Chapter 282

Chapter 282

Amelia was an ambitious woman. Whenever she felt down, she loved standing here, gazing at the endless stream of cars below and the pedestrians as tiny as ants. It gave her a rush of satisfaction—like she had the whole world at her feet.

Her phone rang.

Amelia guessed it was Victoria calling back. The good mood she'd just built up evaporated instantly. That daughter-in-law of hers never had anything pleasant to say.

But when she picked up her phone, she paused. An unknown number.

"Hello? Who's this?"

A voice came through—unfamiliar at first, then strangely recognizable. "Ms. York, hello. This is Melda from the Stuart Group."

Melda...

Amelia felt disoriented for a moment before connecting the name to Sophia. A bitter amusement rose in her chest. Was Sophia still playing games with her, even now?

"Oh, Ms. Mellon. So you finally have time for me?"

Despite her earlier decision to make peace with Sophia, Amelia couldn't shake the resentment from being stood up yesterday. The sarcasm slipped out before she could stop it.

Sophia responded as if she hadn't caught the jab at all, her voice still pleasant. "Yes, exactly. I was wondering if you have time to meet now, Ms. York. I have a nice gift I'd like to give you."

A gift?

Amelia felt a strange unease. She was about to press for details when Sophia abruptly hung up. The decisiveness of it left Amelia feeling embarrassed and irritated.

She wanted to ignore Sophia the way Sophia had ignored her. But she couldn't. Right now, she wasn't the one holding the cards.

When Amelia saw Sophia again, even though she'd mentally prepared herself, shock still hit her hard.

"You... you're really not dead?"

Meeting Amelia's stunned gaze, Sophia said casually, "Ms. York, you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not who you think I am."

Amelia felt played. This was definitely Sophia.

"After everything, why keep up the—"

"Act?" Sophia cut her off smoothly. "Ms. York, I have no obligation to prove myself to you. Besides..."

A knowing smile curved Sophia's lips. "Does my identity really matter to you? Focusing on reality is what's important, isn't it?"

Amelia found herself speechless.

She was right. If this woman were still the unloved daughter of the Windsor family, why would Amelia lower herself to seek her out? She'd only considered reconciliation because Sophia had become the adopted daughter of the Stuart Group's power player. So yes, there was no point obsessing over who this person really was.

Once she'd processed that, Amelia looked at Sophia with a hint of grudging respect.

"Where's this gift you mentioned?"

Knowing this version of Sophia wouldn't be easy to handle, Amelia refused to show weakness first. Instead, she redirected to the topic Sophia had raised on the phone.

Five years had passed, and Sophia realized that Ms. York—once so intimidating and unreachable—had become surprisingly easy to read.

She smiled without exposing Amelia's little power play, then clapped her hands toward the door. A moment later, Nolan walked in with a small boy.

The instant Amelia recognized the child's face, she shot to her feet. Her words came out in a stammer. "Ori? What are you doing here? Sophia! What have you done to my grandson? I swear, I'll—"

Before she could finish the threat, her phone rang. It was the new nanny she'd hired.

The usually sharp young woman was now so panicked she could barely form coherent sentences. Still, Amelia managed to extract two key points from her jumbled words.

Orion had been kidnapped. And Victoria knew about it—she was on her way over to settle the score.

After hanging up, Amelia fell silent.

Orion looked terrified, curled up motionless in Amelia's arms.

Sophia glanced at her watch, breaking into Amelia's thoughts. "Ms. York, both our time is valuable, so I'll be direct. I had nothing to do with Orion's kidnapping. I happened to pass by and rescued him. As for who the real culprit is, I think you can guess. After all, Ms. Brown's information network is remarkably efficient, isn't it?"

Amelia instinctively tightened her hold on Orion. After her son's disappearance, this grandson had become her lifeline.

As for Victoria's motive, it wasn't hard to figure out. Victoria must have orchestrated this to prove Amelia was an unfit guardian, then use it as leverage to take Orion back.

But had that ruthless woman even considered Orion's safety? Wasn't she afraid something could go wrong and hurt her own son?

In that moment, Amelia's disappointment in Victoria reached a breaking point.

She closed her eyes. "What do you want from me?"

Sophia's answer was straightforward. "The Harbor Village project."

Amelia rejected it without hesitation. "You're dreaming."

The words were out before she realized how rude she sounded.

But Sophia didn't seem bothered. She stood and smiled at Amelia. "That's fine. I respect your decision, Ms. York. We can explore other opportunities in the future."

She walked out without looking back. Amelia was left stunned.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

Unease churned in Amelia's chest. She felt completely unable to predict Sophia's moves—a very bad sign.

But reality didn't give her time to dwell on Sophia. Victoria arrived at the company soon after, causing a scene at the front desk.

Amelia's expression darkened. She had another trusted bodyguard take Orion to the hidden rest area attached to her office, then told the receptionist to send Victoria up.

Victoria stormed into Amelia's office, launching into accusations immediately. "How could you let this happen to Ori? It's only the second day and he's already been kidnapped! How can you face him? How can you face me—or Robert? If you can't take care of him, you shouldn't have taken him from me in the first place!"

Her anger escalated until she covered her face and started crying.

Amelia watched Victoria with a blank expression.

If Sophia hadn't returned Orion beforehand, she'd be scrambling right now, unable to defend herself against Victoria's accusations.

But now, she had only one thought: This woman could really put on a show.

"Stop crying and tell me—when was Ori kidnapped? Did you call the police?"

Victoria's heart skipped a beat. Why was Amelia so calm? It was as if she'd known all along what Victoria was planning.

Then Amelia added fuel to the fire. "But Ori is fine."