Chapter 29 Thanks to Miss Taylor's Reminder
Such a respectful address made Adele's eyes widen in shock. "What do you mean?"
Zane pulled Adele aside and quickly walked toward Sophia. "Sophia, you rarely make appearances. Is there something special you need today?"
"Nothing much, just accompanying my brother to his audition." Sophia calmly sipped her water.
Zane smiled. "You own fifty percent of this company's shares. Getting someone cast would be as simple as pie. Why bother with all these formal procedures?"
Sophia's gaze fell meaningfully on Adele. "I have so many investments, thanks to Ms. Taylor's reminder, or I would have forgotten I had shares in Stellar Cinematics."
Although the Smith family couple never allowed their daughter to learn business, that didn't stop Sophia from finding her own mentors and seeking advice from people around her.
As long as she fulfilled the Smith family's arrangements and didn't embarrass their reputation, they never bothered managing her other activities.
So Sophia had learned quite a bit from Andrew and Michael since childhood, investing most of her monthly allowance. Money making money—over time, she'd even forgotten which companies she'd invested in.
When signing contracts, she used her full name, but she disliked others using her surname. Everything she owned was earned through her own efforts, so naturally, she didn't want to bring glory to the Smith family name in the end.
Therefore, all the company owners who she held shares called her Sophia or Miss Sophia.
"Which role is your brother auditioning for? I'll have them cast him directly," Zane offered.
"No need. He prefers earning things himself rather than relying on others' influence." Sophia stared at Adele, her words carrying pointed meaning.
Zane understood, glancing at his niece. "Adele, is there some misunderstanding between you and Sophia? You should apologize to her."
"No apology needed, and there's no misunderstanding." Sophia curved her lips slightly. "She simply can't stand me, that's all. The conflict between us is personal, while Mr. Murphy and I have a business partnership—they shouldn't be mixed up. If she really bowed her head and apologized to me today because of your words, it would make me look like I'm abusing my power for personal revenge."
Zane relaxed, nodding repeatedly. "Sophia, you're absolutely right. You're so reasonable. My niece has been spoiled. I'll definitely keep a better eye on her behavior in the future."
Adele gritted her teeth, furious but not daring to speak.
The conference room door opened, and more than ten auditioning actors emerged, including James.
Sophia immediately dropped her intimidating aura and stood up to greet him.
"James, how did it go?"
"Pretty smoothly, though, since I have school, I could only take a smaller role as the third male lead."
"That's amazing!"
"All thanks to this outfit you got me." James ruffled Sophia's hair, his smile gentle yet warm.
After signing the contract, the siblings didn't linger. Sophia said goodbye to Zane and left with James to go shopping, planning to buy some new clothes for everyone in the family.
Watching the siblings leave, Adele finally released her pent-up resentment. She huffily asked Zane, "Uncle, when did Sophia become a shareholder? How come I never knew about this?"
And she owned fifty percent. Didn't that mean half of Stellar Cinematics belonged to Sophia, making Zane practically her subordinate?
"She invested money when Stellar Cinematics was founded. Or rather, without her investment, Stellar Cinematics never could have been established."
Zane sighed lightly. Back then, he'd seen the web series industry booming and wanted to start his own business to seize the opportunity. Unfortunately, he couldn't secure investment; even Adele's father didn't believe in his judgment.
Then, fifteen-year-old Sophia approached him. At first, he thought she was joking, but she immediately invested five hundred thousand dollars, becoming Stellar Cinematics' largest shareholder.
Adele snorted coldly. "She must have had Andrew advising her back then. Now she's just a bankrupt nobody who'll eventually lose all her assets and live off her savings!"
Zane glanced at her disapprovingly. "You're being foolish. I heard she's invested in dozens of companies, all profitable. How could she be living off savings? Besides, she has extensive connections across all industries. I'd advise you not to pick fights with her, or who knows if your father's business might be affected."
Adele froze. She'd always thought Sophia commanded respect because of the Smith family's backing, never imagining Sophia was actually that capable herself.
It seemed only natural that she'd earn such respect and support.
...
Meanwhile, James and Sophia spent the afternoon shopping. Sophia bought two new outfits for everyone in the family as Christmas gifts.
Seeing her spend nearly ten thousand dollars at once, James felt increasingly uncomfortable.
"Sophia, buying such expensive clothes and spending so much money, Mom and Dad will definitely feel too embarrassed to accept them."
"Three to four hundred dollars per outfit isn't expensive. Good quality lasts longer. A few hundred for one quality piece beats spending the same amount on seven or eight cheap items that won't hold up."
Sophia's philosophy was that having one or two quality outfits in your wardrobe that could make a good impression was better than filling an entire closet with clothes that couldn't handle any important occasion.
Her spending several thousand dollars on clothes for the Johnson family wasn't really about accepting them or doing charity.
It was purely to irritate John.
John nearly exploded when he got the news.
"What did you say? Sophia not only took James clothes shopping but also spent the afternoon buying new outfits for the entire Johnson family, and more than one set each?"
"Yes, though the clothes weren't expensive, total spending was only about eight thousand dollars." Terry Perez reported respectfully, suggesting John needn't worry too much. Buying such reasonably priced clothes showed that Sophia didn't value the Johnson family that highly.
"You don't understand anything!" John's eyes practically shot sparks. "I was her brother for seventeen years, and she never bought me clothes! Now she goes to the Johnson family and takes her brother, she's known for seven days, clothes shopping! No way, I'm going to confront her about this!"
John grabbed his phone and car keys—today, he absolutely had to drag her back!
Terry quickly stepped in front of John, bowing slightly. "Mr. Smith, what good would going there do? You're the one who ordered the Johnson family's bankruptcy. She's probably still holding a grudge and resenting you."
John's steps faltered, a flash of regret flickering in his eyes.
He had indeed deliberately bankrupted the Johnson family to prevent Sophia from leaving the Smith family.
Who could have predicted that even knowing about the Johnson family's downfall, she'd still leave so decisively?
Seventeen years as siblings, and she hadn't shown an ounce of sentiment.