Chapter 490 Stepsister Appears
She held the phone with one hand and clutched her chest. A long while later, she finally spoke, but her voice was hoarse. “I understand. I won’t be going tomorrow, so tell your boss not to worry. I did say I would never show up in front of him ever again, and I intend to uphold that promise. And tell your boss congratulations. He and Miss McRae will make a wonderful pair.” She put her phone down and hung up right away.
Tom frowned curiously. “What is she talking about?” Why should I congratulate President Fuller? And what does she mean he and Miss McRae make a great pair?
Daphne noticed that Sonia was looking a bit pale after hanging up, so she asked, “What’s wrong, Miss Reed?”
“I’m fine.” She bit her lip, but since she was using too much force, her lip paled.
She just thought it was ironic. It was acceptable that Toby suddenly went back on his word and switched his partner out. After all, he did tell her to never show her face around him again, so it was normal that he didn’t want her to be his partner. She already had that guess, so Tom’s call just confirmed it.
She was already prepared because she had a guess that Toby would cancel the invitation, but she still felt hurt when she got the news. That wasn’t the most important thing, of course. Her real gripe was that Toby only told her about the cancellation after he found another partner.
Is he playing me for a fool? To make a clearer example, let’s say they were still a couple, but Toby actually found another girl before he told her about the breakup. It was like she was dumped after she outlived her usefulness. He could have told me to not go before he got a new partner, but he didn’t! And he got Lily as his partner out of all people.
The more she thought about it, the more restless she was. In the end, she leaned back and pinched the area between her brows in exhaustion. “Leave me be, Daphne. I want some alone time.”
“Yes, Miss Reed.” Daphne looked at her worriedly before leaving the office.
After she left, Daphne called Charles’ number. She actually didn’t want to call him over Sonia. After all, Sonia was her romantic rival even though Sonia didn’t like Charles.
But she knew Charles had liked Sonia for a long time now. If Sonia was unhappy, Charles wouldn’t be happy. She loved Charles and would not want to see him sad, so even though Sonia was her romantic rival, she would still call Charles and ask him to come over and take a look. After all, love could be both selfish and selfless. Her love was the latter. She knew it was impossible for her to date Charles, so she could never be selfish. That was why she wanted her loved one to be happy.
Once the call went through, Charles asked, “What is it, Daphne?”
“Mr. Lane, I need to tell you something. Miss Reed seems off after taking a particular call. Do you want to come over and take a look?” Daphne looked at Sonia’s office as she spoke.
Charles leapt to his feet the moment Daphne said something was off about Sonia. “Who called my baby?”
Daphne was hurt hearing the man she loved calling someone else ‘baby’, but she held it down. She took a deep breath and said calmly, “It was Mr. Fuller’s assistant—Tom Brown.”
“Tom Brown?” The mention of that name soured his mood.
The fact that Tom worked for Toby was annoying enough, and not to mention nothing good ever happened whenever they met. When he recalled how easily Tom pinned him down, he gnashed his teeth angrily. “I got it. I’ll come over right away.”
“Thank you.” Daphne hung up and put her phone down. She then adjusted her glasses and went back to her office.
Two weeks later, Charles came to Paradigm Co., but he looked solemn when he came in. It was as if something serious had happened. Sonia wanted to ask why he came over all of a sudden, but when she saw the look on his face, she asked, “What happened, Charles?”
Charles stood before her desk somberly. “I think I saw Jessica, babe.”
The mention of that name got Sonia’s attention, and she sat up straighter. “What did you say? You saw Jessica?”
“Yes.” Charles nodded. “I’m sure it’s her. I even have her picture.”
“I want to see it.” Sonia stood up.
Charles took his phone out and scrolled through his gallery for the latest photo. “This one right here. I didn’t park my car in the car park, but at the roadside near the company. When I got out, I looked around and saw her in the café across the street. I couldn’t believe my eyes, so I took her photo.”
Sonia wasn’t listening. Instead, she was staring at the photo that captured the side profile of a woman. Since it was zoomed in, the resolution wasn’t too high, but Sonia recognized the woman all the same. It was indeed Jessica, who had made off with her mother with the last of Paradigm Co.’s money after Henry killed himself six years ago.
“It’s been six years. She actually came back.” Sonia gripped the phone tightly, her expression dark.
Charles nodded. “Yeah. We thought they would never return, but it only took her six years to come back. I think her mother might be here as well.”
Sonia sneered. “Of course. Paradigm Co. is stable now and not bankrupt, so of course they would find out about the news and come back.”
“So you’re saying they’re here so they can take Paradigm Co. from you?” Charles frowned.
Sonia handed him his phone. “They have no other reason to come back. They’re both greedy leeches. After Dad died, they took all the money and ran away, disappearing without a trace. They didn’t care about the company, and they didn’t even come to Dad’s funeral. They’re heartless b*tches who only care about themselves. If it weren’t because of Asher stepping up and asking the bank to give us a loan, Paradigm Co. would have gone bankrupt six years ago.”
She had to thank Asher for Paradigm Co.’s continued survival. Even though he did it all so he could take full control, his contribution was undeniable. That was why Sonia tolerated him despite all his schemes and antics. She never did punish him using her status as main shareholder. However, if he did cross her line, she’d stop tolerating him. As the main shareholder, she had more than one way to fire Asher.
Charles laughed mirthlessly. “They ran when Paradigm Co. and the Reeds got into trouble, but now that the company’s back on track, they want to get a slice of the pie? How nasty.”
“They’re heartless b*stards. Honor means nothing to them, but profit means everything. The question here is when they made their return, and how long have they been here.” Sonia frowned and started thinking about the questions at hand.
If they just came back, then they’d probably raise hell soon. But if it has been a while since they returned, then where are they staying right now? And why haven’t they shown up yet?
