Chapter 159 You'd Better Be Mentally Prepared
One was the king of Port City, another an underground kingpin abroad, and the third the head of Empire City's elite families. Their personal auras—gentle, sinister, and cold—clashed with each other at this moment.
Meanwhile, Sophia, the center of attention, was leisurely eating the pasta Joe had made for her, completely indifferent to everything happening at the door.
Benjamin also saw the person inside eating pasta, and a trace of sadness flickered through his deep blue eyes.
Had she deliberately not opened the door when he knocked earlier?
He was no longer the young boy from back then. Feeling her deliberate distance toward him once again made him even more obsessed with finding out why she had left all those years ago.
Having just returned to Port City, he had specifically asked his mother what had happened back then.
But Evelyn stuck to the same story as before.
Everything seemed to suggest that Sophia simply wanted to go home, but Benjamin didn't believe that was the only reason. They had gotten along so well during those three years—they were each other's best friends!
His sharp eyes noticed the medicine in William's hand, and he immediately understood.
"Sophia, are you hurt?" He started to walk inside as he spoke.
Joe blocked him. "Mr. Franklin, isn't it inappropriate for you to enter a young woman's room this late?"
"Sorry." Benjamin stopped in his tracks.
His burning gaze fixed on Sophia inside the room, a thousand words stuck in his heart, tormenting him.
Joe knew Sophia's appetite and had prepared just the right portion of pasta for her.
She finished the last sip of soup, feeling warmth in her stomach, and drowsiness slowly crept over her. She got up, carried the bowl to the door.
She handed the bowl to Joe and said softly, "Go back and rest early."
Joe wanted to stay and protect her, but seeing the expression on her face, he obediently returned to his room next to hers.
But he didn't close the door, so he could rush over at any moment.
Only William and Benjamin remained at the door. Sophia looked at them like they were strangers.
Her voice was cold. "Can I help you?"
William's pride wouldn't allow him to keep throwing himself at her cold face. He placed the medicine on the cabinet at the room's entrance, said nothing, and turned back to the room across the hall.
Pestering wasn't William's style.
-
Only Benjamin remained at the door.
He held the gift Isolde had prepared for Sophia.
He had checked it—inside was a very beautiful jade bracelet, nothing inappropriate.
"Sophia, this is a bracelet my grandmother is giving you."
"My grandmother said this was a gift from her mother. It's more like a protective charm that brings safety."
Sophia opened the exquisite gift box in front of him. The bracelet lying quietly inside was of excellent quality, clearly very valuable.
But Sophia remembered that years ago, when Isolde had tried to slap her, she was wearing this very bracelet on her hand.
She picked up the bracelet and held it up to the light. There was a small chip in it—from when she had nimbly dodged that slap years ago, and Isolde, caught off guard, had hit the cabinet and damaged a corner of the bracelet.
This wasn't a gift at all—it was clearly a warning not to get close to Benjamin, or she would make sure Sophia suffered.
Isolde was still treating her like that helpless little girl who couldn't fight back.
She wanted to play the good grandmother in front of Benjamin?
Back then, Sophia had gone along with it because Isolde was her grandmother's friend and had actually let her go to school.
However, she later overheard by accident that her grandmother had promised Isolde a treasure. As long as Isolde took care of her education through college graduation, that item would be given to Isolde unconditionally.
That's why Isolde had come to take her in right away.
That's why the initial kindness was all because of that treasure she coveted, not because of any friendship.
Looking at the exquisite gift box in Benjamin's hands and the warmth in his eyes, Sophia wanted so badly to cruelly tell him everything.
But then she thought—what could hurt him more than discovering it himself?
Benjamin also noticed the chip and seemed surprised. "I didn't know it was damaged. How about I get you a better one another day?"
Sophia put the bracelet back in the box with some disgust and said bluntly, "Benjamin, this bracelet isn't a gift—it's a warning."
Benjamin's mouth turned down. "What do you mean?"
Sophia said, "Exactly what I said. Your grandmother doesn't like you being in contact with me, so please keep your distance from me from now on."
"Sophia?" He wanted to ask more, but the door had already closed in his face.
Benjamin looked at the exquisite wooden gift box in his hands and quickly returned to his room to call his good friend Dwayne, who was the best at investigating matters and privately employed many private detectives.
Since Benjamin's first call, Dwayne had already arranged for people to investigate what had happened in the past.
But after all, it had been over ten years. Some things weren't easy to investigate—they could only be uncovered through certain servants who had left the Franklin family back then.
Even so, he was still shocked by some of the facts.
"Benjamin, you'd better prepare yourself." Dwayne's voice was soft, but it stirred up huge waves in Benjamin's heart.
-
Back inside her room.
Sophia's expression immediately turned cold.
And in the room across from her, William had already obtained the truth about what Sophia had experienced in Port City back then.
The story of how Isolde adopted Sophia and doted on her like her own granddaughter, giving her the same treatment as her own grandson, had been a hot topic in Port City circles back then.
By adopting Sophia, she had earned a good reputation.
The money spent on Sophia was truly negligible for the Franklin family, the wealthiest in Port City.
But for Sophia at the time, it was an astronomical sum.
The former daughter of the Johnson family, whose pride hadn't been worn down even by bankruptcy, had been completely changed during those three years in Port City.
Mark watched William's expression grow increasingly cold and silently lowered his head. When he had received this information, he had already been shocked by its contents.
Isolde had actually made an underage girl repay the money spent on her, and most disgustingly, though she had only spent a few million dollars, she demanded Sophia repay it tenfold—nearly ten million dollars!
Those extracurricular activities she learned with Benjamin—horseback riding, golf—and those dresses she never wore once, Isolde tallied up every expense and demanded Sophia repay it all.
Before driving her away, she had even made her sign an IOU!
"Isolde!"
The name came from William's mouth, condensed with hatred that wanted to tear her to pieces.
He finally understood where the lifelessness in Sophia's eyes had come from when he first met her.
William coldly ordered, "Notify Drew Ramos to dump all the Franklin family's cargo into the sea, and find someone to shut down the Franklin family's docks!"
He remembered that besides Benjamin's father, Isolde had a daughter, Selene Franklin, who had married into Empire City's Ford family.
William had heard from his aunt before that Selene's life in the Ford family wasn't going well. Her husband, Ronnie Ford, had enough mistresses outside to form a soccer team and had caused several deaths.
"Send Selene information about the illegitimate children Ronnie's keeping abroad."
Benjamin's father, Douglas Franklin, and mother, Evelyn, had always been known as Port City's most loving couple.
Everyone in Port City knew that Douglas had nearly broken with his family to marry Evelyn, who came from nothing. His father had almost disowned him, and only Isolde had mediated between her husband and son, allowing Evelyn to finally marry into the Franklin family.
But according to William's knowledge, Douglas and Evelyn's relationship had long since broken down. He kept a woman outside who looked very much like Evelyn.
He put down his wine glass and continued, "Send news of Douglas's affair to Benjamin and Evelyn."
William sneered. He wanted to see whether Benjamin would choose to help his father cover it up or help his mother.
Mark left to arrange for people to handle it.
Only the sound of wine pouring into a glass remained in the room.
William sat on the sofa looking at the night scene outside the window, his pupils deep, draining the wine in his glass in one gulp.
He was about to return to the bedroom to rest when he heard a rhythmic knock at the door.