Chapter 91 Many People Will Help Me
After leaving the hospital, Arthur settled into the driver's seat and glanced at Michael beside him, noting his visible frustration.
"Mr. Michael Green, aren't you going to call Sophia?"
"What would I say? Tell her I just found out about the engagement too, and then what? The problem still isn't solved. Better not to say anything." Michael pulled out his phone and sent Amelia a message asking her to take care of Sophia.
Arthur glimpsed that Michael's chat background was filled with photos of him and Sophia together. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Mr. Michael Green, perhaps you should take the initiative and tell the public that Sophia is your girlfriend."
Michael put away his phone and sighed quietly. "Making our relationship public now would only cause greater damage to Sophia once the Phillips family announces the engagement."
He composed himself and instructed, "Drive. Back to the office."
"Yes, sir." Arthur started the car and drove away from the hospital.
Just then, Michael's phone chimed with a message from the HR manager.
'Mr. Michael Green, someone anonymously sent a photo to the company email.'
Michael opened the photo and zoomed in, clearly recognizing the two people embracing as Joshua and Sophia.
From this angle, it looked very much like they were kissing.
His fingers gripped the edge of his phone case as a surge of inexplicable anger rose in his chest.
This photo hadn't just been sent to Green Group's email—it had also been uploaded to Silver Fir Academy's official forum.
Emily admired her handiwork with satisfaction, her eyes filled with malicious glee.
That damned Sophia—wasn't it enough to have a man like Michael with such excellent credentials? She had to go and seduce Joshua too!
Well then, she'd make sure Sophia got nothing at all!
Having a secret rendezvous with the opposite sex during a field trip, such sleazy and despicable behavior—just wait to be disgraced and disciplined by the school!
After seeing the photo on the forum, Wayne immediately went to knock on Sophia's door.
Amelia answered.
"What do you want?" Amelia glared at Wayne irritably. A guy coming to the girls' dormitory—wasn't he afraid of being caught?
Wayne wasted no words, holding up his phone to show the photo to Amelia, who was shocked.
"Holy crap! Who took this photo?"
Wayne said flatly, "Emily uploaded it to the school forum."
Hearing them discussing some photo, Sophia walked out curiously. After looking at it, she laughed. "She just handed me the evidence on a silver platter."
Wayne understood what Sophia meant. "You want to sue her for violating your image rights?"
"It's more than just image rights." Sophia pointed to the caption Emily had written when posting the photo. "Secret photography violates image and privacy rights, plus malicious rumor-spreading damages my reputation—this could constitute defamation charges."
Although it was just a small matter, and even if she filed a police report, they'd likely just suggest a private apology with minimal impact.
But that didn't stop Sophia from making a big deal of it. As a student, being secretly photographed might not have much impact, but what if she sued as the CEO of Vertex Innovations Ltd.?
That wouldn't be so easy to brush aside.
"Great! I've been putting up with her for ages—finally a chance to teach her a lesson!" Amelia said indignantly, throwing an arm around Sophia's shoulder with bravado. "I'll lend you the Martinez family's legal team—guarantee this lawsuit will be a total victory!"
"No need to trouble the Martinez family." Sophia handed the phone back to Wayne, smiling meaningfully. "Many people will help me."
For instance, Andrew, who couldn't wait for the Smith family to be thrown into more chaos, and Joshua, who was dying to ruin his aunt's plans—both excellent candidates.
Of course, to make things really explosive, bringing in that volatile madman John would be the optimal choice.
Sophia logged onto Silver Fir Academy's official forum, took a screenshot of Emily's post, saved the photo separately, and forwarded it all to John.
Sophia: [Keep your sister in line.]
Just that simple. John would handle everything for her.
...
John, who was fooling around at a nightclub, immediately pushed away the woman in a slip dress from his lap when he saw a message from Sophia. "Get lost. Your cheap perfume is making me sick."
The woman, after being scolded, awkwardly got up and moved to sit further away.
Two other beautiful women flirtatiously settled on either side of John, pressing close to him.
John glanced at them coldly. "When I told you all to get lost, didn't you understand English?"
Instantly, all the hostesses in the private room were startled and didn't dare disturb him further, filing out in an orderly line.
Only then did John open his phone to check Sophia's message.
A few seconds later, his thin lips curved into a wicked smile.
It was indeed time to properly discipline Emily.
Unexpectedly, instead of dying down quickly, the situation escalated over the next few days with more photos of Sophia with different men appearing on the school forum, all posted from Emily's account.
Amelia had been in a terrible mood these past few days, while Sophia, the person involved, seemed to enjoy watching it all unfold like a spectator.
The bigger the mess became, the more it proved that John had taken action.
Given John's personality, he probably felt that one photo wasn't enough to play with, so he simply made the game bigger—big enough to make Emily voluntarily afraid.
"Sophia, aren't you worried at all? John is handling Emily but dragging you down with her. Those photos are enough to completely destroy your reputation." Amelia couldn't understand how Sophia could still smile. She was running around in circles with anxiety.
Sophia opened a can of soda and settled comfortably into the sofa. "Those photos are meant to muddy the waters, to blur the focus on my nighttime meeting with Joshua."
The more photos that came out, the easier it would be for people to forget that the whole thing started with her seemingly intimate relationship with Joshua. Once the fake photos were debunked, even her photo with Joshua would seem fabricated by association.
"Oh, so these past few days' photos are John's doing?" Amelia seemed to understand something, yet felt more confused. "But haven't you and John always had a bad relationship? Why would he help you?"
"He's not helping me—he's doing this to destroy Emily. Things have escalated to the point where my reputation is basically ruined, but once the truth comes out, it'll be Emily who gets devoured."
"No matter what, Emily is still John's biological sister. How can you be so sure he'll help you deal with Emily?"
Sophia took a sip of the cold soda, squinting as the chill hit her. After the sensation passed, she spoke calmly, "Because everyone in the Smith family shares one common trait—they despise stupidity."