Chapter 42: Sophia, You've Left Me Again

Chapter 42: Sophia, You've Left Me Again
Logan didn't return William until 9 a.m. The father and son both sat by the window in the back seat, with a significant distance between them. The driver pulled up to the building at 17 St. Laurent Street, and as soon as the car stopped, William was ready to get out.
Suddenly, Logan spoke up, "Her name is Sophia, isn't it?"
William's hand, which was on the door handle, retreated as Logan's words fell. Indeed, he had brought up Sophia.
"How do you know her name?"
William didn't deny it; he was more curious about how Logan knew Sophia's name.
Logan looked at him, "Didn't she tell you that I've already met her?"
William was taken aback, his expression changing abruptly. Sophia had met with him? When? What had they discussed?
"That night, I was waiting for you at your place, but in the end, it was her who appeared before me," Logan lit a cigarette, and William, frowning, rolled down the window.
He was thinking about when Sophia had gone back alone without him.
Soon, William remembered that day!
He had gone back to the restaurant to find Julian King and the others, and Sophia had gone upstairs alone. It was then that Sophia had met with him...
"Do you want to know what she told me?" Logan was deliberately asking for his response.
William closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "What did she tell you?"
"She said I wouldn't live more than three years."
Logan found it ridiculous when he said this, but his eyes were dim. That woman was indeed bold; seeing him, she wasn't panicked at all.
She even dared to demand things from him in return.
"Mr. Logan, trespassing is illegal."
At that time, the woman stood at the door, not at all intimidated by his authority, with a smirk on her lips. After coming in, she dragged a chair and sat in front of him, clearly ready to confront him.
"And you hurting people isn't illegal?" Logan's sharp eyes were fixed on her.
She laughed, brushed her hair back, and teasingly said, "Hurting people? Mr. Logan, have I ever hurt you? One must speak with evidence."
Logan didn't beat around the bush with her, "Who are you?"
She was very composed, laughing as she introduced herself, "My name is Sophia Walker."
"I ask again, who are you?" Logan's expression gradually became sinister.
Sophia was unruffled, crossed her legs, and with her arms folded, said, "I heard from William that you think I'm Emily?"
"You're not her."
She was definitely not Emily. If Emily had half her ruthlessness, she wouldn't have ended up the way she did.
Sophia sneered, "You seem to know her so well. Anyway, I don't want to talk about the past, and I'm not interested in your affairs."
"What do you care about then?"
Sophia's expression turned serious in an instant, looked at her, and said a name, "William."
"What's your relationship with him?" Logan got up and walked in front of her, looking down at her.
Sophia was not to be outdone, stood up, kicked the chair aside, and created some distance to match his height.
"You just need to know that I'm protecting him, and that's enough. So, I advise you, it's better not to disturb his life. Be careful if you push him too hard, and in the end, you might get nothing." She was aggressive and left no room for negotiation.
Logan was still probing her identity at the time, so he went along with her words, "What if I insist on being forceful?"
"There's no need, Mr. Logan. Have you ever heard of the word 'karma'?"
Logan found it laughable, "Karma? Ha, I think you're out of arguments."
"William, born on July 24, 1956, moved to the United States with his family when he was six years old, and his father was a well-known business tycoon."
Sophia paused deliberately, seeing Logan's puzzled expression, and continued with a cold smile, "Unfortunately, his father passed away early, and William took over the family business, which was on the brink of bankruptcy, before he turned 20."
"The implication, Mr. Logan, is that you won't live more than three years."
As Sophia's words fell, Logan's face turned pale. Did she know what she was talking about?
Sophia had calmly circled around him at the time, sniffing the air, "You've been to the hospital and had tests, so you should know that there's something wrong with your body."
Sophia was right; Logan's body had indeed been checked for problems, and he had visited the hospital for treatment multiple times.
Regardless of his reaction, Sophia continued, "You're determined to train William as your successor. So, although you appear to give him freedom, in reality, you can forcibly take him back at any time."
"But you may not understand his character well. If you push him too hard, he's not afraid of death."
"Then, once you're dead, your businesses will be left without a successor, and the final outcome will either be bankruptcy or, at best, benefiting others."
Sophia spoke eloquently, as if an outsider to the situation, as if all this had nothing to do with her. Logan's expression kept changing, and finally, it returned to calm.
"Tell me, what do you want?" Logan was a businessman, and everything was about interests.
Sophia stood with her back to him, silent for a while, before saying, "You owe him too much, but I won't ask you to do anything for him because my thoughts do not represent William's, so I won't make decisions for him without his consent."
"I just want you to promise me one thing."
"That is, don't disturb him when he doesn't want to find you, and if he decides to find you, then no matter what he asks for, you must agree to it."
"Logan, if you're a man, treat him well, or I will never let you go..."
After hearing what Logan had to say, William hurriedly pushed open the car door and got out.
He ran upstairs, but when he arrived at the door, he didn't rush to open it. Instead, he caught his breath, calmed his breathing, and then pretended to be nonchalant as he took out his keys to open the door.
The moment he pushed the door open, William suddenly paused.
He seemed to sense something, but still pretended to be unfazed. He closed the door and called out to the empty living room, "Sophia?"
There was no answer.
William opened the bedroom door, but no one was there. He checked the bathroom, the kitchen, he looked everywhere, and there was no sign of her.
William's breathing began to quicken, but even at this moment, he was deceiving himself, thinking that Sophia had gone out, that's why she wasn't home.
Yes, she must have gone to work!
William ran downstairs again, jumped on his bicycle, and headed straight for the restaurant. At this time, the restaurant had just opened, and the boss saw William coming and greeted him, saying he wanted to settle his wages.
William had no time for this now. After confirming that Sophia wasn't there, he was about to look elsewhere, but the boss held him back, not letting him leave, "What's the rush? Don't you want your money?"
Then he forcefully stuffed the money into his hand, "This is the hard-earned money you two have earned. No matter how urgent the matter, you can't just leave the money behind."
William then saw that the settled wages were not less, he frowned and said, "Didn't I tell you before..."
"You did tell me, but I told Sophia on her first day, and she asked me not to tell you. She said she did the same amount of work as you."
The boss also sighed, "You really have a good eye for people. Sophia is a woman who can endure hardship. She was even slapped in the face with tips by customers, and she calmly endured it."
"Later, I asked her why she could bear it, and she said she originally didn't want to, but thinking about the fact that you have also experienced these things, she wanted to understand how you felt at the time, so she endured it."
William's eyes were already a bit red when he heard this.
The boss also complained to him, "See that wall over there? It has cracks. You have no idea how much that wall has endured! Your Sophia gets angry and smashes my wall, and she does it with a smile, which makes my hair stand on end."
William suddenly laughed. He could imagine Sophia being so angry that she wanted to jump but couldn't vent her anger, gritting her teeth and showing a sinister smile while smashing the wall.
This wall has indeed borne too much...
After returning home, William threw himself onto the sofa.
The quilt still had Sophia's scent. He covered his head with the quilt, as if surrounded by her presence. Only in this way could he believe that Sophia had been by his side.
The living room without Sophia was eerily quiet.
After a long while, William's hoarse voice said in a deep tone, "Sophia, you've left me again..."