Chapter 247
"Be a good boy, Milo. Mommy will drive right behind you, okay? I'll be right there. I won't leave."
Sophia crouched down, gently wiping the sweat from Milo's face, her voice soft and patient.
"No, no, no!"
Milo's lip instantly jutted out, tears threatening to spill again.
"There are so many cars behind us—what if Mommy gets lost? What if Mommy disappears again, like before? What if you don't want Milo anymore? Mommy, I want to sit with you!" His voice crumbled into full-blown sobs.
A child's fear of separation ran bone-deep. His crying cut straight into Sophia's heart.
Nearby, Gerald stood tall, one hand tucked casually in his trouser pocket, sunglasses hiding whatever moved behind his eyes.
Sophia looked at Milo, hiccupping through his tears, then at Gerald, unmoved as stone. In the end, she couldn't bear it.
"Okay. Mommy promises. I'll ride in Daddy's car."
Sophia let out a quiet sigh and gave in.
"Yay! Mommy's the best!"
Milo's tears vanished instantly, replaced by a blinding grin. The tear tracks on his cheeks hadn't even dried before he was pulling Sophia excitedly toward Gerald's car.
At the car, Sophia instinctively reached for the rear door handle.
But before her fingers touched it, Milo had already let go of her hand. His small body darted nimbly to the passenger side, and he planted himself against the front door.
Both little hands pressed against Sophia's waist, shoving her toward the front seat.
"Mommy, sit up front! The back's too cramped—Milo needs room to sleep! Sit up front and keep Daddy company while he drives!"
The kid was wise beyond his years. He pushed with all his might, sneaking Gerald a conspiratorial wink.
Sophia stumbled forward a step, bumping right against the passenger door.
Gerald had already opened it for her, his tall frame stepping aside with an effortless "after you" gesture.
Trapped between Gerald's piercing gaze in front and Milo's insistence behind, Sophia drew a deep breath and ducked into the passenger seat.
The door closed, sealing out the world.
The car glided smoothly along the highway back toward the city.
In the back seat, Milo—exhausted from the day's excitement—had already passed out cold in his car seat.
The silence inside the car was suffocating.
Sophia turned toward the window, giving Gerald nothing but her profile. Every line of her body radiated resistance.
After what felt like an eternity, the car entered a long, straight stretch of road.
Gerald's fingers tightened almost imperceptibly on the steering wheel, his brow creasing.
His lips parted, breaking the dead silence:
"When you were little... was there anyone you really missed?"
Sophia's brow furrowed slightly. She turned to look at him, confused. "What?"
"Family."
Gerald kept his eyes on the road. "A sibling, maybe."
His voice was low, strangely conspicuous in the quiet car.
Sophia found the question even more bizarre.
She and her so-called brother had cut ties long ago.
Why would Gerald suddenly bring up someone who had all but faded from her memory?
"Gerald, are you feeling okay? What's gotten into you?"
Her voice was flat, edged with impatience. "Why bring him up out of nowhere?"
Gerald's gaze darkened. "Answer me. Did you ever miss him?"
Sophia studied his inscrutable expression and let out a cold laugh.
"Maybe once. During those years when I had no one, I used to wonder—if he'd still been around, maybe my life wouldn't have been so hard. But now..."
A bitter smile twisted her lips. "Now it's all faded. If we couldn't lean on each other when things were at their worst, there's no point in disrupting each other's lives now. No contact, no longing. Better for everyone."
Her words were sharp and final.
Gerald listened to her measured, emotionless delivery. His Adam's apple dipped once. He didn't press further.
---
Half an hour later, the car rolled to a stop at a major intersection downtown.
The light turned red.
Sophia glanced at the familiar streetscape outside and knew she was close to her apartment.
She looked back at Milo, still sound asleep in the rear seat.
"You can let me out here."
She was already reaching for the seatbelt release.
Gerald turned to her, his brow furrowed deep. "We're not at your place yet. Why are you getting out here?"
"Mr. Churchill, I've told you—beyond our child, there is nothing between us."
Sophia met his heavy gaze head-on. "Spending today with Milo was already my limit. I'm not going back to the Churchill villa with you."
Gerald opened his mouth to object, but from the back seat came the sound of Milo rolling over, smacking his little lips, on the verge of waking.
Sophia refused to stage another argument in front of him.
She pushed the door open without hesitation. Before stepping out, she glanced once more at Milo in the back seat, then turned to Gerald, her voice cold.
"Take care of him."
She didn't give Gerald a chance to respond. She bent down and stepped out.
The door shut behind her.
Sophia stood on the curb, drew a deep breath, turned, and walked toward the nearby taxi stand.
She was back now. And if the storm was unavoidable, she would keep moving forward.
Even if the road ahead was a sheer cliff, she would never bow her head.
She flagged down a cab, pulled the door open, and climbed inside.
---
Eleven p.m.
Sophia had just stepped out of the shower. She was toweling off her damp hair when the phone on her nightstand erupted with violent buzzing.
Austin's name flashed across the screen.
The moment she answered, a wall of thumping bass and club noise blasted through the speaker, along with Austin's slurred, barely coherent voice: "Sophia... come get me... I was out with investment clients, had way too much to drink... I feel awful..."
Sophia's brow snapped together, alarm shooting through her.
Unless Austin was truly wrecked, he would never call her like this in the middle of the night.
"Where are you? I'm on my way!"
No time to think. She grabbed a trench coat, threw it over her shoulders, snatched her car keys, and rushed out the door.
Thirty minutes later, her car pulled up outside Dusk Bar—the most lavish and debauched club in Shadow City.
The air reeked of stale alcohol and perfume.
Sophia pushed the car door open and stepped out. The night wind hit her instantly, and she couldn't help but shiver.
Head slightly bowed, she strode toward the bar's main entrance, pulling up her phone to text Austin her location.
"Hey there, gorgeous. All by yourself?"
A figure reeking of alcohol suddenly stepped into her path.
The man looked to be in his early thirties, dressed in a designer suit, his bleary, drunken eyes raking over Sophia without the slightest restraint.