Chapter 218 This Is Absolutely Impossible!
When she heard that name, Molly's heart raced with panic.
The male reporter and the others looked at Sophia in confusion, not understanding why she brought up this name.
Only the female reporter quietly wrote down the name.
Molly quickly pulled herself together and pretended to be clueless, saying, "I don't know what you're talking about. Besides, Ms. Johnson, every time you show up, you're surrounded by so many bodyguards. I never had a chance to record any evidence, did I?"
As she spoke, Molly's eyes swept around the room. As soon as Sophia appeared, Peace Group's security had immediately surrounded her for protection.
"Well, you must be pretty talented then. William had so many bodyguards around him, yet you still managed to record that video. Looks like he 'cares' about you so much that he let you record it on purpose?"
When it came to verbal sparring, Sophia had never lost.
She rested her elbow on the armrest, tapped her cheek twice with her fingers, and looked at Henry with a half-smile. "For someone your age, you sure have a lot of energy."
Henry's face immediately darkened. He put on a righteous act and said, "Don't talk nonsense. I'm just trying to make amends for William's sins."
"Make amends?"
Sophia let out a cold laugh. "Having a father like you is probably the biggest sin of his life, isn't it?"
She felt grateful that William hadn't inherited Henry's shamelessness and incompetence. Otherwise, who knows what James and Michael might turn out to be in the future?
Just as she finished speaking, the CEO's private elevator doors opened.
William strode out of the elevator.
He was holding a child in his arms.
However, Emily was wrapped tightly in his suit jacket, with nothing visible except her little hands around his neck—her face was completely covered.
Sophia looked at him disapprovingly.
William felt helpless too.
When he saw her appear in the lobby from upstairs earlier, he immediately wanted to come down. But Emily, in his arms, refused to stay upstairs alone no matter what, and he had to coax her for a long time.
Finally, when she was about to cry, he agreed to everything.
Emily tugged at his shirt and reminded him in a small voice, "Mr. Smith, you need to stay calm, okay?"
William touched her little head and said softly, "Keep the jacket covering you."
Emily shrank her neck and said, "I know."
She reached out with both hands and quietly grabbed the collar on both sides of the jacket, covering her face and leaving only her big eyes peeking out.
When the reporters present saw that William had finally appeared, they excitedly pointed their cameras at him.
However, the next second.
All the live streaming equipment malfunctioned, and the network signal was cut off, too.
The cameras that were recording were forcibly shut down by the Peace Group's security, and the doors behind them were locked from the outside.
Everyone's hearts jumped, and only then did they start to panic.
Only now did they remember—this was Peace Group, the pinnacle of economic power in Empire City. And the man before them had never been merciful. Any prey he set his sights on would only meet a tragic end.
"Wait."
Sophia stopped the security guard who was about to turn off the female reporter's camera, smiled and said, "She can keep recording. Otherwise, people outside might really think I have some dark forces backing me."
Seeing Sophia made Henry's face hurt, and seeing William made his arm hurt, but today, this was his stage to take back everything!
He coughed and cleared his throat, saying, "William, you've finally stopped being a coward."
"I have to say, as the company boss, you shouldn't have made a move on your female secretary. Now that she's carrying a child of the Smith family, you have to take responsibility for her, both morally and logically!"
Henry's words convinced William outright.
Molly stood to the side, one hand on her waist and one hand on her belly. The moment she met William's eyes, she felt very nervous.
She looked away toward Sophia, only to find the other woman looking at her with cold eyes.
That's not right—what right did Sophia have to look at her like that? All the suffering she was going through now was caused by Sophia!
William completely ignored Henry's words.
His gaze remained focused on Sophia.
Sophia got up and walked to his side. Meeting Emily's curious and innocent eyes, she reached out and gently pinched her cheek.
Emily was like a little rabbit peeking out of its burrow to check for danger—as soon as she spotted an eagle flying in the sky, she immediately retreated back into the hole.
Emily quickly shrank back into William's arms.
Emily thought to herself: 'Oh no!
She was so busy comforting Dad that she forgot to protect herself from being discovered!
Mom is definitely going to be mad.'
William immediately patted her back to comfort her, not to be afraid.
Sophia glared at him, speechless at their childish behavior. She reached out and took Emily from William's arms.
Facing Sophia's embrace, Emily didn't hesitate to leap over. But she immediately remembered what she promised William—not to let outsiders see her face.
This was a bit tricky.
Coming out of the elevator with William were also Tony and the Peace Group's PR team. They looked at the reporters before them with bright smiles.
Tony spoke up, "Everyone, the clarification announcement has been released. Today's attendees came uninvited and acted recklessly, slandering our CEO without evidence. Regarding these actions, Peace Group's legal department welcomes you all to meet in court anytime."
"Journalism must be grounded in facts, not jumping to conclusions before the truth is clear. This is a breach of journalistic ethics."
Tony made it clear that as long as they deleted the videos and photos from their cameras, they could leave.
If they weren't willing, then they would just have to receive lawyers' letters from the Peace Group.
Everyone looked at each other, very hesitant. They were reluctant to delete these explosive news materials, but also wary of the Peace Group's power and influence.
The lead male reporter had already sent a message to Quinn's secretary earlier, but hadn't received a reply.
Molly felt very unwilling. Why, even at this point, could William remain so calm? Even Sophia showed no emotional change.
She suddenly felt like a clown.
William looked down at Sophia and said, "Let me hold Emily. You should sit down."
Sit down? How could she be in the mood for that?
Sophia sighed.
She turned to look at Molly. The other woman's face showed pretend grievance, but her eyes kept glaring at her fiercely. Molly was so focused on Sophia's reaction that she didn't notice how the female reporter was looking at her.
But Sophia noticed.
This female reporter might know the real "Molly."
If that were the case, then this would be easy.
The rest of the matter wouldn't require her to handle it personally—someone would reveal the truth, and it would be someone with a very suitable identity and profession.
The female reporter met Sophia's eyes, and her heart tightened. She had a feeling of being seen through, but didn't sense any danger.
On the other side, Henry kept a certain distance from Molly, but his gaze would occasionally fall on her belly. He was already fantasizing about the day when he would use this child to regain control of the Smith family and Peace Group.
But before his beautiful blueprint could unfold, he heard news that shocked everyone.
This news struck like a thunderbolt, catching him and Molly completely off guard, and leaving everyone present staring in shock with wide eyes.
How was this possible?
This absolutely couldn't be true.