Chapter 247

"Let me tell you, Veda, if your mother hadn't kept pestering me back then, I never would have divorced Sophia's mother. The Brown family's gradual decline is all because of Hazel."

Good thing this Hazel ended up in prison. If she hadn't gone to prison, even if she'd stayed with the Brown family, Hayden would have killed her for sure, or at least beaten her half to death.

Hayden had poured his whole life into the Brown Group, but now he had nothing left. How could he possibly swallow this anger?

"How can you say that? Mom has been by your side for half her life, working hard without complaint. Since she's been with you, she's never had anything to do with another man. Why can't you be satisfied?"

At this moment, Veda also felt a reckless impulse.

She figured that anyway, now there were only her and Hayden left in the Brown family.

And she didn't want to face Hayden every day. If Hayden just beat her to death today, that would actually be a good thing—she could truly be free.

Hayden grabbed her hair and violently threw her to the ground. Veda's body hit the floor hard with a loud thud.

Veda screamed in pain, but Hayden acted as if he didn't hear anything.

"Your mother hasn't been involved with other men outside? Others might not know, but don't I? You think she's been faithfully staying with me all these years? You really think I'm a fool?"

Veda lay on the ground in pain, taking quite a while to recover.

"Dad, Mom is already suffering worse than death in prison. I won't let you slander her like this."

Veda struggled to get up, but Hayden directly lifted his foot and kicked her in the chest.

"It's all because of you two that I've ended up like this."

As he said this, he pressed harder with his foot, lifting it and grinding it forcefully against Veda's chest.

Veda screamed in pain.

She had been talking back before, but now Veda didn't dare argue with Hayden anymore, because she thought that if she kept talking back, Hayden might very well use his drunkenness as an excuse to kill her right there.

"Dad, I know I was wrong. This is all my fault. I promise nothing like this will ever happen again. Please let me go."

Now Veda was not only in pain all over, but also couldn't breathe. If she provoked Hayden further, he might really kill her.

Although Veda didn't want to live like this, she was still very unwilling. She could die, but before dying, she had to take someone with her, and that person had to be Sophia.

There was no way she would just watch Sophia live a happy life while she died.

That woman Sophia had to die before her.

Veda begged for mercy while pushing at Hayden's foot.

Hearing Veda's pleas, Hayden's anger subsided quite a bit. He moved his heavy foot away and, feeling top-heavy, collapsed directly onto the sofa.

"Get lost. Don't annoy me here."

Hearing this, Veda got up and quickly ran upstairs.

She returned to her room and curled up on the bed, covering her small body with the blanket and crying.

What should she do? What on earth should she do?

If she had to spend every day with Hayden like this, she'd either go crazy or be half-dead.

Veda cried her heart out.

What happened? How did a perfectly good family turn out like this? Veda hid under the blanket crying uncontrollably.

Throughout the night, Veda cried herself to sleep under the blanket, woke up and cried some more, over and over again, finally making it to dawn.

Meanwhile, on Sophia's side, after Hayden left the company, James had been patiently helping her manage it.

Although Sophia had just taken over and everything was a bit chaotic, fortunately James was there. As soon as James arrived at the Brown Group, he gave all the employees a warning, especially the company's shareholders.

James was very worried that after Hayden left, these people might deliberately or inadvertently make things difficult for Sophia at the company.

So after Hayden left, James had Sophia call a meeting, and at that meeting, James gave them a direct warning.

If anyone dared to cause trouble at the company, they would end up just like Hayden—taking their meager shares and getting out of the company.

After being intimidated by James like this, all the shareholders in the company immediately became very quiet, not daring to make any moves.

Moreover, because the Brown family's affairs hadn't been exposed by the media, the impact on the Brown Group wasn't very significant.

Although there was some internal turmoil at the Brown Group, fortunately Sophia took over very quickly, and with James's help, she soon adapted to the position of president of the Brown Group.

This morning, Sophia was working in her office. After James finished handling his own company's business, he came directly to the Brown Group.

As soon as he walked into Sophia's office, he smiled, "Ms. Brown, you really are quite busy."

Sophia heard James's voice and looked up. Knowing he was joking, she immediately rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm exhausted, and you're still making fun of me? I really didn't expect managing a company would be this tiring. If I'd known, I would have just stayed as an employee. Why didn't my mother convert the shares into cash and leave that for me instead?"

Hearing this, James couldn't help but laugh.

"Isn't leaving you the Brown Group more precious than cash? Cash will eventually run out, but with the Brown Group in your hands, it's like having an endless supply of money. It not only secures your life, but also your children's and grandchildren's futures."

Sophia smiled, then walked around her desk and came directly in front of James. She threw herself into James's arms.

"My children and grandchildren still have you, don't they? With you around, I won't worry about my children's future."

Hearing this, James immediately became excited. He never expected that Sophia would not only accept his feelings, but now even talk with him about future children.

These scenes were things James had never dared to imagine before.

He held Sophia tightly in his arms, and just as he was about to say something, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps at the door of Sophia's office.

Sophia instinctively pushed James aside. After all, this was the company—if employees saw them hugging in the office, what would that look like?

James chuckled softly, then saw that the person bursting through the door was actually Anais.