Chapter 44
When Sophia slowly woke up, Charles had already rushed over with Isabella and Jasper. Seeing her daughter lying on the living room couch, Isabella's voice was already choked with tears before she even got close: "What happened to Sophia? Her condition has been well-managed these past few years; she's hardly had any episodes. How did her heart suddenly act up again?"
Sophia slowly opened her eyes and looked weakly at her parents. Her reddened eyes immediately filled with tears: "Mom—"
With just that one word, she broke down sobbing again, clutching her chest and barely able to breathe.
Gregory quickly helped her catch her breath, his hand on her chest without any hesitation: "Don't get worked up. The doctor said you can't have big emotional swings. Sophia, calm down first."
Charles frowned at Gregory: "What's going on here? She was fine yesterday. Gregory, you tell us."
Gregory's face looked terrible. He opened his mouth but couldn't get a single word out. I was curious too - how was he going to explain this to them?
Jasper stepped forward and took Sophia's hand, his expression full of concern: "Sophia, are you still uncomfortable anywhere? Whatever's going on, nothing matters more than your health."
Sophia looked at Jasper through her tears, then glanced up at Gregory, who was holding her. She bit her lower lip for a long time, choking up, only shaking her head. The scene would make anyone feel sorry for her.
She used to pull this exact same move on me all the time. Works like a charm, every single time. But now that she's using it on someone else and I'm watching from the sidelines, I can see just how devastating it really is.
Robert coughed, looking guilty: "William and Grace will be here soon. Once they arrive, let's all sit down and talk this through properly."
Getting both families to sit down and talk? This obviously made Isabella sense something was wrong. Looking at her daughter crying like she was about to pass out, she'd clearly been deeply wronged.
She quickly rolled up Sophia's sleeve and soon found unusual bruising on her wrist. She pulled the clothing up further, then frantically tugged at her collar. The suspicious red marks on her neck - everything became crystal clear. She looked up, her eyes full of rage: "Mr. Lopez, what have you done to our Sophia?"
Robert, seeing that things couldn't be hidden anymore, quickly lowered his stance and softened his tone: "Don't panic yet, there's been some misunderstanding..."
Isabella wasn't listening to any of this. She stared at Gregory, her gaze practically shooting flames: "Was it you?"
Gregory lowered his head, looking completely dejected. His voice was very low, his hands slowly clenching into fists: "I'm sorry, Mr. Brown. I didn't mean to. I don't know what happened."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jasper, who had figured it out, stepped forward and pulled him up from the ground, grabbing him by the collar, his voice shaking with rage: "Gregory, you bastard! Sophia treated you so well, always thinking of you in everything she did. If you really liked her, you should have been with her long ago, instead of always saying you saw her as a sister, letting her be gossiped about all these years. And now you do this to her - you've crossed the line. I'm going to beat you to death, you bastard."
He punched Gregory in the face, in the stomach. The intense pain made Gregory instantly double over, barely able to stand.
Sophia anxiously called out from the bed, almost rolling off: "Jasper, stop hitting him."
Jasper quickly walked over and helped Sophia lie back down: "He bullied you like this, and you're still foolish enough to defend him? Don't worry, I'll make sure you get justice."
I couldn't help but laugh coldly.
Those words sounded so familiar. When I first returned to the Brown family, I still had hope for family affection.
After more than ten years of harsh treatment at the Martinez family, I'd long stopped having any illusions about relatives. But when I learned about my switched life, I thought they only treated me that way because I wasn't their biological child. Now that I was back with my real family, with parents and a brother, I thought I'd finally be someone who was loved.
But the day I came back, before I'd even had dinner, Sophia suddenly fell ill. The whole family gathered around her, asking how she was. She waved them off, saying, "Don't worry about me. Emma's back. I shouldn't be taking the attention off her right now."
That's when Jasper looked at me with this same hateful expression: "What did you say to Sophia? Let me tell you, even if you are my real sister, if you dare bully Sophia, I'll support her."
He's been saying this for so many years now - doesn't he ever get tired of it?
My cold laugh was somewhat jarring. Jasper looked at me with icy eyes: "What are you laughing at? I get it now - it was you, wasn't it? You're the one who hurt Sophia, right? How can you be so vicious? Sophia only questioned things, and you're cruel enough to want to destroy her?"
I frowned and looked at him fearlessly: "Jasper, are you insane? Did I tell her to come to the Lopez Manor? Did I drag her into bed with Gregory? She's fooling around with her own sister's husband - who knows if she's been planning this all along?"
Sophia cried even more miserably, covering her face and struggling to get out of bed: "I can't go on, don't try to stop me - I'm too ashamed to face anyone ever again."
Isabella held her in her arms, gently patting her back, then looked up at me: "Emily, you're an elder after all. How can you say such things?"
Jasper stepped forward, angrily raising his hand to hit me. Before I could even move to block him, Oscar kicked him in the stomach with such force that he stumbled back dozens of steps before falling to the ground.
I looked at Oscar in surprise. He wasn't that strong - I could beat him with any random move. How did the gentle Oscar manage to kick Jasper so far away with one foot?
"Jasper, this is the Lopez Manor, not a place for you to act wild. If you dare touch my woman, I won't let you walk out that door." Oscar's usual smile had disappeared. His handsome eyes narrowed with a dangerous warning. This was the first time I'd seen Oscar like this.
Jasper couldn't speak for a long time. Charles stepped forward to help him up, glared viciously at Oscar, then turned to Robert: "Mr. Robert Lopez, you're just going to watch this happen? Our two families have always had a good relationship, no conflicts for decades. Oscar bullies us like this, and you won't give us an explanation?"
The guilt on Robert's face had already faded. He looked at Charles and said slowly, "I already said that once William arrives, we'll sit down together and I'll give you an explanation. But look at your son - he came in swinging. If it weren't for the long-standing relationship between our families, your whole family would be outside that door by now."
Charles's expression changed. He suppressed the anger in his heart without showing it, looked at Sophia, who was still crying, and reluctantly asked: "How much longer until William and Grace get here?"
Just then, the butler opened the door and respectfully ushered William and Grace inside: "Mr. Robert Lopez, Mr. William Lopez and Mrs. Lopez are here."