Chapter 115: No One Ever Considered Divorce
When Sophia had left the Smith Manor, she'd only taken her important documents with her. Many of her business contracts and files remained locked in a safe under Roy's supervision.
She'd avoided retrieving them earlier because Emily had been living there. Showing up to claim an entire safe would've invited unwanted drama from her replacement.
But now Emily was gone, and the Smith couple rarely came home. She could walk in openly and reclaim what was rightfully hers.
Traffic was light at night. The sports car flew down the empty roads, gliding smoothly into the city's most exclusive gated community before pulling up to the Smith Manor gates.
Sophia left the engine running, air conditioning and music on. She told James to wait in the car—she'd be quick.
Roy appeared to unlock the gate for her.
"Ms. Smith, would you like the entire safe moved, or just the documents?" Roy remained as professionally courteous as ever, still addressing her with the Smith name.
"Just the files."
Sophia kept it brief. The safe was too heavy. Even if the staff helped load it into her car, she and James would struggle to haul it into the apartment later.
Besides, only the documents mattered. A safe was just a safe—not worth the hassle.
"Understood. This way, Ms. Smith." Roy led her from the front grounds around to the back, toward the servants' quarters.
He brought her to his own room, where the three-foot-tall safe sat in the corner against the wall.
Sophia crouched before it, entered the code, and pulled out all the documents she'd organized in labeled folders. Roy handed her a canvas tote, and she transferred everything inside.
She grabbed what she needed and left immediately. Not a second longer than necessary in the Smith Manor.
In the front courtyard of the Smith Manor, George and Jane sat across from each other at a wicker coffee table, the atmosphere tense and cold.
"Where have you been all this time?" George's voice carried an edge. This wasn't a question—it was an interrogation.
Jane sipped her coffee, her expression impatient. "When we got married, we agreed this was a marriage of convenience. The prenup's still sitting in the safe. Since when do you have the right to question my whereabouts?"
George scoffed. "You think I enjoy keeping tabs on you? Don't forget the massive mess your daughter created. She's gone now, but she managed to piss off the Green Group—now Cloud Group—and they still won't work with the Smith Group!"
That set Jane off. Her jewelry-laden fingers slammed on the table as she leaned forward. "That's rich coming from you. She's my daughter, but she's your daughter too! And don't act like you're some business genius. If you actually knew what you were doing, you wouldn't have handed the company to Andrew when he was barely twenty! What gives you the right to play the martyr here?"
"Andrew inherited my genes, which is why he's so capable—why he can manage the company so you can gallivant around doing whatever you please. But look at Emily! She looks like you, acts like you, and all she does is cause problems. She's useless!"
George spoke with righteous indignation. Emily didn't resemble him in the slightest. If not for the paternity test, he'd have suspected she was Jane's illegitimate daughter from an affair.
As Sophia was leaving, she happened to catch the tail end of their argument.
How absurd. George shamelessly blamed Jane for mismanaging a daughter who wasn't even Jane's biological child, while attacking her genetics in the process.
When he eventually discovered the truth, would he feel embarrassed?
Then again, given George's intellect, if Andrew and John didn't tell him outright, he'd probably never figure out Emily was merely his illegitimate daughter.
Over the years, Sophia had occasionally overheard their marital spats—each pointing fingers at the other's failures.
Theirs was a marriage of convenience, bound together by money and power, devoid of any genuine affection. They lived separate lives, rarely came home, yet put on a flawless performance as a devoted power couple at public events.
Their arguments always boiled down to the company's interests. Sometimes their personal interests clashed, sparking another round of bickering.
In Sophia's view, their conflicts could be summed up as disputes over dividing the spoils.
George resented Jane spending their joint assets on jewelry and designer pieces. Jane resented George using those same assets to buy jewelry for his mistresses.
They fought occasionally, but neither had ever considered divorce.
The reason was simple: the White family held significant shares in the Smith Group. The company depended on White family capital, and the Whites relied on the Smith name for status and influence.
Bound together by mutual benefit for half their lives, it was their children who suffered most.
George and Jane's argument reached no resolution, but when George glanced away, he spotted Sophia emerging from the direction of the servants' quarters.
Sophia had been planning to slip out quietly, but since they'd seen her, she walked over to greet them politely.
This was still the Smith Manor, after all. Proper etiquette reflected well on her, not them.
Leaving without a word would only make her look timid or evasive.
"Mr. Smith, Mrs. Smith. It's been a while. How have you been?"
Her tone was gracious and composed, neither obsequious nor defiant—like casually greeting acquaintances at a party, nothing more.
George responded with his usual emotional detachment. "What are you doing here?"
Sophia offered a polite smile. "I left in a hurry last time. Some of my school records were still here, so I came to pick them up."
George and Jane had no objections. The files belonged to Sophia's academic work. With high school graduation approaching, it was perfectly reasonable she'd need her certificates and records.
But as they looked at her now, both felt a growing sense that sending Sophia away and bringing Emily back had been a mistake.
Emily was nothing like a proper heiress—selfish, petty, materialistic. Despite countless etiquette lessons, she couldn't shed her jealous, grasping nature.
Traditionally, daughters in families like theirs served one purpose: strategic marriage alliances that brought resources back to the company.
But Emily hadn't created any value. Instead, she'd blown a massive hole in their prospects by alienating Cloud Group.
Now that the Green Group had become Cloud Group under Michael's control, and given Michael's relationship with Sophia and Sophia's relationship with Emily, repairing that bridge seemed nearly impossible.
A person without value was nothing but a liability to the Smith family.
Out of blood obligation, they could support one useless burden. But when that burden offered no utility whatsoever, they needed to recoup their losses elsewhere.
With that in mind, George's tone softened noticeably. "Sophia, you lived here for seventeen years. If you ever want to come back, you're always welcome. You may be adopted, but we won't treat you any differently. We'll treat you just like our own daughter."
Sophia nearly laughed out loud. As if you treat your real daughter so well.
She knew exactly why he wanted her back. Cloud Group refused to work with the Smith Group. Given her relationship with Michael, they wanted her as a middleman—nothing more.