Chapter 305 Late Night, Maybach

Chapter 305 Late Night, Maybach

 

Cheryl was applying a face mask in her apartment when she heard the doorbell ringing frantically.

Seeing Philip outside, she quickly took off her cardigan over her slip dress and opened the door with a delighted expression. "Philip, what brings you here today? Come on in."

Philip's phone flew straight at her face.

His eyes dark, he stared at her and demanded, "Cheryl, did you do this?"

The phone screen had cracked from hitting the floor. Cheryl bent down to pick it up. The video was frozen on a frame showing Lyra's gruesome wound—too horrible to look at.

But her eyes gleamed with satisfaction at seeing her rival suffer.

Looking up, Cheryl said innocently, "Philip, I really didn't do this. Lyra and I have no grudge against each other. Actually, she... There are some things I don't know if I should say."

"Philip, come inside first. I might know some inside information about this."

Philip didn't notice the dark flash in her eyes. Wanting to know the real story behind what happened to Lyra, he stepped into the luxury apartment he'd bought for Cheryl.

Little did he know, this was exactly what Cheryl wanted—and more schemes awaited him.

 

In the yard at Rain Village.

Sophia was using a hose to wash the mud off Emily's rain boots. Emily stood there obediently, switching from one leg to the other, occasionally turning around.

The sound of a car came from the entrance. Both looked up.

Dressed in a flame‑red outfit, Lyra got out of the sports car, wearing sunglasses.

She bent down slightly, opened her arms toward Emily, and called out, "Baby, come here! I brought you lots of toys!"

"Lyra, you're back!" Emily ran over, laughing, and threw herself into Lyra's arms.

Sophia knew Lyra was returning to the country, but didn't know she'd come straight here.

Still covered in mud from digging for herbs, Sophia stood on the lawn watching her friend's bright smile.

Lyra picked Emily up and spun her around.

She kissed Emily twice.

"Emily, I really missed you."

Emily giggled as Lyra played with her, quickly planting two kisses on Lyra's face.

"I missed you too, so much!"

Sophia called for Lyra to bring Emily over—her shoes still needed cleaning.

After taking care of the shoes, they went back inside.

It was almost dinner time. Joe was in the kitchen making soup for Emily. Hearing the commotion at the door, he came out, saw Lyra, and nodded politely in greeting. She was slightly more enthusiastic.

"Mr. Watson, that apron is quite eye-catching."

What a striking rose.

Emily changed into the pink fox slippers at the entrance, taking off her coat while laughing as she told Lyra, "Lyra, I picked it out!"

Lyra pretended to be surprised and cheerfully praised her, "Wow, you have such good taste! Who do you take after? Oh, you take after me!"

Emily nodded vigorously, her eyes full of joy at finding a kindred spirit.

Sophia fell silent.

Joe fell silent.

Tomorrow was Friday.

Knowing Sophia regularly took Emily back to see James and Michael, Lyra had changed her original flight to Empire City to land in Cloud City instead.

With Sophia around, she felt much more at ease.

The group enjoyed a comfortable dinner together.

Joe helped Emily organize her treasures found in the woods behind the house and various Polaroid photos she'd taken recently, planning to make them into an album to show James and Michael in Empire City.

Sophia took out two of the best bottles from the wine cabinet and had drinks with Lyra in the study.

"Have you figured out what to do?" she asked about Lyra's next steps.

Lyra blinked and raised her glass. "Just wait and watch the show. Kaitlyn dared to set me up like this—her days ahead won't be easy."

She downed the last of her drink.

Though the scar on her face had faded and was covered with foundation, traces were still faintly visible.

"There's another reason I came back this time." Thinking about it made Lyra angry. Originally, after finishing filming that day, she was going to come back and divorce Philip.

But because of that accident, by the time she woke up again, 30 days had passed.

She had someone contact Philip to go to court and reapply, to restart the cooling-off period, but that jerk Philip refused to listen and insisted she apply in person.

With no choice, she could only go to court herself to submit the application and go through the process again. At the earliest, she could divorce in a month.

Ridiculously, Philip wanted to hold a wedding with Kaitlyn during this period.

Lyra shook her head and sighed. "I think he's lost his mind. If he really likes Kaitlyn, how could he make her hold a wedding under these circumstances?"

Maybe men are never wise in love.

Outside the window, the night was cool. Inside, the air conditioning was just right.

Sophia lay sprawled on the sofa.

She didn't answer Lyra's question, and Lyra didn't mind. They drank until slightly tipsy, then stopped.

As Sophia went to close the study curtains, she saw a familiar Maybach.

It was leaving from the stone bridge at the village entrance, slowly disappearing into the night.

Sophia shook her head slightly and blinked.

When she looked again carefully, the car was gone.

"Mr. Smith, this mission is critical. Since you went back to see James and Michael, why didn't you go in to see Emily?"

In the quiet car, Mark's voice was especially clear.

He didn't understand—William had already reached the door, so why didn't he go in?

William, resting with his eyes closed in the back seat, recalled the scene he'd glimpsed from afar.

Though he hadn't seen Sophia and Emily, seeing the lights on in the master bedroom and study, his exhaustion from recent days seemed to vanish instantly, and warmth flowed through his heart.

Things were good as they were now.

Sophia was happy, Emily was joyful, and James and Michael were pleased too.

After the trials of recent times, William had gained a sharper edge, his features more severe, his eyes more composed.

He also knew what Philip had done. His slender fingers tapped on his pants leg, the warmth in his eyes fading.

William's voice turned cold. "Tell him not to play with fire."

The next afternoon, at the Empire City airport, VIP passage.

Sophia and Lyra walked arm in arm in front, while Joe followed behind carrying Emily, who hadn't fully woken up yet, along with the surprises and gifts she'd prepared for James and Michael.

Emily rested on his shoulder, feeling sleepy.

She couldn't shake off the drowsiness and buried her head in his neck, falling asleep again.

Not far behind them, a man in black wearing a hat and mask kept snapping photos with his camera.

But after just a few seconds, Joe sharply turned to look back.

The man in black quickly ducked down, hiding behind a planter. Only after they'd passed did he come out, wiping cold sweat from his brow.

"I'm so good—these shots are perfect!"