up.” Toby gave Sonia a deep look as he said those words. He did not blame Sonia for delaying Tina’s treatment because he subconsciously felt that Tina could be faking her situation as well..
Alas, he seemed to have misunderstood Tina.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt guilty toward Tina as he gazed at her.
“Alright. I shall wait for your call,” Sonia answered with a smile.
After that, Toby carried Tina in his arms and brought her to the ER. Sonia was preparing to leave for her doctor’s appointment at the Gastroenterology Department, but for some reason, the pain in her stomach worsened.
At that moment, her phone buzzed from Charles’ call. “Sonia, have you visited Old Mrs. Fuller?”
“Yes, why?” Sonia walked toward the Gastroenterology Department as she asked.
His voice took a solemn note. “Well, here’s the thing. I have found out how Titus Gray was released.”
“Oh?” Her eyes scrunched up with great interest.
Charles scoffed at the other end. “Titus Gray had help from the authorities to release him. Yesterday, Tina paid a visit to Titus before heading over to the Wallace Residence.”
“The Wallace Residence?” Sonia pursed her lips. “Are we talking about the Wallaces? Isn’t that the family of Seafied’s Vice Mayor Wallace, just like how the Coleman Family is?”
“Yes, that’s the one. Mr. Wallace is Titus’s friend from college.”
She replied sarcastically, “Ah, I never expected the two families to be connected in this manner! Or should I say that the Gray Family are very connected, especially with the families who are in power?”
“Right? First, it was the Stryders and now, it is the Wallaces,” Charles smirked and replied tartly.
In a quick turn, he burst out laughing in what appeared to be schadenfreude. “Baby, from what has happened lately, don’t you think that those who side with the Gray Family always end up in trouble? Think back on Melody Stryder and Cynthia Stone. Following this logic, I am afraid that the Wallaces would meet the same fate.”
Sonia chuckled. “That sounds right, but remember, the Wallaces are different. They are the elites of Seafield, unlike the Stryders. One could say that they have an advantage in their own territory.”
“I don’t see any difference. The Wallaces and the Coleman Family are political enemies.” He grinned. “Sonia, you probably don’t know about this yet, but the mayor of Seafield will be vacating his seat soon. The two families have their eyes on the position of mayor, which is why they are now in the middle of a showoff! Given that the entire city has heard about Titus Gray’s arrest, how did the Wallaces have the guts to free him?”
“Do you mean to say that the Coleman Family will use this incident to their advantage?” A witty twinkle flashed in her eyes.
Charles snapped his fingers in excitement. “Baby, you’re intelligent indeed! That’s correct! The Coleman Family will definitely use this knowledge to their advantage. Once the Wallaces get themselves in trouble, they would start hating Titus Gray like the Stryders did. Had the Stryders not been in crisis, they would have already taken revenge on the Gray Family.”
“That would be good news.” A smile crept onto Sonia’s face.
“There’s more,” Charles added. “The Wallaces have offended the Coleman Family lately.”
“What happened?” She was taken aback by the news.
To that, he reacted with a maniacal laugh. “Do you really think that the Wallaces would take the risk and save Titus Gray just because he is an old friend from college? That’s definitely not the case. This time around, the Wallaces and the Coleman Family are in a heated fight for the mayor position. As the two families are equally good in politics, it is hard to decide which one of the vice mayors should be promoted. As a result, the higher ups have handed the two families a mission.”
“What mission?” Sonia’s curiosity was piqued.
Charles shrugged. “I don’t know about the details, but the two families are trying their best to attract investments to Seafield. Whoever gets the most investments for the city will be considered faster in completing the mission. At first, the Gray Family were supporting the Coleman Family, but in the end, they withdrew their investment and redirected it to the Wallaces.”
“I see what’s going on there. The Gray Family has probably used their investments as the bargaining chip to free Titus Gray.”
Charles nodded. “That’s right! However, Titus Gray’s action has turned the Coleman Family into a joke. If the mission ends now, the Coleman Family would have lost the opportunity to even compete for the position. That’s why I said Titus Gray has offended the Coleman Family.”
At that point, Sonia could not help but smile. “The Gray Family is indeed something. How could they offend all the families in power at the same time?”
“I know right?” He agreed.
When Sonia saw the elevator was arriving, she planned to end the call. “Alright, let’s end here for now. Let’s leave Titus Gray to the Coleman Family—they’d definitely take care of him for us. As for you, keep an eye on the factory and tell the engineering team to speed up on the construction.”
“Don’t worry, I got it.”
“Okay.” Sonia hung up on the call and entered the elevator.
…
Over at the Gastroenterology Department, the doctor held Sonia’s report in hand and sat on his chair with a solemn expression.
Upon seeing that, she clutched her hands anxiously. “Doctor, do I have a serious illness?”
