Carl had never thought that so much would happen within such a short time. He had simply gone into the woods for a magazine photoshoot, and after he left the woods into areas with reception, his phone was abuzz with news about Sonia.
That woman Tina actually accused Sonia of causing her harm and even tried to cancel her on the Internet.
Carl decided that he wouldn’t let anyone off the hook that easily, not even the reporters, the netizens, and the culprit who splashed acid at Sonia.
Sonia could hear the suppressed anger in Carl’s voice, so she understood that the events which happened to her had caused this usually gentle young man to fly into a rage. She hastily replied, “Don’t worry, Carl. I’m all right.”
“Are you really okay? The acid—”
“It didn’t touch me. Many reporters saw it at the scene too, and you probably can find a video online. Just watch it if you’re not convinced. I’m really okay,” Sonia said, shaking her head.
Carl lowered his gaze. “I know, I watched it, but it’s just that… I’m still worried.”
“Are you still worried now?” Sonia smiled slightly.
Carl gave a hum. “No, I’m okay now. I’m glad to know that you’re okay. Leave the rest to me; I’ll get it sorted out.”
“Huh?” Sonia was slightly stunned. “What do you mean by that, Carl? What do you intend to do?”
Carl narrowed his eyes, which were void of any cheer. “You’ll know soon enough, Sonia. I’ll make everyone who hurt you pay for their crimes!”
With that, he hung up.
“Carl? Hello, Carl?” Sonia called his name, but there was no response, so she quickly looked at the display on her phone.
Seeing the home screen on the phone display, she finally realized that Carl had hung up long ago. “This kid…”
For some unknown reason, Sonia felt a little uneasy. She had an ominous feeling that Carl’s words were hinting at some huge trouble in the near future.
She hoped she was just thinking too much.
“What are you thinking about? What’s with the long face?” Toby’s deep voice sounded in her ears, laced with concern.
Sonia put her phone face down. “It’s nothing. How did you get in? The reporters—”
“The police had shooed them away.” Toby sat down beside her.
“You had the police do it?” Sonia turned to look at him. “The reporters were camped outside for so long, but the police never did anything about it, so it’s not very likely that the police chased them away on their own volition unless someone interfered.”
Toby gave a small laugh, for Sonia had guessed the correct answer too quickly. “Yes, it was me. You’ve been inside for so long, so I got worried. I didn’t want to wait in the car any longer, so I asked the police to chase the reporters away. However, that was just one of the reasons.”
“And the others being?” She gave him a little frown of dissatisfaction.
Toby nodded. “Grandma just called.”
“What did she say?” Sonia asked in a straightforward manner.
“She also received news of what happened today, and she was worried about you, so she gave you a call. However, your line was busy, so she called me to ask about you instead.” Toby elegantly crossed his legs.
Sonia smiled warmly. “Aw, she shouldn’t have. But how did she know that you’re with me?”
“The videos online. She could see that the one who saved you was me,” Toby answered.
Sonia looked up in realization. “No wonder.”
Other people might not be able to recognize Toby, but Old Mrs. Fuller could certainly recognize her own grandson without a doubt.
“Got it. Help me thank her for her concern and tell her that I might drop by the old manor for a visit sometime soon.” Sonia rubbed between her eyebrows as she spoke.
Toby responded, “Okay, I’ll go fetch you when the time comes.”
“It’s okay. It’s not like I forgot where the old manor is. I can get there on my own, so you don’t have to come,” Sonia said, lowering her gaze.
Sonia’s reply marked the end of their conversation, as her answer put his words to a halt. Deep down, he knew more than anything that the main reason was that she didn’t want to go with him.
The atmosphere fell silent and somber.
After a while, a police officer walked over. “Miss Reed, we have the interrogation results concerning the culprit who threw acid at you.”
Hearing that, Sonia immediately stood up, and to which Toby followed suit. “What’s the result? Was he hired to do it? Did he have grudges against Sonia?”
Coincidentally, those were also the two questions that Sonia badly wanted to know the answers to. She trained her eyes on the police officer as she awaited his reply.
The police officer shook his head. “Neither. He wasn’t hired, nor did he have any grudges against Miss Reed.”
“Then why did he do that?” Sonia’s pretty eyebrows were scrunched up.
Seeing that, Toby wanted to reach out and smoothen the frown, but he knew that she would avoid him, so he eventually gave up. He simply said, “Don’t keep frowning. It doesn’t suit you.”
Sonia gave him a look, and she simply thought that he was being ridiculous.
I don’t even care how I look when I frown. What is he so conscious about?
Sonia didn’t respond to Toby’s comment as she turned her gaze back on the police officer.
The police officer adjusted his cap, then answered, “His name is William Baker. He’s Tina’s classmate in high school, and he is also her admirer. His family runs a chemical business, and that was how he got his hands on the sulfuric acid.”
“I see.” Sonia bit her lip.
So that’s why. Now it makes sense. It’s not like sulfuric acid is some substance you can just get over the counter. He got it from his family’s business.
Toby said with a dark expression, “That person, did he go to Sonia for revenge simply because he saw Tina’s posts and live stream?”
“Not entirely. The main factor was Tina’s phone call,” the police officer said.
Sonia clenched her fists and asked in an accidental synchronization with Toby, “What phone call?”
“According to William, he said that before Tina went live, she gave him a phone call. In that call, she was weeping about the things that had happened to her. She said she was in great suffering and wanted to die. William told her not to be rash, and then Tina said that she didn’t want to, either, but she couldn’t help it whenever she sees her enemy still alive and well.”
“So William grabbed some sulfuric acid and went to me right after that?” Sonia asked, gritting her teeth.
The police officer nodded. “Correct. It’s more or less like that.”
“So Tina was deliberately inciting crimes now, right?” Toby suddenly spoke.
The police officer nodded again. “That is correct.”
Sonia bit her lip so hard that it felt like she might bleed from her lips anytime, shaking in anger.
She really asked someone else to do the dirty work for her!
Tina not only canceled and accused Sonia on the Internet, she even used her admirer to cause harm to Sonia. She was incredibly clever to employ multiple methods at once.
“So, based on this evidence, can you arrest Tina right now?” Sonia looked at the police officer and asked urgently.
The police officer shook his head. “No, not now. At present, we only know that Tina might have wrongly accused you, Miss Reed, and she had incited William to commit a crime. However, these do not warrant an arrest.”
Sonia’s face fell.
Since Tina’s actions still couldn’t warrant an arrest, they couldn’t get back at Tina via legal means. They could only take revenge on her and let her have a taste of her own medicine!
However, Sonia was still quite impressed with Tina.
Tina was literally a mastermind who worked behind the scenes. She would manipulate people to take action for her, but she would always be clean and blameless so that no one could get hold of any evidence of her.
She had such smarts, but she didn’t use them for good.
Sonia narrowed her eyes, then asked, “Right, can I see that William guy for a bit?”
“No, I’m afraid you can’t. We received orders that William will soon be sent to the detention center, so no one is allowed to see him except for the lawyers. Even the victim is not exempt from this rule. You can still see him in court, though,” the police officer explained.
Sonia pursed her lips. “Got it, thanks. I’ll take my leave now, then.”
“Of course.” The police officer nodded.
Sonia gave Toby a look, and then the two left the police station.
