Chapter 27

Elodie had great taste. She took Faye to a toy store and bought her lots of cute little toys.

Faye hugged the fluffy stuffed animals, unable to put them down, smiling sweetly at Sophia. She hadn't been this lively in days.

Sophia looked at Elodie gratefully—she had indeed been neglecting Faye's feelings.

To return the favor, Sophia decided to pick out some outfits for Elodie. The two of them took Faye to a luxury boutique.

This store was different from regular luxury brand shops. All the clothes inside were from the latest season's runway collection—each piece unique and extremely expensive.

Elodie wouldn't normally set foot in a store like this.

"How about this one? Sky blue would really suit you," Sophia picked out a sky blue dress to show Elodie.

"It's beautiful," Faye chimed in with praise.

Elodie casually glanced at the price tag, it was an amount that even she would find painful, but Sophia didn't seem to care at all.

"This one's nice too," Sophia picked up another piece, equally expensive.

This gave Elodie a new understanding of Sophia's husband, while also making her marvel at Sophia's good fortune.

The Brown family had already fallen, yet she was still pampered and loved.

Elodie's face unconsciously showed a hint of envious jealousy.

"Elodie?"

"What?" Elodie snapped back to reality.

"What do you think of these two?" Sophia asked again.

"They're nice."

"Then go try them on. If they fit, we'll take both. My treat," Sophia pushed the clothes into Elodie's hands.

"You're treating her? Can you even afford it?"

A sarcastic voice rang out. Sophia and Elodie both looked over at the same time.

The other person looked back too, "Well, well, look who it is—the famous Sophia."

Her voice dripped with mocking provocation.

"Thea?" Elodie said in surprise.

Thea Ellis was their former classmate, but they didn't get along and hadn't been in touch for ages. She never expected to run into her here.

"Elodie?" Thea curled her lip.

"I can't believe you're still hanging around with Sophia. She got pregnant before marriage and completely humiliated the Brown family. Aren't you afraid she'll ruin your reputation too?"

"None of your business," Elodie shot back, pressing her lips together.

"How is it not my business? Someone this shameless, walking around with her kid like nothing happened. Even the ground she stands on disgusts me."

Thea crossed her arms, looking at Sophia like she was trash, rolling her eyes.

She snorted coldly at the store clerks.

"I'm asking you - does your store let just anyone in? Aren't you afraid of cheapening your brand by letting her wear your clothes?"

The clerks looked at each other, but nobody moved. They were all customers— they couldn't afford to offend either one.

"My mommy is not like that! You're saying bad words— you're a bad person!"

Faye rushed out and stood in front of Sophia, glaring at Thea angrily.

Thea's face showed disgust.

"Just what you'd expect from a kid with no father to teach her, an ill-mannered little bastard."

Sophia trembled with anger. Panther stood inconspicuously by her side. Nobody noticed that with just one word from Sophia, she could immediately step forward and snap Thea's neck.

"Thea, we may not get along, but you shouldn't insult my child," Sophia's face turned cold as she looked at Thea.

She might be gentle by nature, but she couldn't just stand there being insulted to her face, especially when it came to Faye.

Though Faye was angry, being so young, she didn't fully understand Thea's words. She only knew that Thea said she had no father to teach her.

"I do have a daddy! My daddy's name is Damon!" Faye said proudly.

Thea seemed amused.

"Your mom's been with so many men, how would you even know which one's your dad?"

Seeing Sophia angry seemed to make Thea even happier, as if provoking Sophia brought her pleasure.

"Thea, that's enough!" Elodie's brow furrowed tightly as she said in a low voice.

As Sophia's friend, Elodie had to speak up.

"Talking back to me? You need to earn that right first!" Thea looked back coldly. Elodie lowered her eyes and looked away.

Thea smiled with satisfaction, then looked up mockingly at Sophia's furious face.

"Throw them out," she waved her hand, signaling the bodyguards to act.

"The Brown family was already driven out of New York like rats in the street. You should find somewhere to hide instead of parading around making people sick."

Before she could finish, Panther, who had been hiding behind Sophia with no presence at all, suddenly rushed out and slapped her across the face.

The crisp sound was especially clear in the quiet store.

Thea's head snapped to the side, and one side of her face quickly swelled up red.

Meanwhile, Damien had finished dealing with Ghosthand's situation and was rushing back. On the way, he encountered several waves of small-scale assassination attempts.

These few people weren't nearly enough to challenge Damien—he dealt with them quickly.

But after several waves, Damien immediately understood that they never intended to kill him with these people—they just wanted to delay his return.

This made him even more convinced that Ghosthand's situation was indeed a diversion, and in New York were Sophia and Faye, the people he cared about the most

Even though he'd made thorough preparations, Damien was still anxious to get home.

He didn't know that Sophia and Faye weren't in danger for now, they were just being insulted to their faces by someone who didn't know any better.

Thea covered her face, looking at Panther in disbelief. As the daughter of the Ellis family, everyone in New York tried to please her. When had she ever been treated like this?

But the immediate burning pain in her cheek made her realize clearly that she'd been hit by Sophia's bodyguard.

She stared hard at Panther, her teeth grinding, "Are you all dead? Just watching me get hit and not teaching her a lesson!"

Thea screamed like crazy, completely losing her earlier daugher of a wealthy family elegance act.

Two tall, burly bodyguards rushed at Panther. They figured they just hadn't reacted in time before she attacked—she was just a woman, how could shepossibly resist them?

But as soon as they reached out, Panther charged straight forward, kicked back with her leg, and hit one directly in the face, knocking him to the ground unconscious.

The moment she landed, she thrust forward and cleanly kicked the other bodyguard's knee. His leg gave way and he fell to his knees. Panther twisted around and locked his neck—just a little more pressure and his neck would snap.

Sophia watched all this coldly with no intention of stopping it. With just one look from her, Panther would definitely act immediately.

Elodie was scared pale by this scene. She walked over and tugged at Sophia's sleeve, trying hard to keep her voice from shaking.

"Sophia, maybe we should just let it go. If this gets out of hand, it'll cause trouble."

The Ellis family was big and powerful—not something the Ford family could compare to.

Elodie dared to talk back to Thea, but didn't dare to really go up against her.