Chapter 235

Chapter 235

The night was pitch black.

Two people in the room held each other tightly.

Michael spoke in a hoarse voice, "It's just inheritance rights, isn't it? Do you think the family needs me now, or I need the family?"

After all these years, he was no longer that weak little boy, but had grown into a towering tree.

So what if it was Victor? He couldn't do anything to him anymore.

After everything that had happened, their positions had long since reversed.

The company Michael founded, though still far behind the family business, was only lacking in years of operation. In just a few years at most, it would surpass the family business.

Once everyone recognized his abilities, breaking off the engagement wouldn't matter.

Of course, Michael had already figured out what to do about the engagement.

"Anyway, listen to me. I can help you solve everything. Go to sleep now, and tomorrow morning we'll go take care of dissolving the marriage."

The night was deep.

While many people drifted into sleep, Griffin lay there grimacing in pain.

Outside the door, Griffin's son, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and followed by several lawyers, had a worried look on his face.

"What on earth were you thinking? Haven't I told you many times? As long as you stay out of trouble, you can have as many women as you want, and I won't interfere. How could you provoke Michael?"

Griffin's son grew angrier as he spoke.

He had been abroad on business when he received news from home. When he learned the target was Michael, his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

Who was Michael? The heir of a major family, not someone people like them could mess with. Forget provoking him. They couldn't even normally meet him.

In other words, he should be desperately trying to curry favor for any opportunity.

And now, they had actually offended him.

No matter what relationship Sophia and Michael had, this was a huge mistake. With just a flick of Michael's finger, their company would be gone.

"Listen carefully. This time, you're going to honestly dissolve the marriage, and you're going to compensate them. No matter how unreasonable their demands are, we'll agree to everything. Otherwise, the company is finished."

Griffin's eyes widened. "You bastard, you come back and just lecture me? Don't you see? I'm injured! I got beaten up, and you're not even thinking about getting revenge for me?"

"Are you trying to get me killed? Revenge? Right now, we should be thanking our lucky stars they're not coming after us. Stop having these crazy thoughts. Listen to me. Revenge is absolutely out of the question. You better behave, or I'll send you to a mental hospital."

That last sentence was clearly a threat.

Griffin was so angry that his eyes rolled back and he nearly passed out.

"Fine, fine, fine. So now you don't respect your father anymore, is that it? Let me tell you, this time I was working with the Wilson family."

"Do you know what relationship the Wilson family has with Michael? Their two families are connected by marriage. Do you think they'd offend each other for an insignificant person like you?"

Griffin finally understood the connections and completely broke down.

He had thought getting a beautiful woman with money and a business deal was a good thing.

He never imagined he'd offended someone he shouldn't have.

Griffin was completely defeated. "Fine, fine, fine. We'll do as you say. If they want compensation, we'll give them whatever they ask for. Don't be stingy. The important thing is not getting retaliated against."

Having been in this business for so long, he certainly knew who could and couldn't be provoked.

Some big shots could make their company disappear with just a flick of their finger.

Morning.

Sophia arrived at the courthouse early in the morning.

With Michael's help, the staff quickly pulled up all the surveillance footage.

The footage clearly showed that Sophia hadn't appeared in person. Instead, Griffin had brought Sophia's parents and directly obtained the marriage certificate.

From start to finish, it was all illegal.

The courthouse officials saw Michael's face growing darker and trembled with fear.

"We're sorry, this was a failure on our part. We will handle everyone involved in this matter seriously and dismiss them immediately. What do you think?"

The courthouse director already knew Michael's identity.

He knew that with just one word from Michael, he, as director, would also be fired.

So he spoke very carefully.

Michael laughed lightly. "You're wrong. I'm not the victim in this case. Even if you're seeking forgiveness, you shouldn't be coming to me."

"Right, right. Miss, we're sorry. This was our mistake. I sincerely apologize to you. If you have any complaints or want compensation, we'll agree without question. Whatever compensation you want, we're willing to give."

Clearly, the director's attitude when facing Sophia was noticeably dismissive.

Sophia didn't care. "I know in this small city, some people can do whatever they want. This matter must be handled seriously. I want everyone involved to be punished. As for compensation, I don't want any trace of this to appear on my personal record."

"No problem, don't worry. I'll take care of it right away. I guarantee your reputation won't be affected in any way."

Things at the courthouse went extremely smoothly.

As they got in the car, they were stopped by a young man.

This person was none other than Griffin's son.

"I'm very sorry to meet you this way. I already know what my father did. Don't worry, I'll definitely compensate you. Whatever you want, just name your conditions. I just confirmed that the marriage has been dissolved. What else do you want?"

The man spoke very tactfully, never looking at Michael the whole time, keeping his eyes on Sophia instead.

And his attitude was extremely sincere.

He even pulled out a blank check.

"Although our family's assets are limited, whatever number you write down, we'll do our best to meet it, and we definitely won't haggle."

What an opportunity.

But Sophia didn't want to write any number on it. Instead, she pushed the check back.

"I understand you want to compensate. I won't refuse, so let's do this: you give my parents 2 million dollars in cash, and promise them jobs which they'll never lose, with salaries no less than 10,000 dollars a month."

Sophia had softened after all.

Although Preston and Ella didn't love her.

Sophia couldn't bring herself to ignore her biological parents.

Over the years, protecting Preston and Ella and caring for Aiden had become a habit, ingrained in her bones.

Anyway, this would be the last time. She would never come to this place again. As for how they lived, that would be up to fate.

The man across from her was clearly stunned.

He had assumed that Sophia, being poor, would definitely take advantage of this opportunity to be greedy and extort them.

He never expected this outcome.