Chapter 194 The Final Trump Card
Sophia tightened her grip on Lyra's hand, silently giving her support.
Lyra took a deep breath and gave Sophia a reassuring look.
She turned around, looked straight into Philip's eyes, and said, "Mr. Banks, this is all my fault. It was my first time registering a marriage, so I didn't know that marrying you meant I'd be forced to accept your mistress too. Since that's the case, next time I register for marriage, I'll make sure to ask about this in advance."
After speaking, Lyra met every stare head-on. Sophia's hand was warm in hers—steady as an anchor.
Lyra looked at the guests in the banquet hall and said loudly, "Everyone, I'm truly sorry you won't get to celebrate my wedding this time. I'll make it up to you at my next marriage—I promise you'll all get a proper feast."
"Oh, and there's one more thing I need everyone's help with."
A bright smile appeared on her face. "The Cole family is recruiting a son-in-law. If any of you have eligible men in your families, feel free to recommend them or apply yourselves."
These escalating statements instantly silenced the room.
Even Cheryl, who had been pushed away by Philip, was stunned. Looking at the furious Philip beside her, she felt inexplicably afraid.
Philip's eyes turned red with rage as he roared, "Lyra!"
But the flutter in her heart had long since died. She was the Cole family's daughter—that confidence had returned.
A marriage alliance should unite two families. Yet Philip had openly protected another woman the day after their registration. Business cooperation built on this foundation? Impossible.
Husbands could be replaced, but once business partnerships became deeply intertwined, the complications would be endless. She wasn't stupid.
Lyra said coldly, "Philip, our marriage alliance was based on mutual respect. Since you won't respect me, don't blame me for not respecting you."
Since she was destined to use marriage for the family's benefit anyway, why not choose a more suitable husband?
If she couldn't find one domestically, she could always look abroad.
Cheryl snapped back to reality, ready to stir up more trouble. Then Sophia's gaze swept over her. Her scalp prickled.
Since Philip wanted to blacklist Lyra for Cheryl's sake, Sophia could just as easily blacklist Cheryl for Lyra's sake.
Want to throw money around to replace actors?
Then let's see if this movie can even be released after filming.
Sophia pulled Lyra out of the banquet hall. She'd been running into too many annoying people at parties lately.
Watching the two leave, the guests buzzed with discussion.
"Ms. Johnson really has guts! She dared to challenge Philip publicly. My husband wouldn't dare."
"Well, she has a powerful research lab backing her. Now that the country strongly supports scientific research, and that lab's research aligns with the national strategy, of course, she has confidence."
"I should have built a relationship with her earlier."
Hearing everyone praise Sophia, Molly felt uncomfortable.
She forced a smile and approached Cheryl, helping her up from the floor, using a few words to intensify Cheryl's hatred toward Lyra.
After doing all this, Molly quietly retreated into the crowd while no one was paying attention. Little did she know, William had been watching everything from a distance, a trace of displeasure crossing his cold eyes.
Philip never expected Lyra to be so ruthless.
The person he loved was clearly Cheryl's sister Kaitlyn, but hearing what Lyra just said, he felt as if a wound had been torn open in his chest, throbbing with pain.
Lyra's car was parked at the hotel entrance, so Sophia had her driver bring her car over in advance, too.
However, as soon as they walked out the hotel doors, they saw Tammy, who shouldn't have been there at all.
The moment Tammy spotted Sophia, she was like a hungry wolf seeing meat. Holding up her phone, she immediately rushed over, cursing as she came.
Sophia patted Lyra's arm and said, "Lyra, you get in the car and leave first."
In her view, Lyra was a public figure after all, and getting involved in Tammy's mess would damage her image.
Lyra didn't want to leave, but under Sophia's insistence, she got in the car and left first. Sophia had bodyguards with her—someone like Tammy couldn't hurt her.
Tammy had a livestream running on her phone—Molly had arranged for someone to teach her how. The stream was titled: [Sophia Caused Two Deaths].
Seeing Sophia's expensive gown and complete set of jewelry, Tammy grew even angrier.
This woman was clearly so rich, yet when firing her, she only gave such a small severance—so stingy!
Thinking of the money promised by the person behind all this, Tammy charged forward with renewed energy, shouting, "I finally found you!"
But just as she rushed close, a bodyguard grabbed her phone camera. The livestream instantly went black, and viewers could only hear Sophia calmly instructing the bodyguard to call the police.
Her voice was cold, devoid of any emotion.
The next second, the livestream was forcibly shut down.
Unable to get her phone back, Tammy immediately threw herself on the ground, throwing a tantrum. All she could think about was the two hundred thousand dollars promised by that person.
With that money, she could buy Russell a house!
Tammy cried out, "You ungrateful wretch! Our village kindly took you in, but you plotted to steal our village land—how shameless!"
No matter how much Tammy cursed, Sophia didn't speak again, but she didn't leave either.
To bring Tammy all the way from remote Rain Village to Empire City to smear her reputation showed just how deep the mastermind's hatred ran.
Previously, Sophia had been too busy with lab work to deal with this mess. But today, angered by Philip's behavior, and with Tammy conveniently appearing at just the wrong moment...
Since someone was so determined to make trouble for her, let's see who breaks first.
If she didn't catch the person behind this, who knows what other problems would crop up later. Sophia decided to end this once and for all.
Someone like Tammy was greedy and easily bought, with a loose tongue, too. A little intimidation should get her to spill everything.
Sophia's silence—Tammy took it as guilt.
Tammy's eyes gleamed with triumph. Not daring to push the tall bodyguards, she thought about catching Sophia off guard and yanking her strapless gown to embarrass her publicly.
But before she could get close to Sophia, nearby police had already arrived.
Tammy immediately played the victim. "Officer, she killed people! You have to arrest her!"
Sophia couldn't imagine how ignorant a person could be.
But she knew that tonight, whoever had sent Tammy must be nearby, watching how things unfolded.
Sophia then followed the police back to the station.
She had just finished giving a brief account of what happened when her lawyer, Francis, arrived.
Francis had driven over in a very flashy sports car, completely at odds with his identity as a serious attorney. He straightened his suit, which looked hastily thrown on.
When Francis was off duty, he looked like a playboy, but once he got to work, he became the "Cold-Faced Reaper" that opponents feared—famous in the industry.
Francis said confidently, "Ms. Johnson, leave this to me."
Seeing Sophia about to leave, Tammy naturally refused and rushed over to grab her hand.
"I didn't say you could go!"
Watching Tammy's greedy, unrepentant behavior, a flash of impatience crossed Sophia's eyes.
Did she really think everyone else was stupid?
Sophia dodged her attempt and said coldly, "Instead of always trying to cause trouble for me, you should think about how to handle your son's illegal hunting of wild animals."
Hearing this, panic flashed in Tammy's eyes. Though she didn't understand the law well, she knew this was serious. She tried to stay calm and stood up, scolding, "What illegal hunting? Don't talk nonsense, or I'll tear your mouth apart!"
She thought that as long as she stopped Sophia from talking, it would be fine, not knowing that Sophia had already had someone prepare all the evidence.
The evidence was solid—it just needed to be handed over to the police.
Seeing the mocking curve of Sophia's lips, Tammy's body trembled. Russell had done those things sneaking around at night—how did this woman know?
Tammy tried to sit back down in her chair but, too agitated, fell hard to the ground, chair and all.
The police quickly helped Tammy up.
The solemn atmosphere of the police station made Tammy increasingly anxious, but she knew she absolutely couldn't let Sophia leave so easily.
Otherwise, how would she get the remaining two hundred thousand dollars?
Russell had already picked out a house and was just waiting for the money to make the down payment!
In desperation, Tammy resorted to her final tactic.
She shouted at Sophia, who was about to walk out the door, "Sophia! Do you dare tell that wild man who showed up in Rain Village last time that your daughter is his child!"
Outside the door, a man in a black suit who was about to enter suddenly stopped in his tracks.