Chapter 283
Chapter 283
Amelia's subtext was clear: if Orion was fine, then she'd make sure Victoria wasn't. After all, keeping such a vicious woman around meant neither she nor Orion would ever know peace again.
What she didn't anticipate was that Victoria was thinking the exact same thing.
If Orion was unharmed, it meant the plan had failed. Victoria couldn't survive Amelia's retaliation, so she had to strike first. As for dealing with the aftermath? In the heat of the moment, she couldn't think that far ahead.
The instant the knife plunged into her chest, Amelia's face filled with disbelief.
She never imagined this woman would actually go that far.
Though born into a crime family and having ordered hits before, this was Victoria's first time getting her hands dirty. She was clumsy, panicked. The sight of blood made her release the knife and stumble backward.
She gasped for air, forcing herself to calm down, then dialed Zephyr's number.
At that exact moment, Sophia returned and witnessed everything. Without hesitation, she screamed, "Murder! Someone's killing Ms. York!"
Victoria's phone hit the floor.
This horrific case of a daughter-in-law murdering her mother-in-law sent the Howard Group and Brown Group stock prices plummeting, knocking them out of the upcoming Harbor Village project auction.
But that wasn't all. Parents who'd previously been too intimidated by the Brown and Howard families' power now came forward in droves, accusing four-year-old Orion of what he'd done to their children.
It was another bombshell that shocked everyone. Who would've thought there really were children born inherently evil?
Jackson seized the opportunity to release the paternity test he'd gotten from Sophia, dragging the Sinclair family—Zephyr's backers—down with them.
On the day of the second auction round, representatives from the Howard Group, Brown Group, and Sinclair Group all showed up, but in the end, the Stuart Group—Sophia's backers—won the project.
After leaving the venue, Jackson caught up with her. "The Howard family's in complete chaos now. If you're willing to go public with the kids' parentage, maybe you could—"
Sophia cut him off. "I doubt the Howard Group's other executives would agree so easily. Better not to stir up trouble. My children are fine with me."
Jackson's eyes lit up. "So you're admitting your kids are Robert's?"
He looked thrilled, as if Robert having descendants was the best news in the world.
Sophia didn't feel like dealing with Jackson. She had far more important matters to handle.
To protect his political career, Victoria's uncle swiftly cut ties with Victoria and her parents. Victoria's sentencing proceeded smoothly: intentional assault, three years.
The day Victoria was sent to prison, Sophia visited her. They stared at each other through the thick glass. Victoria practically lost it on the spot. "What... what did you do to me?"
Even now, Victoria couldn't accept her complete downfall. She screamed at Sophia, looking ready to strangle her, smash her, kick her to death through the barrier.
Sophia smiled and said just one sentence that struck Victoria's weak spot: "No one's taking care of Orion now."
The mere thought sent Victoria into hysterical shrieks. After a warning from the guards, she finally quieted down.
Sophia watched Victoria's agony in silence. All those moments of being targeted, humiliated, nearly killed—they were finally healing.
Then, unexpectedly, Victoria dropped to her knees.
Without the phone, no matter how loud she shouted, Sophia couldn't hear clearly. But she could guess what Victoria wanted to say.
She wanted Sophia to take care of Orion.
Ha. What fantasy was she living in?
Sophia stood and left. She wasn't the type to repay evil with kindness.
After leaving the prison, Sophia went to the hospital.
Victoria's knife hadn't killed Amelia. She was currently in the ER, fighting for her life.
Through the glass, Sophia watched Amelia lying there like a corpse. She sighed without realizing it.
Truth was, she'd always admired strong women like Amelia. Even setting Robert aside, she'd wanted to get close to her, to learn from her. But Amelia had never given her that chance.
After one last look, Sophia turned to leave.
For the foreseeable future, neither Amelia nor Victoria could threaten her anymore. She could use these next few years to develop herself. Only by growing stronger could she stop fearing others.
The moment she stepped into the elevator bay, a familiar figure flashed past. It looked like—
Sophia's heart tightened. She was about to chase after them when Jackson's voice came from behind. "You still have feelings for Robert, don't you? Otherwise you wouldn't have come to see Amelia."
Lately he kept bringing up Robert, as if the man had somehow reappeared in their lives.
Sophia lowered her eyes, hiding her emotions, then slowly turned to face Jackson. "What's the point of asking that now? We don't even know if he's alive."
Jackson immediately replied, "What if he is alive? Would you be willing to reconcile with him?"
Sophia wasn't taking the bait. "Did you get some kind of news?"
The hallway fell silent. The elevator stopped at their floor with a crisp chime and opened its doors.
Sophia had no patience to wait for Jackson's answer. She turned to leave, tossing back one line: "Right now, I have my own life to live."
The moment she walked out of the hospital, a breeze swept by, like gentle hands caressing her hair and face.
"Mommy!"
"Mommy!"
Two sweet voices rang out. Her well-behaved, beautiful children were waiting for her nearby.
Sophia smiled, pushing all those messy people and problems out of her mind. Now was the time to savor her hard-won victory.
---
# Refined Version
Amelia's subtext was clear: if Orion was fine, then she'd make sure Victoria wasn't. Keeping such a vicious woman around meant neither she nor Orion would ever know peace.
What she didn't anticipate was that Victoria was thinking the exact same thing.
If Orion was unharmed, the plan had failed. Victoria couldn't survive Amelia's retaliation. She had to strike first. As for the aftermath? In the heat of the moment, she couldn't think that far ahead.
The instant the knife plunged into her chest, Amelia's face filled with disbelief.
She never imagined this woman would actually go that far.
Though born into a crime family and having ordered hits before, this was Victoria's first time getting her hands dirty. She was clumsy. Panicked. The sight of blood made her release the knife and stumble backward.
She gasped for air, forcing herself to calm down, then dialed Zephyr's number.
At that exact moment, Sophia returned and witnessed everything. Without hesitation, she screamed, "Murder! Someone's killing Ms. York!"
Victoria's phone hit the floor.
This horrific case of a daughter-in-law murdering her mother-in-law sent the Howard Group and Brown Group stock prices plummeting, knocking them out of the upcoming Harbor Village project auction.
But that wasn't all. Parents who'd previously been too intimidated by the Brown and Howard families' power now came forward in droves, accusing four-year-old Orion of what he'd done to their children.
It was another bombshell. Who would've thought there really were children born inherently evil?
Jackson seized the opportunity to release the paternity test he'd gotten from Sophia, dragging the Sinclair family—Zephyr's backers—down with them.
On the day of the second auction round, representatives from the Howard Group, Brown Group, and Sinclair Group all showed up. But in the end, the Stuart Group—Sophia's backers—won the project.
After leaving the venue, Jackson caught up with her. "The Howard family's in complete chaos now. If you're willing to go public with the kids' parentage, maybe you could—"
Sophia cut him off. "I doubt the Howard Group's other executives would agree so easily. Better not to stir up trouble. My children are fine with me."
Jackson's eyes lit up. "So you're admitting your kids are Robert's?"
He looked thrilled, as if Robert having descendants was the best news in the world.
Sophia didn't feel like dealing with Jackson. She had far more important matters to handle.
To protect his political career, Victoria's uncle swiftly cut ties with Victoria and her parents. Victoria's sentencing proceeded smoothly: intentional assault, three years.
The day Victoria was sent to prison, Sophia visited her. They stared at each other through the thick glass. Victoria practically lost it on the spot. "What... what did you do to me?"
Even now, Victoria couldn't accept her complete downfall. She screamed at Sophia, looking ready to strangle her through the barrier.
Sophia smiled. One sentence struck Victoria's weak spot: "No one's taking care of Orion now."
The mere thought sent Victoria into hysterical shrieks. After a warning from the guards, she finally quieted down.
Sophia watched Victoria's agony in silence. All those moments of being targeted, humiliated, nearly killed—they were finally healing.
Then, unexpectedly, Victoria dropped to her knees.
Without the phone, no matter how loud she shouted, Sophia couldn't hear clearly. But she could guess.
Victoria wanted her to take care of Orion.
Ha. What fantasy was she living in?
Sophia stood and left. She wasn't the type to repay evil with kindness.
After leaving the prison, Sophia went to the hospital.
Victoria's knife hadn't killed Amelia. She was in the ER, fighting for her life.
Through the glass, Sophia watched Amelia lying there like a corpse. She sighed without realizing it.
Truth was, she'd always admired strong women like Amelia. Even setting Robert aside, she'd wanted to get close to her, to learn from her. But Amelia had never given her that chance.
After one last look, Sophia turned to leave.
For the foreseeable future, neither Amelia nor Victoria could threaten her anymore. She could use these next few years to develop herself. Only by growing stronger could she stop fearing others.
The moment she stepped into the elevator bay, a familiar figure flashed past. It looked like—
Sophia's heart tightened. She was about to chase after them when Jackson's voice came from behind. "You still have feelings for Robert, don't you? Otherwise you wouldn't have come to see Amelia."
Lately he kept bringing up Robert, as if the man had somehow reappeared in their lives.
Sophia lowered her eyes, hiding her emotions, then slowly turned to face Jackson. "What's the point of asking that now? We don't even know if he's alive."
Jackson immediately replied, "What if he is alive? Would you be willing to reconcile with him?"
Sophia wasn't taking the bait. "Did you get some kind of news?"
The hallway fell silent. The elevator stopped at their floor with a crisp chime and opened its doors.
Sophia had no patience to wait for Jackson's answer. She turned to leave, tossing back one line: "Right now, I have my own life to live."
The moment she walked out of the hospital, a breeze swept by, like gentle hands caressing her hair and face.
"Mommy!"
"Mommy!"
Two sweet voices rang out. Her well-behaved, beautiful children were waiting nearby.
Sophia smiled, pushing all those messy people and problems out of her mind.
Now was the time to savor her hard-won victory.