Chapter 161: Framed by Design
The fork clattered loudly against the plate as the man threw it down, and his subordinate immediately handed him a napkin.
The man wiped his mouth, his eyes flashing with menace. "Let's go meet this woman."
Sophia and Joe took their people to look around the Redwood Resort area.
All the villagers nearby had already moved out.
When this land was first being planned, the resort's management had already given enough compensation to the surrounding residents, hoping to turn Redwood Resort into one of the country's top vacation destinations.
Unfortunately, a three-year pandemic kept everyone locked down at home.
Companies went bankrupt, layoffs happened, salaries were cut, and people started spending less. Redwood Resort declared bankruptcy before it even opened, the land went back to the government, and a new round of bidding began.
According to the list of competitors Joe had found, Peace Group and Redwood Technology Co., Ltd. were their biggest rivals.
She believed it was the same for other companies, too.
Sophia was determined to get this land.
She randomly collected some soil and water samples from the area to retest the data, planning to cultivate suitable medicinal plants once they secured the land.
Besides Sophia's group, other bidders had also come to check out the surrounding area.
Just before getting in the car.
She glanced at a few blonde-haired men acting suspiciously under a tree in the distance and gave Joe a look. He nodded.
They seemed to notice they'd been spotted but didn't hide, making a phone call right in front of them.
Before the car could start, a group of thugs holding long knives surrounded the vehicle, and a tall, burly man got out of his car.
Sophia was in no hurry to get in the car. While he was sizing her up, she was also observing him.
The man's features weren't particularly striking individually, but combined, they gave him an indescribable roughness. Combined with his height and the large group of subordinates behind him, he had the air of a biker gang boss.
Joe came over and said, "His name is Logan Myers, the king of Forton County's underground. He basically controls all the entertainment businesses here."
"Don't let his fierce appearance fool you—he actually cares a lot about his brother. He has a useless half-brother who relies on his power in Forton County and bullies people around here all the time."
Sophia understood and kept Joe's words in mind.
The other side had brought a lot of people.
In broad daylight, Logan walked up to Sophia with several subordinates behind him, a whole crowd of them.
He raised an eyebrow and looked her up and down. "You're Sophia?"
Sophia said, "I am."
Logan's eyes held both admiration and murderous intent. "Take her away."
She wasn't flustered at all and spoke calmly, "Mr. Myers, I haven't offended you. I don't know what this is about?"
Logan narrowed his eyes. "You know me?"
Sophia smiled. "I do."
Joe and the bodyguards immediately stepped in front of her, shielding her, their eyes filled with hostility. The tension around them was about to explode.
Logan believed in making sure his targets knew why they were being punished, and the menace in his eyes grew stronger.
His voice was cold. "Good that you know me. You should know my temper. Last night you destroyed my brother's genitals—and you say you haven't offended me?"
He'd already had people look into it.
Sophia was quick and ruthless when it came to destroying men's genitals. A while back, she'd done the same thing to Tanner in Empire City.
Supposedly, she'd kicked him over and over until it was destroyed!
This woman was truly vicious.
Last night? Sophia remembered the man who'd tried to assault her.
She compared Logan's features with that man's but couldn't find any similarities. Still, she couldn't think of anyone else it could be.
Sophia stated plainly, "This has nothing to do with me."
A subordinate behind Logan immediately raised his voice, "You're lying!"
He pulled out his phone and pointed at a photo on it. "This is a photo Justin posted in the group chat yesterday. He said he was going to have some fun with you, and then he disappeared. This morning, he was found with broken bones all over his body."
"Justin's genitals were covered in blood—it must have been you! I heard before you did the same thing to Tanner's dick in Empire City. You have a record!"
Sophia's brain froze for a moment, and her mouth twitched.
She never expected that her destruction of Tanner would spread all the way to this remote Forton County.
Speaking of which.
She wasn't sure if this had anything to do with William.
-
At that moment, in the executive suite on the hotel's top floor.
William stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, listening to the man behind him bowing and begging him to acquire his company.
His expression was indifferent and uninterested. "Mr. Hayes, please leave. Your company has no value worth acquiring for Peace Group."
The man behind William wouldn't give up. He'd tried to reach Peace Group many times before, but each time he'd been stopped by William's secretary.
"Mr. Smith, our company had its glory days. It's just that the market hasn't been good these past few years, but if you're willing to acquire our company and give us another chance, we definitely won't let you lose money."
"Please give us a chance!" The man bent nearly double in a deep bow, thinking this would soften William's heart.
But William was a qualified businessman.
For products with no value, no matter how much glory they'd achieved in the past, he saw no investment value whatsoever.
Let alone reviving this company.
William let him finish saying everything he wanted to say before turning around to give him his answer. "Mr. Hayes, please leave."
Molly stepped forward ahead of the male secretary, giving the man with the hunched back a professional smile, her eyes calm without any contempt.
"Mr. Hayes, this way please."
This man, before him, who seemed cold and detached, was exactly as he appeared—nothing he said could change his decision. Mr. Hayes sighed inwardly for a long time before finally leaving reluctantly.
William was quite satisfied with Molly's work performance. After seeing off the last guest of the day, he had the other male secretary leave as well.
Tonight, there was a banquet.
The organizer was the wealthiest and most influential family in Forton County. Not only William, but Sophia, Benjamin, and other company heads who'd come for the bidding had all received invitations.
But it was still early.
Learning from the bodyguard at the door that Sophia hadn't returned yet, William went to the study to continue handling work matters.
And what about Sophia?
Logan had shown no physical evidence, not even a witness—only the sleazy message his brother had posted in the group chat.
Sophia walked out of Joe's protective circle, step by step, approaching Logan, her eyes showing no fear whatsoever.
As she got closer, she could smell the scent of soap coming from him, completely different from the man who'd ambushed her yesterday.
She spoke bluntly, "If it were me, I would have killed him outright. Killing him would be more beneficial to me than just injuring him, wouldn't it?"
Sophia's voice was calm but carried a ruthless edge.
Logan's eyes suddenly darkened, his scrutinizing gaze reassessing the woman before him.
Besides her beauty, she had a presence that commanded wariness.
"In Forton County, making a few people disappear without a trace—that's easy, isn't it? Mr. Myers, you should have more experience with that than I do."
Sophia's smile was faint, but her seemingly casual words clearly contained a hidden threat.
Sophia took two steps back, her smile unchanged.
"Mr. Myers, you didn't get to where you are just by listening to rumors, did you? You wouldn't want to be used as someone's weapon either."
"I'll be in Forton County for a while. This is your territory. I trust that with your capabilities, you should be able to find out the truth."
The subordinates around them were all waiting for Logan's command to rush forward and surround them, just like when they'd fought over territory before.
But this time, Logan didn't speak for a long while.
Just as he was deciding to reinvestigate the matter, his phone kept vibrating in his pocket.
Hearing the urgent report on the other end of the call, Logan's expression immediately changed, and his eyes took on a murderous look as he stared at Sophia.
"Take them all away!"