Toby mentioned that Fox Eyes was the one who kidnapped Tina, and claimed that Fox Eyes was one of her suitors. Therefore, the profile picture of a fox at the end of the name list was sufficient as proof of the man’s identity.
“Fox Eyes?” The man chuckled. “So that’s how you refer to me. Not bad, I like it.”
Sonia frowned as soon as she heard his admission. “Fox Eyes, who are you?”
“I can’t tell you now, but you can rest assured that I will never hurt you. You’re my light, so I will commit my life to protecting you,” Fox Eyes replied in a gentle tone.
Realizing that he was being serious, Sonia blushed. Could he actually be my suitor?
As she pondered on the possibility, Fox Eyes spoke. “Alright, it’s getting late, so you should get some rest. I will contact you again. Goodbye!” With that, he cut the call.
While staring at the screen of her phone, Sonia swallowed the questions on the tip of her tongue. Fine. Since he told me he would contact me again, I’ll just ask him next time. But who is he anyway? He popped up out of nowhere, and had been so nice to me that it felt unreal.
The next day, Sonia was woken up by Charles’ phone call. “Darling, are you awake? I’m already downstairs.” Charles was leaning against his showy red sports car while raising his head to check out the building in front of him.
Sonia yawned. “I’m getting up.”
“Alright. Be quick. I’ll be waiting for you in the car,” Charles said.
Sonia let out a grunt before hanging up, and then lifted the blanket to get out of bed. After washing up, she took her bag and left for the foyer on her crutches. Right when she opened the door, a letter fell from the doorknob outside.
Sonia picked it up in suspicion, only to recognize from the handwriting that it was a letter from her pen pal, John. Why is this outside the door? She scanned the corridor while holding onto the letter, and subsequently, a mental image of Tyler popped into her mind.
Previously, Tyler had taken a letter which he promised to return to her, so it was probably left there by him. She had told him to throw the letter away, so she didn’t expect him to hold onto it. After checking out the letter, she tucked it into her bag before leaving the house. She decided she would return it into the box later that night.
When she got downstairs, Charles waved at her. “Here I am, my darling!”
Sonia limped forward on her crutches. “Good morning.”
“Good morning. Here’s your breakfast.” Charles took out a bag from behind him and handed it to her. “Here’s your croissant and coffee from King’s Confectionery. They’re your favorite.”
When Sonia took the bag of food that was still warm from Charles, she could feel a sense of warmth coursing through her heart as she thanked him smilingly. “You’re so nice to me, Charles.”
“Hmph! It’s because you’re my darling! Get in.” Charles opened the door for her.
While on their way to the venue, Sonia was munching on her breakfast when she suddenly recalled something, prompting her to ask, “Charles, do you know someone our age who’s great at hacking and likes foxes?”
Charles’ gaze flickered for a second when he heard that. “Why do you ask?”
“I spoke to Fox Eyes over the phone last night, and I mean the guy who kidnapped Tina,” Sonia explained after taking a sip out of her coffee.
Charles shook his head. “I don’t know anybody like that. We grew up together. I won’t know someone who you don’t. Anyway, what did he tell you?”
Sonia was a little disappointed. “Not much, aside from reassuring that he’ll protect me. He even sent me a name list of the netizens who criticized me.”
“That’s great. At least it means he’s on our side.” Charles shrugged.
“While that might be true, I’m still feeling a little uneasy about having some stranger watching over me in the dark.” Sonia heaved a sigh.
Charles smiled. “It’s alright as long as he means you no harm. Rather, I’ll feel more secure with someone watching over you, so let’s not overthink this. And, here we are.” Charles pulled the car over and got out of it first to help Sonia out from the back seat. As soon as they got out of the car, the press formed a circle around them.
“Miss Reed, are you holding the press conference to clear your name?”
“Mr. Lane, what is your opinion about Miss Reed associating herself with her ex-husband when she’s already your girlfriend?”
“Will you break up?”
While being bombarded by their questions, Sonia maintained a cool expression. Without giving any sort of response, she headed toward the entrance under Charles’ protection. After entering Paradigm Co., Sonia had the security guards detain the press who tried to follow them into the building.
Inside the elevator, Charles tidied his disheveled clothes that was the result of him squeezing through the crowd. “God damn, those reporters sure are nuts.”
Sonia was also doing the same. “There’s nothing we can do about it. They have to fight to get a scoop.”
“They’re just bullying us because we aren’t powerful enough. They dared not do the same while in Toby’s presence last night,” Charles complained as he pouted.
Sonia rubbed her brows. “Alright, stop dwelling on that. Let’s go to the meeting room.” After that, she got out of the elevator to head to the meeting room.
Daphne was standing at the entrance. Upon seeing the two of them approaching the meeting room, she nodded at them. “President Reed, President Fuller.”
“Have the press that you invited arrived?” Sonia checked her watch. Four minutes to ten. Twenty minutes left before the conference begins.
Daphne nodded before replying, “They’re all here.”
“Let’s go in, then.” Sonia pushed on the door to enter the venue with Charles and Daphne behind her.
As soon as the three of them showed up, the press shifted their attention and flashed their cameras at them to take photos. Even when Sonia was facing the blinding flashlights, she maintained an aloof expression without batting an eyelash.
She stepped toward the podium composedly to pick up the mic before announcing with a crisp and bright voice, “I hereby welcome all of you to the press conference. I believe you’re already aware of the purpose of this conference, which is to explain everything about the ruckus that a certain someone stirred online last night.”
“Here we go. It’s starting.” In the president’s office of Fuller Group, Zane was holding onto his phone. When he saw Sonia showing up, he patted on Toby’s shoulder in excitement. “Your ex-wife sure looks striking. Befitting her image as a strong woman, she’s calm and organized even in the face of the press. I don’t think people will ever believe that she used to be a housewife for the past six years.”
Toby didn’t utter a word as he stared at the woman on the screen with an unfathomable look in his eyes. Her hair was styled into wavy curls, while her face was adorned with delicate makeup. She was in a red women’s suit that not only showcased her curves, but also accentuated her valiance.
He had never seen her like that. Most of the times when he saw her, she was in an apron and plain clothes, with her hair tied into a ponytail. She looked dull and gloomy in that attire, which was totally unlike how brilliant she looked now. In fact, he could hardly take his eyes off her, and had to admit that she had changed. By that point, she had become strong, confident, and beautiful.
Meanwhile, Sonia scanned the crowd who were seated in the venue of the press conference. “I know you’re all curious who’s the one who posted that status online. Now, allow me to introduce to you the daughter of Stone Incorporated’s chairman, Miss Cynthia Stone, who also happens to be Tina Gray’s close associate.”
While watching the livestream of the press conference, Cynthia’s face paled when she heard Sonia not only found out about her shady behavior, but made it known to the public. Stone Incorporated had no influence at all in Seafield, as it couldn’t even compare to Paradigm Co. It was through Tina that she was able to gain access to upper class society.
Now that Sonia revealed the truth to the public, she knew for certain that the other rich youngsters would keep their distance from her, for they would consider her a despicable woman.
If that happens, nobody will be willing to forge marital bonds with the Stones, and my father will blame it on me! What should I do? Cynthia was on the verge of tears, already regretting her rash decision.
