Chapter 74 The Driving Force Behind the Rivera Family
Sophia woke up groggily.
She seemed to have just heard Harper's voice, with a tone that sounded like she'd encountered something shocking.
When she saw William's tall, upright figure at the bedroom door, and Harper's widened eyes outside, Sophia's brain jolted awake.
She quickly spoke up: "Honey, let me explain."
William and Harper turned around at the same time.
The former's pupils flashed with surprise and contemplation, while the latter gave her a look that said, "You don't need to explain, I get it."
Ten minutes later.
After hearing Sophia's explanation, Harper finally believed that she and William hadn't gotten back together.
She sneaked a glance at the guest room William had just entered, muttering quietly, "But honestly, William's looks are definitely worth sleeping with."
Sophia's eyes flashed with helplessness, "Don't even think about it. He's heartless, and I'm not interested."
If only Harper had come back a few months earlier, she would have seen her and William fighting constantly.
Guest room bathroom.
William, under the cold shower, stared at the white tiles in front of him. A smile spread across his eyes and brows that even he didn't notice, and a wonderful, indescribable emotion was growing wildly in his heart.
Sophia hadn't remarried, and there was no new man!
The "honey" he'd heard from her twice before was actually how Sophia addressed her friend Harper.
Realizing this, William's entire aura underwent a dramatic change, and even his body felt much better.
He stood under the showerhead, letting the icy water wash over his body. His muscular but not overly bulky perfect physique, with eight-pack abs glistening with the clear light of the water, was enough to make anyone's breathing quicken just by looking at it.
William urgently wanted to talk to Sophia alone right now, to ask her why she had lied to him.
He wanted to tell her about his deal with Alice, and also wanted to find out whether those videos of her "cheating" during their marriage were real or not.
However, when he came out of the guest room after changing clothes, Sophia and Harper were no longer in the dining and living area.
After asking Allan, he learned that she had left to see her friend off.
Harper had come over because she was worried about her friend and the three children. Learning that William was here, she quickly found an excuse to leave.
With this big shot from the Smith family around, who would dare come and bully Sophia and them?
There was noise from the master bedroom. He strode upstairs and saw James and Michael, now awake, getting dressed.
Emily was also awakened by the rustling sounds. Seeing William appear, her big blinking eyes showed confusion, and she habitually reached out her hands toward him.
Emily's voice still carried sleepiness, "William, hold me."
William's heart softened. He gently picked her up and reached out to feel her forehead.
After confirming her temperature was normal, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He only learned after moving into the lab's hospital ward that, despite Emily being lively and bouncing around everywhere normally, even a small wound could trigger a high fever. The most serious time, she had to go into the operating room because of the fever.
William thought of that time in Rain Village when Sophia had an emotional breakdown, and when they met again afterward.
Emily's face had become much thinner, and his eyes actually showed regret and sympathy.
He reached out to touch Emily's messy hair and said softly, "Emily, I need to say sorry to you."
Emily looked at him uncomprehendingly, her cute eyes full of "why."
"Before, my friend hurt your face and made you sick with fever. I'm apologizing to you."
Emily searched through her memory bank and finally found the memory from Rain Village.
She turned her face away and huffed, "You're bad."
William looked down at the soft and cuddly Emily in his arms, his heart feeling like it was wrapped in a warm spring.
His eyes were tender, exactly like a loving father doting on his daughter.
"You're right."
Just as he was about to carry her to the bathroom to brush her teeth, he saw her small hand tugging at his clothes.
Emily looked at him seriously and said, "Say sorry to Mommy."
She still hadn't forgotten how Sophia looked that day in Rain Village when she told William and her brothers to leave.
Sophia had suffered a lot because of her.
Seeing William not speaking, Emily became anxious.
"William, tell Mommy."
"Okay."
His large hand ruffled Emily's messy hair.
When Sophia came upstairs after seeing her friend off, she saw William clumsily and carefully trying to do Emily's hair.
Emily nestled in his arms, letting him attempt again and again to tie two identical little pigtails, but each time failing.
Hearing the noise at the door, William looked up at her and said helplessly, "I've never done a girl's hair before."
Emily immediately reached out when she saw Sophia, pointing to the asymmetrical braids on her head, complaining indignantly.
"Mommy, Emily's going to go bald!"
If William kept doing her hair, all her hair would be pulled out!
Sophia was amused by Emily's cute and soft appearance. She took the comb from William's hand and skillfully did Emily's hair.
Sophia planted a big kiss on her cheek, "Emily has so much hair, you won't go bald."
Emily was coaxed into happy laughter.
Michael, having finished brushing his teeth, ran out excitedly to hold William's hand, "Daddy, let's go eat lunch quickly. James and Michael, and I are so hungry our tummies are singing."
Hearing about food, Emily's eyes instantly lit up.
"Mommy, eat!"
The long-missed family warmth made the smile in William's eyes never fade.
His gaze frequently fell on Sophia, but she didn't give him even half a glance.
As if his presence was only to make James and Michael happy, and had nothing to do with her.
After the children finished eating, they went to play, leaving only the two of them at the dining table.
William told her about the investigation results from yesterday's attack, "Duke is indeed from the Rivera family, but he'll never have a chance to get out again in this lifetime."
Sophia put down her fork and asked coldly, "I remember he had already been sent in before. How did he get out?"
William's deep, unfathomable eyes flashed with a dark light she couldn't catch, "Although the Rivera family is a small household, they still have some influence. Over the years, they've gradually bought off quite a few people."
Sophia snorted coldly, "Anyone who can get someone out from inside must not be small players."
William didn't deny this.
Just the list Tony found later filled an entire page.
The noon sunlight streamed directly onto William through the restaurant's huge floor-to-ceiling windows. His chiseled, handsome features and the depths of his dark pupils were brewing with bone-chilling coldness.
William instructed her, "Don't get involved in this matter. Leave it to me to handle. Those people have sensitive identities, and they might do something desperate to you and the children."
How could a small Rivera family possibly have connections with so many people with sensitive identities?
Rather than saying it was due to the Rivera family's accumulated connections over the years, it was more accurate to say it was the real... puppet master behind the Rivera family.
William had found quite a few clues, but the scope and levels involved were too broad.
He didn't want to drag Sophia into this.
Sophia rubbed her temples and leaned back against the chair. She picked up on deeper information from William's words.
Seeing her grave expression, William softened his tone to reassure her, "Don't worry, I'll protect you and the children."
Sophia's heart raced for a moment at these words, but quickly calmed down again.
She thought of some gray-area information Rat had found earlier, hesitating whether to tell William.
The latter seemed to see through her thoughts.
Afraid she wouldn't give up and would do something dangerous, William said carefully, "The Rivera family has already crossed legal boundaries, but for them to pull this off, there must be someone in a higher position protecting them from behind."
"I will completely root out the cancer behind this, but until then, you and the children should try to go out as little as possible."
He had already arranged for his people around the Johnson Villa. As long as they didn't go out, no one could take them away.
Sophia turned to look at him: "What about Alice?"