About half an hour later, Toby opened the door to allow Tom to enter. “Come in.”
Then, Toby turned around and headed to the living room.
As he watched his boss’ retreating back, Tom’s lips couldn’t help but twitch a little. If I recall correctly, this is Sonia’s place, so why is Toby the one who opened the door for me? Why is he also acting as if he is the owner here?
Although Tom had many questions, he didn’t dare to ask any of them and entered the house.
“Where are the clothes?” Toby stared at him.
Immediately, Tom handed a bag to him. “It’s inside here.”
After he took over the bag, Toby started to change in the living room while Tom lifted another bag that he was holding. “President Fuller, your breakfast—”
“Place it on the table,” Toby replied while buttoning his shirt.
Upon hearing that, Tom placed the bag on the table.
Then, Toby pointed at the coffee table again. “Take those pills on the table with you.”
“Alright.” Tom nodded.
After that, the two of them left.
However, Toby eyed the entrance of Sonia’s place before he left with an unreadable dark look.
Not long after the two of them left, the door to the bedroom opened as Sonia exited her room while yawning. Nevertheless, she was stunned when she saw the neatly folded blanket on the couch. Where did he go?
Sonia looked around, but she still couldn’t see any signs of Toby. Upon noticing that the medication on the coffee table was gone, she figured that he probably took it along with him. Moreover, there was a bag on the dining table.
As she walked over with curiosity, she opened the bag to see a breakfast set from Jade Dynasty. Is this for me?
Sonia frowned.
Still, she didn’t reject the package as it was a free breakfast after all.
After she finished her breakfast, she changed into a new outfit and went out with her new purse.
Upon arriving at the company, her phone rang at the same time she ran into Charles. It was from the police.
“Is this Miss Reed?”
“It’s me.” Sonia nodded.
Then, the police continued, “I’m sorry, Miss Reed, but we might have to close the case with regards to Miss Gray pushing you off the stairs.”
“What?!” Sonia’s expression darkened as she abruptly stood up.
A startled Charles blinked and looked at her. “What’s wrong, darling?”
Nonetheless, Sonia ignored him and pursed her lips before asking, “Why are you guys closing the case now when I haven’t even gotten my bag back or handed any evidence? Why is the case being closed?”
“Please calm down, Miss Reed. I understand what you’re feeling, but we have to close the case because Miss Gray’s parents and her fiancé submitted a psychological evaluation.”
“Psychological evaluation?” Her eyes narrowed as the police nodded on the other end of the line. “That’s right. Miss Gray currently has serious mental issues and our country still doesn’t have a clear standard operation procedure against people with mental disorders, so…”
“So, what you’re saying is that the mentally ill are not bound by the law?” Sonia’s grip on her phone tightened before her pitch went higher.
The police sighed before he replied, “Yes, that’s why we have no choice but to drop the case. As for your bag, we are still conducting our investigations, but there’s currently no lead on it, so there’s a high chance that you might not be able to get it back. Please be mentally prepared, Miss Reed.”
The call ended at that point.
While she bit her lips, Sonia reluctantly lowered her phone.
When Charles looked at her, he asked again in a worried tone, “What’s wrong, darling?”
Then, she finally told him about the content of the call.
Upon hearing what happened, he slammed his fist on the table in anger. “What the f*ck? That’s so shameless of them! How dare they try to get Tina off the hook by taking advantage of the law’s gray area!”
“I know, right? I can’t believe they still have tricks up their sleeves.” Sonia massaged her temple in exhaustion. So, that’s why Toby didn’t force me to not lodge a report. It looks like he always stood a chance at protecting Tina whether I lodge a report or not. I miscalculated this time.
“No. I need to get an explanation from Toby!” Charles exclaimed before trying to leave.
However, Sonia stopped him. “Don’t. It’s useless even if you went. We are not his match.”
When he heard her, he paused. Then, he slouched; it was obvious he looked beaten.
A while later, he clenched his fists and turned around. “Sonia, do you think that it’s true that Tina has dissociative identity disorder?”
Something flashed in her eyes. “I don’t know. Tim was the one who diagnosed Tina to have dissociative identity disorder and you know that he wouldn’t lie. Still, I can’t bring myself to believe it, so I don’t want to make any conclusions for now.”
Charles inhaled deeply. “If Tina really does have dissociative identity disorder, I’m sure that she would still try to attack you considering her malicious intent toward you. Do you think that wouldn’t be illegal?”
Upon hearing that, Sonia smirked coldly. “That’s right because she’s suffering from a mental illness.”
“Hmph! Since she’s mentally ill, she should be in an asylum, not out here,” he sneered.
However, she rolled her eyes at him. “Do you really think Toby and the gang would let Tina stay in places like that?”
Upon hearing that, Charles stopped saying anything while Sonia fell into silence as well.
A few moments later, he looked up at her with fear evident in his voice. “Sonia, are we really dropping this? I mean, I still feel pissed off thinking about it as you almost…”
Although he had trailed off, they both knew what he was trying to say.
Sonia narrowed her eyes. “Of course not. How could I let Tina off hook when she tried to kill me? I’ll remember this and return the favor along with the interest. Don’t worry, I’m not the kind of person who would keep all the pain and sorrow that I’ve experienced to myself.”
Charles looked satisfied when he heard her answer. “That’s good. I’ll always have your back no matter what you want to do.”
Sonia felt her heart skip a beat when she noticed how gentle his gaze was as he stared at her.
This was her first time seeing him being so serious.
“Alright.” She smiled before nodding.
At this moment, someone knocked at the office door before Sonia turned around. “Come on in.”
When Daphne entered the office, she shot a glance at Charles before reporting to Sonia, “President Reed, a few people in charge from the Fuller Group are here and they’re trying to instigate a collaboration with us.”
“The Fuller Group?” Sonia frowned.
“Yes.” Daphne nodded.
“From which subsidiary of theirs?” she asked before Daphne answered all the questions.
Sonia’s lips then curled upward. “Those companies, huh? I understand now; it’s probably Toby trying to compensate me. Looks like he knows that protecting Tina is wrong.”
However, Charles’ face flushed red in anger. “Who needs his compensation? I want you to make them leave,” he instructed Daphne.
Yet, Sonia stopped him before Daphne could say anything. “It’s fine.”
“Sonia, are you seriously considering this?” Charles stared in disbelief.
Sonia twirled the stainless steel pen in her hand as she answered, “Why not? These companies align with the industry that Paradigm Co. is involved in, so it’s obviously for the best if we could collaborate.”
“However…” He felt uncomfortable.
At this moment, she looked at him with a serious gaze. “Charles, I know what you want to say. However, you need to consider our situation as well. Paradigm Co. currently won’t be able to revive many of our previous properties. That’s mainly because we do not have the money to do so and we don’t have anyone to work with. I mean, why shouldn’t we make use of it when we could get both at the same time?”
Upon hearing that, Charles’ lips moved slightly, but he stopped trying to argue.
Then, she added, “I don’t know why Toby decided to do this, but he’s lending help to us. Paradigm Co. needs these collaborations to be able to develop further. Still, don’t worry because I won’t let go of my grudges just because of these partnerships.”
