Chapter 47 Discovering the Secret
Seeing William in the elevator.
Alvin instinctively looked up at Sophia.
He'd heard from his sister twice about how she married William right after graduation. He took a step forward, positioning himself in front of Sophia.
William watched him casually, composed and completely dismissive of Alvin, the coldness in his expression even more pronounced.
Sophia hadn't expected to run into William here.
It hadn't even been... three hours since he left her house?
She grabbed Alvin's sleeve and pulled him behind her.
This scene, falling into William's eyes, became her protection of her lover.
He smiled mockingly, "Something you need?"
Alvin was about to speak when Sophia cut him off, "Nothing."
They waited for people to exit the elevator.
Sophia entered the elevator, Alvin following close behind.
The interrupted plea resumed.
Tony watched as William, in front of him, stopped in his tracks. Just as he was wondering why, he heard Alvin's voice from inside the elevator.
"Sophia, please, don't cut me off."
"I really know I was wrong. I'll never do it again. Please give me one more chance. I promise from now on I'll treat you right..."
"Really, I've broken things off with all those women!"
"They meant nothing to me. The only person I truly love is... from now on I'll only be good to you!"
Because of the distance, they caught the words in fragments.
Even so, Tony's heart lurched like a roller coaster: Mrs. Smith and a lover?
Oh my god, why am I always the one who witnesses these things?
They heard nothing more after that.
The elevator had already descended.
William raised his chin, his gaze sharp, and resumed walking toward the reserved private room.
But Tony felt the air around William had gotten several degrees colder than before, giving him goosebumps.
After shaking off Alvin, Sophia went home to keep Emily company.
She had just finished putting little Emily down for her afternoon nap when she came out and saw William standing at the bedroom door.
She rubbed her eyes, doubting what she was seeing.
After William left the Johnson Villa this morning, she had dismissed the bodyguards at the stairway.
Who knew he would actually come back?
Sophia quietly closed the door, her expression flat: "What do you want?"
With his perfect bone structure and refined features, even expressionless, William couldn't hide his exceptional charm.
He thought for a moment, then decided to tell her.
"I want to warn you, Alvin's private life is a mess. He's always surrounded by women."
"A month ago, he caused a death, driving his own girlfriend to jump off a building. She was already pregnant with his child at the time."
Sophia nodded, "So what?"
She went to see Alvin purely because of Seraphine's dying wish.
But she agreed to save that girl not because of Alvin, but because she felt sorry for her.
A foolish girl who went through fire and water for love, only to end up near death.
Such a good girl shouldn't lie forever on that cold hospital bed, becoming a mindless vegetable.
Sophia was kind-hearted. Having suffered hurt and betrayal herself, she wanted to help girls in difficult situations as much as she could.
So after leaving the revolving restaurant, she went to the hospital.
Sophia did a basic examination on the girl and found her physical condition was better than expected.
Perhaps she wanted to wake up, too.
She just didn't want to wake up next to Alvin.
If she sent her to the ZN lab, they could first talk to her about staying away from playboys after waking up, give her some hope for living.
The lab had just received a new batch of equipment and medicinal materials... plus her newly developed acupuncture technique...
Lost in thought, Sophia forgot about William standing in front of her, mentally working through a treatment plan for that girl.
William clearly knew that Sophia was spacing out right now.
She was spacing out over another man!
His eyes flickered. His tall, upright figure formed a stark contrast with her slender frame. His lips turned downward as he asked her seriously.
"Sophia, does that marriage certificate mean nothing to you?"
His hand at the side of his suit pants clenched into a fist, veins bulging on his arm, each word filled with suppressed, angry emotion.
Brought back to reality by his words, Sophia was still a bit confused.
She looked at William strangely, not knowing what scenario he was imagining.
After a moment, she understood what he meant. Speechlessness spread through her heart and slowly flowed out through her eyes.
If he had any sense at all, if he'd had someone investigate thoroughly and carefully.
He would know she hadn't remarried and didn't have any current partner.
But William was completely dense. Before even getting the investigation results, he'd easily convicted her.
Since he didn't believe her, any explanation would be pointless.
She glanced at the displeasure on William's face, finding it even stranger, not understanding why he wasn't at work in broad daylight but had come here to question her.
Sophia said flatly, "One cup of coffee, is it really that serious?"
She treated him with the same attitude William had once shown her, her tone dismissive, not noticing the flash of confusion in his eyes.
What Sophia just said.
It was so similar to what William had said two years ago... "One dinner, is it really that serious?"
William's momentum suddenly halved, yet he didn't want to back down.
Just then, his phone vibrated. It was her assistant, Amelia Bailey, calling Sophia.
Sophia's expression immediately grew serious. Unless it was important, Amelia would choose to convey information clearly and accurately through email.
A phone call meant it must be something urgent.
William's peripheral vision caught the "A" on the caller display. Seeing Sophia's eyes tighten with tension, his cold, handsome face darkened further.
Sophia was on that call for a long time.
That very night, she had to go to the ZN lab. Time was tight, lives were at stake, so she had Monkey arrange for a helicopter to come directly.
Not wanting to tire out the kids too much.
She doubled the number of bodyguards again.
The housekeeper, servants, and nannies specially assigned to care for the three children—she had people investigate three generations of their families thoroughly.
With these arrangements, she felt comfortable leaving briefly.
To prevent any other accidents, she had Monkey come back. With someone she trusted nearby, she could be even more worry-free.
As for James and Michael, she knew there were always bodyguards William had left outside the Johnson Villa.
Given the emergency, even though she really didn't want to talk to William, she still knocked on the guest room door to tell him she was leaving.
Therefore, she didn't see the darkness in William's eyes.
When James and Michael got home, they learned their mom had left on a sudden business trip.
This had happened before at the Smith family, so they didn't find it strange.
The next day, after dropping the two kids at kindergarten, William was heading straight to the office, but Emily's image inexplicably appeared in his mind.
Emily was young and probably didn't understand what a business trip meant.
But when she heard Sophia had something to take care of and would be back in a couple of days, she blinked her bright eyes without crying or fussing.
It made his heart soften. He should go check on her.
Emily was in the playroom playing with her toys by herself. She had many pink foxes in various styles, all bought by Sophia and Lyra.
Hearing movement at the door, Emily thought Sophia had come back and ran out excitedly.
Seeing it was the bad man William, her invisible ears drooped instantly. Looking disappointed, she turned to go back to the playroom to continue playing.
Worried about Emily's safety at home and concerned she'd be bored playing alone, William crouched down and asked,
"Emily, want to come to the office with me?"
She looked at him with confused eyes, not understanding what he meant by office.
Something to eat, drink, or a toy?
Half an hour later.
Emily, wearing a purple princess dress, was carried by William into the CEO's private elevator.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, curiously looking around.
Suddenly, the elevator doors opened.
The woman outside saw the little girl in William's arms, and her eyes instantly widened.