Chapter 67
"At death's door and still worried about me—is this what you call old feelings?"
The man was strikingly handsome, except for a scar about an inch long on his brow bone, which made his already gloomy aura seem particularly sinister.
The smile curling at the corner of his lips made Sophia shudder violently.
"What do you want to do?"
"Take a guess?"
His eyes narrowed slightly, the smile on his lips never reaching them.
"Sophia, weren't you pretty smart before? Why have you been so stupid lately, leaving traces everywhere?"
He let out a low laugh: "Is it because, without me helping you from behind the scenes, you can't handle anything? Really pathetically stupid."
Though his face wore a smile, his whole being was terrifyingly sinister.
There was no warmth emanating from him at all. Instead, the air around him seemed soaked with the coldness he radiated, making people's teeth chatter.
Yet Sophia seemed to grasp at this as her last lifeline.
Fighting through her dizziness and disorientation, she reached out and grabbed his ankle.
"Help me, it's all that bitch Evelyn's fault..."
Before she could finish, the man kicked her away and stomped hard on the back of her hand.
"I call you stupid, and you really don't hide it at all. You provoked someone you shouldn't have, and you still want me to help you?"
Someone she shouldn't have provoked?
Sophia screamed in pain, but her mind became clearer than ever.
All her energy lately had been focused on dealing with Evelyn, and this man before her...
"You're blaming me for going after Evelyn?"
After saying this, she seemed to forget the pain and cursed: "The drug I put in her drink back then—you handed it to me yourself. Now you're blaming me for going after her? Do you think she's going to be grateful to you?"
The man ground his foot hard on her hand. The intensifying pain made it impossible for her to continue speaking. She could only lie on the ground, struggling.
She was utterly pathetic.
"Whether she'll be grateful to me is between her and me. But you, you idiot, actually pushed her into Benjamin's arms."
As he said this, his eyes were full of disgust.
Sophia instantly realized—
"You... you like that bitch Sophia?"
A piercing pain shot through her hand again. She finally understood why this man, who had been expelled by Benjamin, would suddenly appear here.
Why did all the men around her like Sophia?
But right now she had no mind to think about this.
She used her other intact hand to grab at his pant leg: "Save me, I can help you, really, I can help you!"
Faced with her desperate screams, the man withdrew his foot and gave orders to his subordinates.
"Make it clean."
As Sophia's screams rang out, his eyes narrowed slightly.
Perhaps keeping Sophia alive would make the game more interesting later.
Evelyn walked upstairs, clearly not wanting to say much to Matthew.
Looking anxious, he wanted to try again and followed her. Suddenly, someone behind him whispered in his ear.
"What?"
Matthew's voice carried heavy surprise mixed with deep sorrow.
When he spoke again, there was even a sob in his voice.
"Sophia's had an accident. Are you satisfied? Evelyn, you murderer, I will never let you go!"
What was Matthew going crazy about?
Evelyn froze, completely not expecting Matthew to pull this.
She instinctively looked back and saw his face filled with extreme grief.
In an instant, Matthew's eyes turned bloodshot, filled with intense killing intent.
For a few seconds, she thought Matthew would pounce on her and strangle her.
But instead, he signaled his subordinates to push his wheelchair away.
What had happened?
Before she could think more, her phone rang. It was Benjamin calling.
As soon as she answered, his deep voice came through.
"You saw Matthew?"
The villa was full of Benjamin's people. None of her actions could escape his notice. Wasn't this question a bit redundant?
Connecting Matthew's behavior just now with his sudden call, her heart skipped a beat.
"Did something happen to Sophia?"
There was silence for a few seconds before Benjamin's voice came again: "Car accident on the road, caused an explosion. She was handcuffed in the car and didn't escape."
Was Sophia dead?
That would explain Matthew's reaction.
But Sophia just died like that?
Evelyn felt no sense of reality at all. Instead, it felt absurd.
The person who was ruining her reputation everywhere just yesterday was now dead?
Should she say human life was too fragile, or that God had finally opened his eyes?
Her silence made Benjamin uneasy.
"This has nothing to do with you. It was completely an accident. Don't take it to heart."
Evelyn's bell-like laughter made him, who had already prepared to get up and head back, stop in his tracks.
"Why would I take it to heart? Sophia did evil things constantly, every single one targeting me. Now she's gotten her punishment—I should open champagne to celebrate!"
After saying this, she blinked, feeling that her reaction seemed a bit too cheerful given what had happened.
Men all liked gentle, delicate women. Was her behavior a bit too vicious?
Even if she was happy, she could celebrate privately. Why did she have to show it in front of him?
Evelyn started backtracking: "Actually... since she's dead, I should at least send flowers to pay my respects."
Benjamin, sitting behind his office desk, listened to her stammering voice through the phone, and his mood suddenly relaxed.
His long fingers tapped lightly on the desk. His voice returned to its usual calm, yet carried a hint of teasing.
"Send flowers, and while you're at it, light a fire and burn it all down right there in the funeral home?"
She paused, then laughed from the heart.
After exchanging a few more words, they hung up. Evelyn felt genuinely refreshed.
The bad mood from being schemed against yesterday had completely dissipated.
However, the matter at the company seemed to need handling.
Just as her brow furrowed, the phone rang again.
It was Hannah calling, asking her to come home.
She didn't explain the specific situation, but Hannah's words carried some urgency.
Not knowing what had happened, Evelyn immediately drove back to the Thomas Villa.
Before she even entered, she heard Matthew's voice.
"...I didn't expect things to turn out this way, but I really can't continue staying at home. But Sophia was a living person. Now that she's gone, please help the Brown family."
Even without seeing his face, one could hear the desolation in his voice.
He really was deeply devoted.
Evelyn's eyes narrowed slightly. She deliberately made some noise and walked out of the entrance.
"Mom, you called me back so urgently—what happened?"
As she spoke, she casually glanced at Matthew.
Their eyes met, undercurrents surging in their gazes.
Looking away, she walked over and sat down next to Hannah: "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"
"Mom."
Not giving Hannah a chance to speak, Matthew spoke up: "This is my only wish. You two discuss it. I'm going to pack my things. I'll leave the Thomas Villa today."