Chapter 58
Hospital.
Sophie lay on the hospital bed, her face pale as paper, her forehead wrapped in white gauze, looking especially fragile.
Her eyes were red rammed-she’d clearly been crying,
“Mom, it really hurts… How could sister do this to me?”
Joanne held her close, heartbroken: “My poor Sophie, why do you have to suffer so much…”
The two cried softly together while Arthur stood beside the bed, his expression terrifyingly dark.
His eyes were grim as he stared at the bandages on Sophie’s head, his voice barely containing his rage: “Sophie, don’t worry. I’ll make sure you get justice. When I find Rachel, I’ll never forgive her!”
Joanne sat bedside, gently stroking Sophie’s hand, her voice choked with emotion: “Don’t be scared, Sophie. Mommy’s here. Your sister… she’s gone too far! How could she do something like this?”
Sophie’s tears finally spilled over as she sobbed: “I don’t know why sister would do this… I just wanted us to get along, but she… she actually pushed me… I was so scared…”
Her voice grew smaller and smaller, eventually dissolving into whimpers.
Arthur and Joanne’s expressions grew even grimmer, especially Arthur-a flash of murderous intent crossed his eyes.
That Rachel-looked like she wanted to go back to prison.
Just then, the hospital room door opened and David hurried in.
His face was equally dark-he’d obviously rushed back from the office. The moment he entered and saw Sophie lying there, his brow furrowed deeply: “Sophie, how are you doing?”
Seeing David, Sophie cried even harder. She sobbed: “Dad, it hurts so much… Sister… she pushed me…”
David’s face instantly turned ashen. He turned to Arthur, asking coldly: “What the hell happened? How could Rachel lay a hand on Sophie?”
Arthur replied: “She didn’t just push Sophie-she used the chaos to escape! I’ve already sent people to find her.”
His eyes flashed with cruelty, his voice ice-cold: “Don’t worry, I’ll definitely find Rachel and make her pay for what she did. She dared touch Sophie-she can’t blame me for not going easy on her!”
Sophie heard Arthur’s words and felt a flash of satisfaction, quickly concealed. She grabbed Arthur’s sleeve through her tears: “Arthur, don’t blame sister… she was probably just acting on impulse… I don’t want you fighting because of me…”
He walked to the bedside, gently patting Sophie’s hand, his voice carrying a hint of tenderness: “Sophie, don’t be afraid. With me here, nobody can bully you. Since Rachel dared to hurt you, she can’t blame me for not caring about family ties.”
Sophie cried even harder, nodding slightly, her voice barely audible: “Arthur, thank you…”
His gaze fell on Sophie’s pale face, a strong protective instinct surging in his chest.
Did Rachel even understand why they’d brought Sophie into the Leroix family in the first place? It was to atone! Sophie’s biological father had died in an accident involving Rachel-didn’t her conscience hurt at all?
After all these years, didn’t she feel anything?
Regardless, nobody could hurt Sophie.
And Rachel had actually dared to lay hands on Sophie-this was crossing his absolute bottom line.
“Dad, I’ve already had people investigate Rachel’s whereabouts. As long as she’s still in this city, I’ll definitely find her,” Arthur said.
Chapter 8
David nodded: “When you find her, bring her straight hack, I want to see what the hell she thinks she’s doing!”
He was getting a headache-this daughter never gave him a moment’s peace. He’d already confiscated her phone and posted guards to watch her, yet she still tried to escape!
Even hurt someone to get away
Locked like she really needed to be taught a lesson.
Sophie listened to their conversation, lifting her red, swollen eyes. She gently tugged on Arthur’s sleeve, her voice weak “Arthur, don’t he too angry… Sister… she was probably just confused…”
Arthur saw her still pleading for Rachel even in this condition and felt both heartbroken and guilty.
He felt like no amount of compensation would be enough for Soplife-she was just too understanding.
He gently patted her hand, his voice tender: “Sophie, stop defending her. Since she dared hurt you, she can’t blame me for not being polite.”
While they plotted Rachel’s punishment, Rachel herself was completely unaware.
At the apartment.
Rachel sat in Nicolas’s study, gripping a pencil as she focused intently on sketching lines on paper.
Her brow was slightly furrowed, exhaustion showing in her eyes, but her hands never stopped moving.
Sunlight streamed through the curtains onto her profile, casting a soft halo that made her features look especially genty
On the paper, an exquisite jewelry design was gradually taking shape.
This was her last chance. She had to finish this design in three days to submit it before the competition deadline.
The preliminary round only required online submission of sketches, which would be voted on by netizens. All entries were anonymous, meaning voters wouldn’t know whose work they were choosing.
So in a sense, Sophie had… cheated.
But what did that matter? Given how favored she was in the Leroix family, Arthur would definitely handle it for her.
The netizens would select the top ten, who would advance to finals.
Finals would be live competition, though officials hadn’t announced the format.
Maëlys’s intention was not to reveal it beforehand-to test designers’ ability to think on their feet.
The study door opened quietly as Nicolas entered.
His footsteps were light as he sat beside Rachel with a plate of cut fruit.
Rachel didn’t look up, still focused on drawing, until Nicolas’s voice sounded in her ear: “Eat something.”
Rachel’s hand paused slightly. She’d just looked up at him when a piece of cut apple appeared at her lips.
She instinctively opened her mouth and ate it.
“Is there enough time?”
Rachel was momentarily confused before realizing Nicolas was asking about timing: “Should be fine. It’s tight, but three days is enough.”
Sometimes she really wondered about Nicolas’s thought process-always so random.
“For Maelys, I could go talk to her…”
“No.”
Rachel roughly guessed what Nicolas meant. He’d said he had some connection with Maelys, so he might try to get her to extend the deadline.
“Okay.” Nicolas didn’t say more, just put another apple piece in Rachel’s mouth.
Rachel suddenly thought of something, leaning over curiously. “How do you know Maelys anyway?
Nicolas raised an eyebrow at her: “Jealous?”
