Chapter 231

Chapter 231

Less than 10 minutes later, the trending topic was completely wiped clean.

But like geese leaving traces in the sky, many things had already been seen by netizens, and evidence remained.

Michael narrowed his eyes, a cold glint in them.

Someone must be pulling strings behind this. Otherwise, such a trivial matter would never have made it to the trending list. What's more, whoever it was seemed very familiar with them, every detail was written clearly, even with a certain slant to it.

Not only that, although he appeared in the trending topic too, it was just a few shots of his back. Even people who knew him well wouldn't dare write carelessly, from start to finish, his name never appeared, nor did his identity.

Clearly, the other party wanted to target Sophia, not drag him into it.

Very well.

Everyone was playing their little games.

Morning.

Sophia slowly opened her eyes to hear noisy voices outside the door. Recognizing those familiar voices, her expression changed. She quickly got dressed and walked to the door, opening it just a crack.

The hotel room they were staying in was a suite, bedroom inside, living room outside. Through the crack in the door, she could see Evelyn and Michael. Both sat on the sofa with dark expressions, arguing.

Evelyn looked travel-worn, her face clearly tired as she glared viciously at Michael, not like she was looking at her son, but more like an enemy.

"You bastard, do you even know what you're doing? I've told you so many times, just marry Mia properly. After the wedding, we won't stop you from keeping a mistress if you want."

"Now look what's happened. Things between you two aren't even settled yet, and already someone's leaked the story. Are you trying to get yourself killed, or have you gone crazy?"

"Besides, we already agreed on this. Why are you changing it now? Are you just blowing me off? You know what your father and grandfather think. If you really break off this engagement, the consequences aren't something you can handle. Do you want it to be like before? Let me tell you, even though I haven't had a second child in these years, I've frozen my eggs. If you really turn out to be useless, I don't mind having another one."

Bringing up old wounds, Evelyn expected to see panic on Michael's face, but instead, he just smiled faintly, as if he didn't care at all.

In fact, Michael truly didn't care. His body leaned back against the chair, his indifferent gaze looking at her like she was a stranger.

"Back then, you didn't have these tactics to force me. The whole IVF thing was just to scare me, wasn't it? But I'm not that naive kid anymore. I've grown up. Do you think I'm still afraid?"

Teenage Michael would have feared losing his parents' affection, feared losing everything. But now it was different.

After years of hard work, Michael's business empire couldn't compare to the family conglomerate yet, but in 5 years at most, it definitely would surpass it.

The current situation was that the family needed him, not the other way around.

This role reversal felt absolutely amazing.

Michael's eyes burned intensely, a cold smile playing at his lips. "I'll say it again. If you're trying to force me, you've got the wrong idea. I said I'd attend the banquet, and I won't lose out on the engagement either. Can't you just wait a bit longer?"

"Wait for you? Are you insane? Don't you know your grandfather has already brought back several illegitimate sons from the family? If this isn't resolved properly, then you..."

"What? You think Grandpa would abandon me now? I'm telling you, absolutely not. Even if I lose this arranged marriage, I'm still me. That won't change."

As for Victor bringing the family's illegitimate children back, that was just to increase the pressure.

Again, that kind of thing worked back then, but now it has no threatening power whatsoever.

Michael said confidently, "Bottom line. If you want me to return to the family, stop interfering with my decisions. I'm not a child anymore. I can take responsibility for myself. If you keep pushing me, believe it or not, I'll go online right now and announce I'm cutting all ties."

Evelyn shot up from her chair, staring at him in disbelief. "Fine, fine, fine. So now you don't see me as your mother at all. You dare threaten me?"

"One more thing. I'm not like you. This isn't a threat; it's stating a fact. After all, I'm not a child anymore. I've grown up."

"Fine. You'd better handle this properly, or else even if you have everything now, I will never let you off."

Seeing Michael's determination, Evelyn realized that even as his mother, she couldn't change his mind, so she left in anger.

Hearing the door slam violently, Sophia jumped, quickly closed her door, and carefully returned to bed.

When she reached for her phone and opened it, seeing the messages on it made her chest heave with anger.

Worthy of being her parents. They actually wanted to threaten her.

Last night's trending topic had been screenshotted and sent to her. Seeing the content, Sophia felt waves of anger spreading through her heart, yet felt helpless. A sense of powerlessness filled her entire body.

Seeing Ella and Preston's threats, tears fell uncontrollably.

Although she had long since accepted that, without fate, being strangers was fine, being forced still made the tears fall.

Other parents, seeing their daughters wronged, would want to help them. Evelyn just wanted to take advantage of the situation.

The message was very clear. If she wanted to end things with Griffin, they were willing to help. They'd come forward to testify that she was forced. Of course, if she didn't cooperate, they would insist she was mentally ill.

They were actually threatening her.

The door opened.

Michael entered with a cold aura. The moment he saw Sophia, all the coldness quietly dissipated. He walked over and held Sophia in his arms. Seeing the content on her phone and the tear stains on her face, he narrowed his eyes.

"What do you want to do next?"

"Let's go to the station first. I also want to see Azalea's parents and try to reconcile with them. As long as we can solve the problem and get her released, then we'll leave, okay? I never want to come back to this place again."

This was a city of pain. Every time Sophia returned, she felt like entering a cage, suffocating, unable to breathe.

Michael nodded.

Half an hour later, they took a private car from another exit of the hotel to the police station.

The people at the station had also seen the trending topic. When they saw Sophia, their faces showed disdain. Of course, they didn't dare say much, since Michael was there.