Chapter 190
"I promise you, as long as I can make James pay, I'll do anything."
The man nodded with satisfaction and clapped his hands.
"Ms. Johnson is indeed a smart person."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sophia suddenly reached out and quickly grabbed for the man's mask.
Her movement was fast, but the man's reaction was even faster.
He immediately tilted his head to dodge Sophia's hand, while grabbing her wrist with surprising force.
"What are you trying to do?"
His voice remained calm, but his eyes had turned cold.
Sophia's wrist hurt from his grip, but she gritted her teeth and didn't cry out.
"I have to know who you are. I can't possibly work with someone who doesn't even dare to show their face."
Hearing this, the man stared at her for several seconds before letting go.
"You're right. I should let you know my identity."
As he spoke, he took out a wallet from his pocket, pulled out an ID card and some documents, and handed them to Sophia.
"Take a look."
Sophia took the ID card. On it was an unfamiliar name - Philip Wycliffe, forty-five years old, from Shadow City.
She flipped through the documents, which detailed Philip's identity information, company background, and his grievances with the Smith family.
The documents were very clear.
Originally, Philip ran a fairly large trading company, but ten years ago, he was framed by the Smith family and went bankrupt, ending up with huge debts.
His wife became depressed because of this and jumped to her death.
Even his son died in an accident, which was also said to be related to the Smith family.
Looking at these documents, Sophia was silent for a long time.
Her voice trembled slightly, "Is all this true?"
The man replied coldly, his voice carrying a hint of suppressed hatred.
"You can check it yourself. The Smith family owes me not just money, but two lives. I've waited ten years just for this chance to make them pay blood for blood."
Sophia said nothing more and returned the documents to him.
"I believe you."
As she spoke, her eyes suddenly became sharp.
"Tell me, what do you need me to do?"
The man put away the documents and put his mask back on.
"No rush. First step, find a place to settle down and get yourself together. The way you look now, you don't seem like someone who can stand up to the Smith family."
Hearing this, Sophia looked down at her disheveled appearance and smiled bitterly.
"I don't even have a place to stay right now."
The man wasn't surprised. He took out a bank card from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Don't worry about that. There's five hundred thousand dollars in here. Use it for now. The password is six zeros. Go activate the card yourself."
Sophia's fingers trembled slightly. She hadn't expected a complete stranger to be willing to give her so much money.
"Aren't you afraid I'll take the money and run?"
Faced with her question, the man chuckled.
"You're not that kind of person. You have ambition, you have pride. You're not willing to just live like this for the rest of your life. Besides, what you want is to prove yourself, to make those who look down on you pay the price. And anyway, it's just five hundred thousand. It's not like you haven't seen that kind of money before. You wouldn't give up a chance for revenge for this little bit of money."
Sophia clutched the bank card, her eyes slightly red.
"Thank you."
Faced with her thanks, the man waved his hand and took out a new phone from his pocket and handed it to her.
"No need to thank me. We're just using each other. Keep this phone. It has my contact information. From now on, if anything comes up, you can contact me through this phone. Remember, don't use your own phone, and don't tell anyone about our connection."
"I understand."
Sophia took the phone and nodded firmly.
"Alright, find yourself a hotel and wait for my message."
After the man finished speaking, he knocked on the car window.
The car stopped by the roadside, and Sophia got out.
She stood in the cold wind, watching the black sedan disappear into the night.
Sophia looked down at the bank card and phone in her hands, her eyes gradually becoming determined.
"James, you just wait. The humiliation you gave me, I will return to you ten times, a hundred times over."
Sophia clenched her fists and headed toward the city center.
The next morning, sunlight poured down.
Emily rarely slept in. When she woke up, she found the space beside her already empty. She didn't know when William had gotten up.
After washing up and going downstairs, she saw Oscar, Nina, and Aiden all dressed neatly, sitting at the dining table eating breakfast.
All three children were wearing the same kindergarten uniform, looking neat and adorable.
"Mommy!"
Seeing Emily, Nina immediately put down the bread in her hand, jumped down from her chair, and spun around in front of her.
"Do I look pretty today?"
Emily crouched down and straightened her slightly crooked little bun, smiling as she kissed her on the cheek.
"Nina is the prettiest little girl today."
Nina's little face flushed from the praise, and she hugged Emily's arm, acting cute.
"Mommy, can I not go to school today? I want to stay home and keep you company."
Seeing she was still resistant to school, Emily reached out and gently pinched her little nose.
"We already agreed yesterday. Nina is a good girl, and you have to keep your promises."
Nina pouted, looking reluctant.
"But I'll miss Mommy."
Hearing this, Emily patiently coaxed her.
"Mommy will miss Nina and your brothers too, but when Nina goes to school, you can make lots of new friends and learn many interesting things. When you come home from school, you can share with Mommy, okay?"
Hearing this, Nina, though still a bit reluctant, obediently nodded.
It was already decided. If acting cute couldn't change it, then it definitely couldn't be changed.
Oscar sat to the side, quietly eating his breakfast with no expression on his face.
Emily walked over and touched his head.
"Oscar, are you nervous?"
Oscar looked up at her and said flatly.
"Not nervous, just feel it's a bit boring."
Aiden chimed in at this moment.
"Don't worry, Mommy. I'll definitely protect my brother and sister."
As he spoke, he even patted his little chest, looking like a big brother.
Emily nodded with a smile.
"Mommy certainly believes you. You're the best big brother."
Hearing Emily's approval, Aiden smiled even wider, showing his teeth.
A few days ago, William had already seen the paternity test report and had Aiden start calling her differently.
Now Aiden knew he was Emily's child, so he called her Mommy especially happily.
Speaking of which, Emily crouched down and looked seriously into Oscar's eyes.
"Oscar, Mommy knows you find kindergarten content very simple, but going to school isn't just about learning knowledge. Learning how to get along with other children, learning to share, learning to cooperate - these are also very important. Do you understand?"
Oscar was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.
"I understand, Mommy."
Only then did Emily feel relieved. She kissed each of the three children on the forehead.