Chapter 80
But she never expected that, despite spending a lot of money, public opinion online didn't improve at all. In fact, someone even dug up Sophia's phone number, personal information, home address, and more.
Of course, this was illegal, so the police got involved. At the same time, they were also collecting other evidence.
Last night, Sophia had a nightmare where she was sent to the police station and sentenced to death, which scared her awake.
It was just kidnapping a child, wasn't it? She didn't actually harm Nina, so why would she get the death penalty? The dream was truly terrifying.
At the same time, it was a wake-up call for her. If she really wanted to deal with Emily, hurting people around her was useless - she had to go after Emily directly.
Seeing how close Emily and William were getting, if they really got together, it would definitely cause her a lot of trouble.
At 8 PM, under the cover of darkness, Sophia went out.
She drove her car, trying to avoid crowded areas, and arrived at an apartment building. She easily scanned her face and, after identification, walked in.
This was James's place, and he was staying here tonight.
James wasn't surprised to see Sophia. He had just finished showering. "What should I do next?"
Sophia plopped down on the sofa and started questioning him. "I really didn't expect you to give me such a terrible idea. Now my reputation hasn't gotten better at all - it's gotten worse. Everyone online is cursing at me. Tell me, what should I do?"
James looked indifferent. "What can you do? It's been several days already. Soon, everyone will gradually forget about this. Don't worry, when some other news comes out, this whole thing will blow over."
"How can it be that easy?"
Sophia frowned tightly. "I'm being cursed to death by them. Don't you feel bad for me at all?"
"Of course I do."
James said this, but his eyes clearly showed no sympathy at all. Instead, he seemed completely unconcerned.
Sophia really wanted to get angry, but thinking about how she still needed James's help, she held back. "Can you help me think of another solution?"
Sophia was anxious. "If this continues, all my secrets will be exposed. That won't do me any good, and you can't stay out of it either."
"Me?"
James raised an eyebrow, his towel-drying motion pausing slightly. "What does this have to do with me?"
Sophia stared at him in shock. "Do you really think you can get away with it? How did you and I get together? Have you forgotten already?"
Mentioning this made James angry. When he first got together with Sophia, he really thought he'd hit the jackpot and was thrilled. Now he knew how wrong he'd been.
But for now, Emily wasn't paying much attention to him, and as for Sophia, he still had other uses for her. Better to humor her for now.
"Alright, don't worry. Sit down first."
James tossed the towel aside and put his hand on Sophia's shoulder. "Although people are still talking about this online, it's much better than before. Just be patient for a few more days, and it'll pass."
Sophia looked disappointed.
She came to see James today, hoping to try her luck, and sure enough, nothing he said was what she wanted to hear.
Whatever. Sophia stood up. "Then I'll do as you say. I'm leaving now."
Her calm attitude and lack of argument actually made James pause, finding it strange.
Given Sophia's personality, shouldn't she be making a big scene? Saying he didn't care about her life or death and so on. Why was she so quiet today?
Actually, Sophia had already given up on James. Since this issue couldn't be resolved, she might as well rely on other men. Consider it entertainment. At least tonight, she could temporarily forget these troubles.
As soon as she got in the car, Sophia pulled out her phone and made a call. "Are you free tonight? Meet me at Red Star Club."
Whatever the man on the other end said, Sophia's tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed, revealing a satisfied smile.
Men were just entertainment anyway. Whoever could make her happy was the one she'd treat better.
Sophia rolled down the car window, glanced at the lights in James's apartment, snorted coldly, and drove away.
The next day, Emily got up early. After breakfast, she took the kids out - today she was going to buy a house.
Originally, Emily didn't have this plan, but she couldn't resist William's constant urging. After he spent a whole evening persuading her, Emily also felt it was time to have a house of her own.
She'd already done the math. Based on current housing prices and interest rates, after a down payment of $300,000, she'd only need to pay about $2,000 per month.
Although this price was a bit beyond Emily's expectations, she was indeed earning good money now, mainly due to the butterfly effect from that variety show.
Although the show had finished filming and Ivan had paid Emily the remaining fees, Emily had now become an internet celebrity. Her account was discovered by netizens, and almost every video got hundreds of thousands or even millions of likes - all ways to make money.
Netizens even urged Emily to start livestreaming because they wanted to see the kids' daily life, but Emily was afraid of bringing bad influences to the children and kept refusing.
But even so, the money from monetizing videos was substantial.
Last night she thought about it a lot, and only after careful consideration did she decide to buy a house.
William came early in the morning and drove Emily to the sales office. "Why did you bring me here?"
As soon as she got out of the car, Emily exclaimed, "The houses here are too expensive. I don't want to buy here. Nina, get in the car."
Nina had already gotten out, with Oscar and Aiden following behind her. Hearing this, they paused.
Just as Emily turned around, William grabbed her hand and gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, the houses here aren't as expensive as you think. I've got everything covered."
"That won't work either."
His words made Emily even more nervous. "How can I use your money to buy a house? Didn't we already agree on this yesterday? You can't do this to me."
Emily's mind was very clear - William's money was his. How could their money be mixed?
If she used William's money to buy a house today, what about later? Wouldn't she turn to William for help whenever she faced any setback?
Was this a good thing? Of course not. Rather than that, it was better to refuse his help from the start, to avoid overthinking things.
Besides, if she used William's money to buy a house, whose house would it be?
For rich people, a house was just a place to stay, but for Emily, once she bought this house, it might become her home for life. So, she couldn't be careless about it.