Chapter 109 Bitter Confrontation

Chapter 109 Bitter Confrontation

10:00 AM.

The third round of competition had proceeded smoothly, with Helena taking first place and Kate coming in second—exactly as expected.

"Well, the competition is finally over," Helena said, smiling. "As agreed, I'll report to your company tomorrow."

"You're more than welcome," Kate replied warmly.

The two women walked toward the exit, chatting amicably. Ethan wasn't with them; he'd left earlier due to an urgent matter at his company. Kate had planned to have lunch with Helena.

But just as they reached the entrance, Kate spotted Sophia waving at her with a smile. Her brow instantly furrowed.

"You know her?" Helena asked, noticing Kate's change in expression.

Kate nodded slightly. "Looks like I won't be able to have lunch with you after all. You go ahead, and I'll contact you later."

"Alright," Helena agreed.

As Helena passed by Sophia, she gave a polite nod and greeting. But when Kate approached, she deliberately walked past Sophia without acknowledging her, her expression cold and distant.

Sophia's brow furrowed. She clenched her fist but restrained herself.

"Kate," she called out.

"Let's talk at the café across the street," Kate replied curtly. "I don't want to make a scene here."

Kate entered the café, her face expressionless. She didn't bother asking what Sophia wanted to drink or even include her when ordering coffee.

Her attitude was crystal clear. Sophia's hands tightened beneath the table, but she forced herself to maintain a pleasant expression.

It was said that an inability to tolerate small annoyances often led to the failure of greater plans. If she lost her composure now, all her schemes would fall apart. It was just a cup of coffee—she could do without it.

"Kate, our dad is ill," Sophia said solemnly.

Kate immediately laughed derisively.

"Ill? What, is this some kind of sympathy play?"

Sophia's face paled as her motives were exposed, but she persisted stubbornly.

"How can you say such things, Kate? Father truly is hospitalized. He collapsed yesterday from severe hypertension. He's in a hospital bed, calling your name and apologizing for how he treated you."

Her act was convincing enough that Kate almost felt like a terrible daughter—almost.

Richard would never apologize.

"I bet he's more concerned whether I can get Ethan to bail out Jennings Group's financial black hole, isn't he?" Kate picked up her freshly delivered latte with a cold smile, her eyes piercing through Sophia's facade.

Sophia remained silent, which confirmed Kate's suspicions.

In that moment, Kate felt a wave of bitter irony.

She couldn't understand where Sophia and Richard found the audacity to approach her and Ethan for help. She already despised them and wanted nothing more than to see them ruined. Did they really think she would save Jennings Group?

"Kate," Sophia tried again.

"Stop wasting my time. Tell Richard it's not happening," Kate cut her off, uninterested in watching Sophia continue her performance. She stood to leave, but Sophia grabbed her arm.

Sophia was growing desperate.

"Kate, even if Father made mistakes, even if I wasn't nice to you before, we're still family. If Jennings Group collapses, our entire family is finished. The company was your mother's life's work too—surely you don't want to see it fail?"

Elizabeth was Kate's breaking point.

Sophia was essentially using Elizabeth to pressure Kate—and this was the worst mistake she could have made.

"What did you just say?" Kate turned around, her eyes suddenly ice-cold. Sophia shuddered involuntarily as Kate stepped closer, forcing Sophia to back up until she hit the edge of the table.

"Using my mother to threaten me? Sophia, who do you think you are?"

Kate threw her coffee directly into Sophia's face.

The brown liquid ran down Sophia's carefully styled curls. She stood frozen in shock, reflexively wiping her face, utterly bewildered.

What was happening?

Kate used to care deeply about her mother's legacy and the company. Even after breaking ties with the Jennings family, surely she wouldn't abandon Jennings Group.

How could threatening her with her mother's legacy not work?

"Kate! Have you lost your mind?" Sophia finally reacted.

She'd had enough of pretending. Why should she continue to act nice when Kate refused to cooperate?

Sophia pushed Kate, and the next second, Kate slapped her across the face with full force.

The slap was so hard that Sophia was momentarily stunned, taking several seconds to register what had happened.

"How dare you hit me? Kate, do you really think you're untouchable just because you have Ethan now? Without him, you're nothing but unwanted trash."

Sophia clutched her cheek, her eyes a mixture of shock and fury. Her voice trembled not from fear, but from rage boiling over.

But before she could finish, Kate slapped her again—even harder than before.

"Still insulting me? Say one more word, and I can't guarantee the next one will just be a slap."

Kate's eyes were cold as ice.

Sophia stood completely dumbfounded.

She stared at Kate, too shocked to respond. Their altercation had attracted attention from everyone around them. All eyes in the café were now focused on their table.

"That was quite a slap," someone whispered.

"Wonder what they're fighting about. You think the homewrecker gets slapped?"

The whispered comments and speculation grew around them. Some people had taken out their phones to take pictures, while others were recording videos. Sophia snapped back to reality when she heard the gossip, furious to the point of wanting to tear the roof down.

"The homewrecker? What nonsense! You all need to shut up!" she whirled around and shouted at the onlookers.

Before anyone could react, she turned back and lunged at Kate, but Kate caught her wrist and twisted it behind her back.

"What are you doing? Trying to hit me?" Kate asked coldly.

Sophia wanted to kill Kate right then.

"Let go of me!"

Sophia struggled to break free, but Kate maintained her grip.

She leaned close to Sophia's ear, her voice low but filled with icy determination.

"Sophia, I don't have time for your games."

"Remember this: everything my mother left behind was already destroyed by you people. I don't care if Jennings Group falls. These two slaps are a warning. Stop bothering me, or next time, it won't be just slaps."

With that, she abruptly released Sophia's arm, causing her to stumble back into her chair.

Kate smoothed her slightly wrinkled sleeve and walked away without a second glance.

"Look at that. I told you she wasn't a nice person. Did you see how aggressively she acted? She's clearly trouble," whispered one onlooker.

"Absolutely," agreed another.

The gossip surrounding her made Sophia unravel, leaving her completely broken.

Why should she suffer humiliation because of Kate?

In the past, Kate wouldn't even dare raise her head in Sophia's presence. Now she had the audacity to throw coffee in her face, slap her twice, and humiliate her in front of all these people!

Did Kate really think she couldn't fight back?

A wave of shame and hatred surged through her head. She jumped to her feet.

"Kate! Stop right there!"

Sophia's shout made Kate pause briefly.

She turned around with an impatient expression, but before she could speak, she saw a vicious, reckless smile spread across Sophia's face.

"You don't show me any courtesy, so I don't need to keep your secrets anymore!" Sophia hissed. "You think you're a Jennings daughter? Let me tell you something—you're not even dad's biological daughter! How do you think people will talk about your mother Elizabeth if this gets out?"

Those words caused Kate's expression to change instantly.

How did Sophia know about this?