Chapter 191 Kept?

Chapter 191 Kept?

Sophia's POV

The moment Evelyn finished speaking, the air in the hallway seemed to freeze solid. Lisa was so angry her eyes were brimming with tears, and she was about to charge forward and confront her. I reached out my hand and gently pushed her behind me.

I raised my eyes.

Those eyes of mine, usually calm and unreadable, were now churning with a storm.

I could tolerate the helpless rage of losers, but I would never let anyone trample over the people around me.

"What did you just say?" My voice was barely above a whisper, but it carried a chill that made your skin crawl.

Evelyn's heart jumped when she caught my gaze, but with her crew behind her, she still tilted her chin up and pushed further: "What? Did I hit a nerve? I said you're trash who slept her way to the top..."

Before she could finish, I moved.

I was shockingly fast. Nobody even saw how I did it.

I was already on her, my hand locking around her throat with pinpoint precision.

Then, using her own momentum against her, I executed a clean over-the-shoulder throw and slammed Evelyn hard against the cold marble wall of the hallway.

"Ahhh—!"

Evelyn let out a piercing shriek. The dull thud of her back hitting the wall made everyone present gasp in unison.

My slender fingers clamped around Evelyn's throat like iron, holding her half off the ground.

My face, usually cool and striking, was now covered in frost, the murderous intent in my eyes pouring out without the slightest attempt to hide it.

"Help... help me..." Evelyn's feet dangled in the air, her carefully done makeup twisting into something ugly.

The suffocation hit her like a wall. Her mind went blank. Her hands clawed desperately at my fingers, but it was like trying to move a mountain. Nothing budged.

The rich girls who had been egging Evelyn on went pale with terror, screaming and stumbling backward, desperate not to get caught in the crossfire.

Vivian looked like she might faint, her hand clamped over her mouth, barely daring to breathe.

The designers and media people who had gathered to watch were all stunned into silence by what I'd done. Not one of them dared take a single step forward.

The VP of the Spencer Group, attacking someone in broad daylight, in front of everyone? This woman was absolutely insane.

I didn't hear any of it. I leaned in slightly, looking down at Evelyn's face, which had gone a deep purplish red from lack of oxygen, my voice flat and cold: "Tell me. Who put you up to this?"

Evelyn's eyes were rolling back, tears and snot smeared across her face.

With death staring her down, she had no room left for any pretense of being a high-society lady. She forced out a few broken sounds from her throat: "It... it was Betty... she's the one who told me..."

At the name "Betty," a flash of knowing contempt crossed my eyes.

Of course it was her.

That fraud who could only lurk in dark corners and play cheap little games.

The murderous look in my eyes faded, replaced by deep disgust.

I let go with distaste, as if holding on one more second would dirty my hands.

"Cough, cough, cough—"

Evelyn crumpled to the floor like a ragdoll, clutching her throat and coughing violently, gulping down air like she couldn't get enough.

Her friends, seeing that I'd released her, finally dared to creep forward on shaky legs and scramble to pull her upright.

Having just walked back from the edge of death, Evelyn, once she caught her breath, was hit by a wave of humiliation and fury unlike anything she'd ever felt. She was the eldest daughter of the Wells family. When had she ever been put through something this degrading?

"You hit me? You actually hit me!" Evelyn screamed from behind her friends, her voice ragged and raw, her carefully styled curls now a wild mess around her face. She looked unhinged. "I'm the eldest daughter of the Wells family! You're some nobody they dug up out of nowhere, and you dare cross the Wells family? I will make sure you can never show your face in New York again!"

At the mention of the Wells family name, a ripple of unease moved through the crowd.

The Wells family carried real weight in the business world. Mr. Wells in particular was fiercely protective of his own.

"The Spencer family's long-lost daughter is something else. She actually hit Evelyn right in front of everyone."

"Seriously. She just got here and she's already making enemies. Let's see how she gets out of this one."

Whispers spread through the crowd. Plenty of people were watching with barely concealed glee, waiting to see how the Wells family would come after me. Lisa grabbed the hem of my jacket, her palm slick with sweat. "Miss Spencer, the Wells family isn't someone you want to mess with. Why don't we just leave? The competition is about to start..."

I ignored Lisa's warning and slowly turned my head, letting my gaze sweep across the crowd of onlookers with the cool precision of a blade.

That look, sharp and suffocating, made everyone it landed on drop their eyes and go quiet. The noise that had been filling the hallway vanished without a trace.

Once the crowd was still, I turned back to Evelyn, who was all bark and no bite.

"The Wells family?" I let the words sit in my mouth for a moment, then let a smile of open contempt curl at the corner of my lips. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean to me?"

The whole room sucked in a breath.

I stepped forward, staring Evelyn down, my voice hard as steel: "Since you keep insisting I've been sleeping around, where's your proof? If you can't produce any today, I'll make sure you find out exactly what it costs to slander the VP of Spencer Group."

Evelyn was pushed back half a step by the force of my presence, but then she thought of what she had in her hand and stiffened back up.

"You want proof? Fine! I'll make sure you go down knowing exactly why!" Evelyn snarled, digging through her designer bag for her phone. Her fingers swiped furiously across the screen, then she shoved it right in my face. "There's your proof! You got out of some rich guy's luxury car first thing in the morning, all cozy and close, and you still want to claim you're innocent? Betty sent me this photo herself. What do you have to say for yourself now?"

I looked down, my eyes landing on the screen.

The photo was clearly taken in secret, from an awkward angle.

In the frame, a sleek black Maybach was parked at the curb. I was standing outside the passenger door, and the man inside had leaned slightly toward me, his posture easy and familiar, adjusting something on me.

Only his back and the edge of his profile were visible, but his tall, broad build and the limited-edition watch on his wrist, worth millions, made it obvious he was someone with serious money and power.

Looking at this photo, I almost laughed out loud at how stupid Betty was.

Did this idiot really not bother to look into who that man was before she had someone take secret photos?

"What's wrong? Nothing to say?" Evelyn saw that I'd gone quiet and assumed she'd rattled me. She broke into a triumphant grin. "Enjoying the perks of having a sugar daddy? That car, that watch, looks like you sold yourself for a pretty good price!"

I slowly raised my head and looked at Evelyn like she was the dumbest person I'd ever seen.