Chapter 76 Private Property
Emily's pride completely crumbled. She couldn't bear to open her eyes, hoping everything was just a hallucination.
How was this possible... How could Sophia be this wealthy?
She was supposed to be just a discarded fake heiress, a bankrupt pauper!
After returning to the Johnson family, she should be living the harsh life she'd lived before!
Taking crowded, sweat-reeking buses, wearing cheap clothes, living in damp, stinking hovels—that's the life she should be living!
Not being the center of attention, owning all these shares and properties, with everyone respecting her!
Amelia made no effort to hide her disdain and contempt for Emily, her tone dripping with mockery. "Emily, did you really think we respected Sophia because she was a Smith family heiress? Let me tell you the truth—this title is something only you care about. For Sophia, it was just a burden. Without the Smith family, she can do many things she wanted to do but couldn't before. You, on the other hand, are nothing without the Smith family."
This final crushing blow seemed to be the last straw that broke Emily's sanity. Her eyes bloodshot with rage, she glared at Amelia. "Shut up! I'm the Smith family heiress. The Martinez family is just a minor household. What gives you the right to judge me?"
The crisp, resounding sound left Emily stunned.
She clutched her cheek, staring at Sophia in disbelief. "You bitch, how dare you hit me?"
Sophia shook out her hand, her expression cold and stern, her voice emotionless, "Who gave you permission to insult my friend on my property?"
Emily gritted her teeth. "You'd better believe the Smith family can make the Johnson family go bankrupt, and they can do the same to you! Get on your knees and apologize to me right now!"
Sophia backhanded her with another slap. Faced with such a shrew, she didn't even want to maintain her ladylike facade anymore. Her icy gaze looked at Emily as if she were already dead.
"I know the Smith family's situation better than you do. You shouldn't really think the Smith family would care about a mere tool, should you? I advise you—since you're with the Smith family now, behave yourself and stop provoking me. Otherwise, it's hard to say whether you'll be able to continue this wealthy lifestyle."
It was both a warning and well-intentioned advice, but Emily heard it as pure provocation.
She refused to believe that Dad, Mom, John, and Andrew would throw out their own daughter for an outsider like Sophia.
"Sophia, what do you have to be so arrogant about? All your current assets were invested using Smith family money—they should rightfully belong to the Smith family!"
"You're too naive." Sophia laughed with contempt, as if she'd never seen anyone so stupid. "The assets are all under my name. What right do you have to say they belong to the Smith family?"
"You were still with the Smith family when you made those investments, so you used Smith family money. Naturally, all the assets should belong to the Smith family!"
"Our country has something called law, and there's a specific law called property law. These assets are under my name, making them my private property. They have nothing to do with the Smith family, and nothing to do with you."
Sophia's expression carried a hint of smugness. She usually didn't like winning arguments, but this time she suddenly found it quite satisfying to humiliate someone with just a few sentences.
It was about time to end this show.
She beckoned to the manager with her finger, and he stepped forward.
"Put her on the hotel blacklist, and while you're at it, post a notice at the entrance, 'Dogs and Emily are not permitted inside.'"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Oh wait..." Sophia reconsidered, finding this inappropriate. "Dogs are innocent. Just her—she's not permitted inside."
This clearly indicated that Emily was worse than a dog. The manager could barely contain his laughter as he quickly acknowledged and retreated.
The humiliation left Emily flushed with shame and anger. Her eyes red with tears, she ran away.
Joshua watched Emily flee past him with a thoughtful expression, gave Sophia a brief goodbye, then followed her out.
Watching the two figures disappear at the entrance, Amelia moved closer to Sophia. "What's with Joshua? After all that ugliness, he's still going to comfort Emily?"
Hadn't he just been flirting with Sophia? He hadn't even spoken to Emily during dinner.
Now that Sophia had humiliated Emily, he should have been more firmly on their side. Why was he suddenly switching teams?
Sophia snorted coldly. "From the very beginning, his target was never me."
"What do you mean?" Amelia didn't understand. Could Joshua actually like that idiot Emily?
Joshua was always second in their grade on exams—he didn't seem like a fool.
There were too many details involved for Sophia to explain quickly. "Just stay away from him from now on. That guy is definitely not someone to mess with."
Calculating and deeply scheming—one careless move and you'd get caught up in his manipulative plots.
Throughout the entire dinner, while she appeared to be chatting with others, she had actually been observing Joshua. She noticed he frequently pretended to casually observe Emily's reactions.
Including his deliberate display of seduction toward her just now—it was purely to attract attention and make Emily more jealous and resentful of her.
It was clear that Joshua cared about Emily, and she was irrelevant to his plan—just pulled in by Joshua to be used as a pawn.
As for Joshua's ultimate purpose, she still wasn't clear about that yet.
...
Joshua caught up with Emily at the fountain in front of the hotel.
"Ms. Smith!" He grabbed Emily's wrist, but she yanked it away.
"What are you following me for? Do you want to continue mocking me?" Emily's tears fell like rain, the makeup on her face smeared into a mess, making her look hideous.
"Of course not. I had no idea Sophia could be so excessive in her words and actions." Joshua lowered his gaze and sighed quietly, seeming somewhat disappointed. He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her. "Don't cry. Such beautiful eyes—it would be such a shame if they swelled up from crying."
Emily stared at the handkerchief in a daze. After making such a scene inside with everyone laughing at her and watching her humiliation, she never expected Joshua to come comfort her.
She looked up, tears swirling in her eyes, carrying a hint of grievance. "Don't you think I'm being unreasonable?"
"I think you did nothing wrong. Sophia occupied your parents and family for 17 years, stole your family, stole your wealthy life. Anyone would harbor resentment. She's the one who went too far—not only showing no guilt toward you, but publicly cornering you and humiliating you. She's more heartless than I imagined."
As he spoke, Joshua stepped closer to Emily, gently wiping the tears from her face with the handkerchief.
Softening his tone, he continued, "So you've done nothing wrong, and you don't need to shed tears over someone else's mistakes."