Jessica glared at Sophia, her hand gripping the table so tightly it was almost bleeding. She forced a strained smile and, feigning warmth, said to Sophia, "How did you manage to come down here?"
"I was hungry," Sophia replied, walking past Jessica and smiling. "I heard David say you guys were eating. Can I join you?"
"You..." Jessica hadn't expected Sophia to have such audacity! This was her home banquet, and she had prepared all day to please Victor. How could Sophia, that despicable woman, dare to make such a request?
Didn't Sophia realize that this was her, Jessica's territory?
Noticing Victor and David both looking their way, Jessica smiled at Sophia and said, "You're Victor's assistant, of course you can stay for the meal. But Victor doesn't like to sit with people of the opposite sex. Someone, please take Ms. Johnson to the private dining area."
"Alright." A servant approached and led Sophia. "Ms. Johnson, please follow me this way."
Sophia seemed to be lost in thought but said nothing as she followed the servant.
The servant, unaware of Sophia's situation, couldn't help asking, "Is Ms. Johnson upset? The main house is usually reserved for the hosts, and Mr. Hastings is indeed prestigious. Ms. Jessica didn't mean to exclude you."
Sophia smiled and shrugged, not really caring about dining in the main house. She just wanted to avoid Jessica.
Sophia followed the servant all the way to the side courtyard.
The courtyard had a swimming pool, an outdoor banquet table, and a bar counter, all arranged with great care. The small yard had been transformed into a beautiful open-air venue, fully equipped for the banquet.
There were many guests in the courtyard; some were engaged in lively conversations, some sat in corners drinking silently, and others were joyfully splashing around in the pool.
The servant stopped Sophia at the food area and said, "Ms. Johnson, you can eat anything from the dishes and fruit drinks here."
"Okay, thank you." Sophia thanked the servant and headed towards the food area, grabbing a glass of juice and some snacks before finding an empty corner to sit.
Three people noticed Sophia and started gossiping from afar, "Isn't that Mr. Hastings' assistant? She's quite pretty."
Charlie Bennett, a middle-aged man, smiled and said, "Well, assistants aren't just for work, you know. It's normal for them to be attractive."
Amy Brooks, Jessica's friend, asked, "Mr. Bennett, what do you mean?"
Charlie replied, "Men, you know. It's normal for them to have a few women around."
Amy frowned, "Don't make things up. If Jessica hears it, she'll probably get angry again."
Charlie remained calm, "I'm not making things up. Haven't you noticed? That assistant is wearing a diamond necklace worth several hundred thousand dollars. Even if she is the president's assistant, buying such an expensive necklace must have put some pressure on her, right?"
This sparked curiosity among the people at the table, and they couldn't help but take a few more glances at the necklace on Sophia's neck. One of the women in white, Susan Price, said, "That's true. I saw that gem at the mall before, probably worth three hundred thousand dollars. This assistant is really impressive, casually spending several hundred thousand dollars on a piece of jewelry."
Amy's face darkened, "Should we tell Jessica?"
Susan replied, "Why bother telling her? Didn't you see how arrogant and pleased Jessica looked just now? Wouldn't it be better for us to quietly watch the show?"
The three of them quietly discussed, completely unaware that Jessica was approaching from behind.
"Ms. Jessica..." Mary, the maid standing behind Jessica, clearly felt a strong murderous intent emanating from her and called out softly.
Jessica snapped back to reality, turned around, and lowered her voice, "I need you to do something for me... "
She leaned in close to Mary's ear and warned, "Don't let anyone find out, do you understand?"
"Yes, I'll do it properly," Mary quickly walked away.
Jessica clenched her fist, her eyes filled with venomous intent. She didn't know what abilities Sophia had to stay by Victor's side, but she had to get rid of this woman, or at least not let Sophia stay by his side any longer.
It was a little past 8 p.m., and Victor was about to leave, so Jessica invited him to the courtyard to say goodbye to everyone. Suddenly, an urgent exclamation came from the crowd, "I can't find my things!"
Jessica looked at the woman who spoke, Mrs. Murphy, with suspicion. "What happened, Mrs. Murphy?"
Linda Murphy, who had just exclaimed, said, "I can't find my ring."
"A ring? How could such a big thing disappear? Did it fall somewhere?" Jessica was very surprised.
"It was just on the table a moment ago," Linda said while searching.
"I heard that your husband, Mr. Murphy, spent one billion dollars to buy that priceless diamond ring to propose to you. I bet this ring holds great meaning to you. Let's all help look and see if the ring dropped somewhere," Jessica suggested.
Jessica called on the servants of Johnson Villa to help search, and other guests also got up to lend a hand. However, at this moment, Mary suddenly stepped forward and asked, "Is Mrs. Murphy's ring sky blue, diamond-shaped, this big...?"
Linda looked at Mary's gestures and nodded repeatedly. "That's right, that's the one. Have you seen it?"
Mary bit her lip, looking conflicted. "I did see it, but..."
"Don't beat around the bush, just spit it out," Jessica scolded sternly. "Can't you see that Mrs. Murphy is in a hurry?"
Mary pointed towards Sophia across from them. "I saw this young lady put the ring in her bag just now."
In an instant, everyone's gaze fixed on Sophia.
Unable to hold back a smile, she retorted, "When have I ever done such a thing? Don't accuse me falsely."
"I definitely saw you walk up to Mrs. Murphy earlier and take a ring off the table. I thought it was yours, but it turned out to be Mrs. Murphy's," Mary said, then turned to Linda and added, "If Mrs. Murphy doesn't believe me, you can personally search her bag."
Linda's face turned grim as she asked Jessica, "Ms. Jessica, this is your party. I think you should give me a reasonable response."
Jessica found herself in a dilemma, so she turned to Victor with a questioning look. "Victor, she's your assistant. What do you suggest we do?"
Victor's deep gaze was sharp.
Sophia explained, "I never touched Mrs. Murphy's ring, nor did I go near her. If you don't believe me, you can check the surveillance footage."
"Yes, check the footage," Jessica called for Tom.
Tom repeatedly apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, Ms. Jessica. The surveillance has been broken for the past few days, and I haven't had a chance to fix it."
Jessica frowned, "Broken? What should we do then? It's not right to rummage through someone's bag without evidence."
Just then, Amy spoke up. "In my opinion, she's the one who stole it."
Jessica scolded, "Don't make baseless accusations."
Amy replied, "I'm not making baseless accusations. A regular assistant wearing a necklace worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, where did the money come from? Mrs. Murphy's ring is so expensive, even a poor person would be tempted, and there are witnesses. Is Ms. Johnson refusing to let us check the bag because she's guilty?"
Her remark was sharp and clearly aimed at Sophia!