Chapter 84
Emily knew when to stop and didn't ask any more questions about the Brown family.
She shouldn't have pried in the first place. William's very first sentence had already scared her. Who knew what kind of secrets she might uncover if she kept asking? Better not to ask.
"There's something I want to tell you," Emily changed the subject.
She took a deep breath, clenched her hands into fists, straightened her back, and looked at William seriously. "I want to get revenge on the Johnson family."
Emily had wanted to say this for a long time, but had been holding it back.
She didn't know if this decision was right or wrong, or what impact it would have once William knew about it.
But now that William was willing to share his own secrets, she should be honest with him too.
William didn't seem surprised. He nodded. "I already guessed as much when you posted that recording online."
"The Johnson family hasn't treated you well. Sophia calls you her sister, but actually goes against you at every turn. Having people online criticize Sophia was just your first step. Your real target is the Johnson family, right?"
"Exactly." Emily nodded frankly. "Sophia is just a pawn in my father's hands. The real culprit is Brian. He's the truly evil one."
At this point, Emily clenched her teeth, hatred rising in her eyes.
She told William about her family situation and miserable childhood.
The story wasn't that complicated. Brian was simply a complete scumbag.
He first married Emily's mother and used her money to start his business.
He was shrewd and slick, especially good at playing all sides. Before long, he made his first fortune.
Later, money made more money, and Brian quickly secured a place in high society, successfully climbing the social ladder.
This should have been a good thing, but men go bad when they get rich. Soon enough, Brian cheated.
To be precise, he had already been keeping a mistress on the side shortly after making his fortune.
At first he was very secretive about it and no one knew, but once his woman outside got pregnant, he couldn't hide it anymore.
"I'll never forget the day my dad brought Harper home," Emily's voice trembled. "He brought his mistress home, and she was pregnant. Wasn't that basically forcing my mother to leave?"
"My mother was so stupid. Even at that point, she still wouldn't let go."
"What happened after that?" William asked.
Emily let out a long sigh and gave a bitter smile. "What else could happen? Harper was pregnant with Sophia, and Brian couldn't wait to marry her, so of course he had to divorce my mother as soon as possible."
"That's how Harper got to marry my dad, and Sophia went from being an illegitimate child to my sister." At this point, Emily snorted heavily, the hatred in her eyes deepening another layer.
"If it had just been that, it would have been fine. My mom could have survived leaving him. But my dad wouldn't let her go. He was afraid she'd talk about it outside."
"What's even worse is that he tortured my mom until she got sick."
Emily practically shouted this last sentence, showing just how angry she was.
Back then Emily was still young and didn't understand why the adults were always fighting, or why her mother cried all the time.
Her mother was clearly suffering so much, yet wouldn't leave. It wasn't until many years later, when Emily grew up, that she learned it wasn't that her mother didn't want to leave—Brian wouldn't let her go.
During this time, Brian also used Emily as a threat. If her mother dared to leave, Emily would have to die.
Emily only learned all this later.
"I can't let Brian get away with this." Emily's teeth chattered with anger.
"Sophia is being torn apart by people online right now, and Brian hasn't said a single word from start to finish, as if Sophia isn't even his biological daughter. That shows you how cold-hearted he is."
"Actually, I understand—he wants to stay hidden, let people only criticize Sophia alone. That's better than having them criticize the whole Johnson family. But I won't let him have his way. The more he wants to hide, the more I want to expose him."
"I see." William understood now. His smile disappeared, replaced by coldness in his eyes. "If what you're saying is true, then Brian really is a bastard."
He had heard Brian's name before and only knew that he did pretty well in business. Though he was rather slick, wasn't everyone like that in business?
Those with power and influence didn't need to watch others' faces and could naturally put on airs.
But those small-time people at the bottom, when they met big shots, would bow and scrape—that was very common.
So at the time, William didn't have much of an impression of Brian. He just thought he had no backbone, was petty and scheming, not worth mentioning.
Now it seemed there was a lot more to the story.
"What are you planning to do?" William looked at Emily seriously. "Do you need my help?"
Emily thought for a moment. "Not right now, but I think I'll need your help eventually. Actually, I want to completely ruin my dad's reputation."
She shrugged her shoulders, trying to act like she didn't care, but it was clearly just a front.
"William, do you think I'm cruel?"
"Brian may have done a lot of wrong things, but he's still my father in name. We're blood relatives. Even though he wronged my mother and me, I shouldn't treat him this way, right?"
She shook her head slightly. "Maybe to you, this kind of thing is common. I've heard that conflicts between wealthy families can be much worse than this."
"When it comes down to it, my family's mess is just about a homewrecker taking over. You probably don't think it's a big deal."
"No, this is very serious." William denied it, shaking his head solemnly. "Things can be big or small. Some people care, some don't."
"Your father cheated and left you with childhood trauma that can never be erased. He also hurt your mother. For you and your mother, this really is a big deal."
"There's no denying that he basically changed the course of your life. Normally, you want revenge."
"But what I want to ask you is—do you have evidence?"
William paused. "I mean evidence of your father's affair. People online love gossip now. If this comes out, they'll definitely sympathize with you, but that's just the first step."
"You need to know that no matter how big the story is, once enough time passes, people will forget. At most, they'll curse him a few times, but it won't cause any real damage to your father."
"You know very well that he's been in business for so many years. Reputation is only temporary. As long as he wants to turn things around, he can still throw money at the problem to fix it."