Sonia was going through some reports when she heard her phone vibrating. She picked it up and read Tim’s message before she sent him a voice note. “Are you okay now?”
Tim reached a hand out to hail a cab. He got into the cab before he typed out a message for Sonia. ‘I’m fine. I didn’t admit to anything, but the police seemed to think that I was an accomplice. They don’t have the right to arrest me since neither they nor Tina had any evidence. The only way I’d get arrested is if they find those six men.’
Sonia heaved a sigh of relief after reading the text. “Where are those six men now? Is it likely for them to be found by the police?” she asked through a voice note.
‘No. I’ve changed their names and sent them out of the country. They will never return to this place,’ Tim replied through text. In other words, the police would never find the six men. As long as the six men weren’t around to serve as witnesses, Tina would have to bear the weight of all the crimes.
She nodded once she understood the situation. “That’s great,” she uttered through a voice note. They texted for a while more before they ended the conversation. Right then, Daphne knocked and stepped into Sonia’s office. “Mrs. Gray and Miss Rina Gray from Triforce Enterprise are here to see you, President Reed.”
Rina Gray? Her appearance sure caused a great deal of discussion in Seafield recently, Sonia thought. The public only found out that the Grays had more than one daughter after she showed up a few days ago. The Grays announced that they had an elder daughter who had been kidnapped when she was young. Well, Rina might have been in the spotlight for a few days, but the Grays’ youngest daughter is the hot topic once more.
“Mrs. Gray?” Sonia narrowed her eyes. “What are they doing here?”
Daphne shook her head. “I’m not sure about that, but I assume that it has something to do with Tina.”
“Is that so? Just ignore them, then,” Sonia uttered with the wave of a hand.
“Are you saying that you don’t want to see them?” Daphne asked.
“Yeah.” Sonia nodded.
“Okay. I’ll get someone to show them out of the building now.” Daphne adjusted her glasses before she replied. She turned around to leave the office, but she barely got the chance to open the door before someone flung the door open from the other side.
Julia stormed in with Rina beside her. The receptionist followed behind them timidly and gave Daphne an apologetic smile. “I didn’t let them in on purpose, Miss Daphne. They insisted on coming up, and they threatened to kill themselves right here if I called security to bring them out, so…”
Daphne felt a headache coming to her as she stared at the two unwelcome guests. She massaged her temples as she turned to Sonia. “President Reed, look…”
Sonia heard everything the receptionist said, and she shot Julia a cold glare as she pressed her red lips together. “I’ll handle this. Both of you can go back to work.”
“Alright,” Daphne replied. The receptionist heaved a sigh of relief when she realized that Sonia hadn’t faulted her for letting the two intruders in. Once they left, Sonia, Julia, and Rina were the only people in the office. Sonia leaned against her chair as she looked up at the mother and daughter duo who were walking toward her.
Although Sonia was young, she held a high position in the field and therefore had a more domineering aura than them. Julia felt pressured the moment Sonia’s gaze landed on her. After all, Julia was used to her life as a rich man’s wife—all she ever did was enjoy her life while spending her husband’s money. Her aura was nothing in comparison to Sonia’s. Furthermore, she seemed even meeker ever since all the incidents with Triforce Enterprise and Tina’s arrest.
Julia could clearly feel herself being overpowered by Sonia even though Sonia was much younger than her. As much as she felt displeased by that, Julia had no choice but to contain her dissatisfaction as she had visited Sonia with other intentions in mind. After rubbing her slightly red eyes, Julia took a deep breath to calm herself down before she forced a smile. “Miss Reed—”
“Sit!” Sonia pointed at the chairs in front of her desk. Julia glanced in the direction of her finger before she pulled a chair out to sit down. Sonia wasn’t looking at Julia at all. Instead, her red lips were curled into a smirk as she gazed at Rina. “She’s the eldest daughter you guys have just reunited with, right, Mrs. Gray?” Sonia feigned curiosity.
“Yes. This is my eldest daughter, Rina.” Julia reached out and held onto Rina’s hand before patting the back of her hand gently. Compassion and love spread across the older woman’s face—it was clear that she was truly fond of Rina.
The more Julia was fond of Rina, the better Sonia and Zane’s plan would eventually work out for them. Yet, for some reason, Sonia felt a faint uneasiness in her chest whenever she saw Julia’s tender and loving gaze toward Rina. Sonia even felt rather annoyed by it. I must be losing my mind! she thought. She shook her head a little and suppressed her confusing emotions before she put on a small smile. “Hello, Miss Rina.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Miss Reed.” Rina pretended as if she didn’t know Sonia, and she addressed Sonia in a bashful voice before hiding behind Julia and acting as if she were a timid young girl. Sonia understood what Rina was doing, and she could find no fault with the way Rina acted then. Sonia simply nodded before shifting her gaze back to Julia. “Is there any reason you’re here to see me, Mrs. Gray?”
Julia responded with an embarrassed laugh. “Well, I’m here for Tina’s sake.”
Sonia’s gaze flickered when she heard her words. So, my guess was right! She looked at Julia, who had completely changed her attitude and demeanor toward Sonia. “Oh? Are you here for the sake of your younger daughter?” Sonia said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. That’s right. Ever since the Grays announced the existence of their eldest daughter, Tina is just the younger child at home.
“Yeah.” Julia let out a sigh as tears began to well up in her eyes. Sonia had long realized how Tina would often tear up whenever she was trying to act innocent. Now, I finally know where Tina got that habit from. Like mother, like daughter, huh?
“Miss Reed.” Julia clasped her hands together as she started at Sonia. “I know that Tina shouldn’t have framed you, but… she made a rash decision without thinking. Could you possibly—”
“Are you asking if I can set her free?” Sonia wore the same faint smirk as she interrupted Julia.
Julia felt uneasy when she saw the mocking look on Sonia’s face, but she had no choice but to tolerate it for the sake of Tina. “Yes, Miss Reed. That’s why I came here. If you’re willing to set Tina free, I’ll… I’ll give you five million!” she cried while nodding. “What do you think, Miss Reed?” Julia held her hand out toward Sonia as she spoke.
The smile remained on Sonia’s face as she kept quiet without answering. On the other hand, Rina, who stood behind Julia, bit her lower lip as a rather dissatisfied look formed on her face. Five million! Even one million was already a huge sum to Rina—she couldn’t believe that Julia was willing to pay five million just to save Tina. It was evident that Julia wasn’t about to give up on Tina. It looks like I’ll have to work harder to weaken Mom’s love for Tina so that I can successfully chase Tina out of the picture.
Julia started to get annoyed when Sonia didn’t respond to her offer after some time had passed. Julia thought that five million was too little for Sonia. With her teeth gritted, Julia held five fingers up. “I’ll add another five million to that. How does ten million sound for you?”
“You sure are generous, Mrs. Gray. But can you afford to give me ten million?” Sonia held her head up as she sniggered at Julia. “I heard that Toby canceled all of his existing partnerships with Triforce Enterprise when he called the marriage off. Once the public found out about this, many companies have pulled out from their partnerships with Triforce, and Triforce has fallen 20 places down from its spot in the Top 10 businesses in Seafield ranking. I heard that you guys are struggling with a reduction in capital, and I’m sure the company will be further impacted by the backlash following Tina’s arrest last night.”
“What exactly are you trying to tell me?” Julia’s expression faltered as she felt increasingly troubled by the situation.
