Free Web NovelChapter 280: Chapter 280: Crush Her, and She’ll Behave
"What video? I don’t know what you’re talking about." Joanna Sherman feigned ignorance.
"Sophia, you’ve already crushed me. Do you really think I’d go looking for more trouble?"
"Whatever is going on between you and Dad is your problem. Don’t ask me, ask him!"
"I will ask him, but you’re the one who’s going to solve this," Sophia said.
"On what grounds!" Joanna demanded angrily.
Sophia pursed her lips. "On the grounds that I don’t want my mood ruined over this."
Joanna’s heart seized up.
"So you take it out on me just because you don’t want your mood ruined? Sophia, don’t go too far!"
"Didn’t you take it out on me back then for the same reason?"
Joanna: "..."
The retort left her speechless. ƒreewebɳovel.com
Her fingers dug into her phone, and she clenched her jaw tight.
’It was so many years ago. Does she really have to be so petty?’
"Sophia, you have fame and a career now. You’re already the winner. Why can’t you let these things go?"
"We were just kids back then. Father only cared about you, not me. I was resentful and wanted to get back at you. That’s only human, isn’t it?"
"Mm-hmm," Sophia replied.
Joanna froze for a second, then heard her continue, "You’d better resolve this perfectly. Otherwise, I’ll go to Vincent Grant right now and tell him you manipulated his divorce."
That "Mm-hmm" wasn’t an acknowledgment at all. It was a message: even as the winner, she was still going to be petty!
"You..."
"This is outrageous!"
Joanna was about to lose her mind with rage.
’These two things are completely unrelated!’
Sophia didn’t give her a chance to spout any more nonsense and hung up.
The most appropriate way to deal with a barbarian was to be a barbarian yourself.
Joanna’s blood pressure skyrocketed. She threw her phone aside and furiously hurled the pillows and blankets around the room until she was panting, yet her anger hadn’t subsided in the slightest.
She kept asking herself: ’How did I end up like this?’
’How did I fall from my high pedestal to this point, so pathetic that even people I once looked down on can now walk all over me?’
After a long while, she finally picked up her phone and dialed Chad Jennings. "Dad, what the hell are you playing at? Why did you have to provoke Sophia! You provoked her and then refused to take responsibility, and now she’s coming after me!"
Joanna was utterly disappointed in Chad Jennings.
Chad Jennings scoffed on the other end. "I’m drowning in debt and you won’t help. Who else am I supposed to go to besides Sophia?"
"She ignored me when I threatened to jump, so I have to keep making a scene. I’d like to see whether she cares about her reputation or not!"
"Just put up with it for now and ignore her. Wait for public opinion to crush her. She’ll naturally come crawling back, admit she’s wrong, and give me the money!"
In Chad Jennings’s eyes, a little bit of suffering for Joanna was a worthy trade for four hundred million.
Either way, this time he was determined to torment Sophia until she surrendered.
If sending the video to the group chat didn’t solve the problem, he would post it online! freewebnovёl.ƈom
"Two hundred million of this debt is because of you, Joanna. You need to look at the big picture, you know?"
’Big picture, my ass!’
A wave of nausea rose in Joanna’s chest; she felt like she could cough up blood.
She never dreamed that the two hundred million wouldn’t buy her peace but would instead become leverage against her.
Now Sophia was using the divorce to control her at every turn!
"Dad, why don’t you just kill Sophia? Kill her and all our problems will be solved!"
Chad Jennings nearly jumped out of his skin. "Joanna, are you insane? Murder gets you a death sentence!"
"Your mother is still in prison, and you dare to have such thoughts?"
Joanna clenched her fists tightly.
’Why does Sophia have to live so long?’
’Why didn’t she die in childbirth, or get hit by a car, or get blown up by one of her own rockets!’
Joanna was about to say more to Chad Jennings when she heard the caregiver call from outside, "Miss Sherman, Mr. Grant is here."
A jolt of joy went through Joanna, and she practically shot to her feet.
She hastily hung up on Chad Jennings, smoothed out her clothes to make herself look as presentable as possible, and then opened the door to greet Vincent Grant.
"Vincent."
Joanna’s eyes were full of light, a smile playing on her lips.
"Are you here to see Stella? She’s missed you so much. She points at your picture and says ’Daddy’ every day."
Joanna picked up Stella Grant and pointed to a photo frame across the room.
Vincent Grant glanced at the frame, his brow furrowing.
He walked over and pulled out the photograph. "From now on, don’t display my picture. It could confuse the child."
The smile on Joanna’s face froze.
"Also, from now on, teach her to call me ’Uncle’."
The caregiver stood to one side, watching Joanna with a mixture of embarrassment and pity.
When she had first met Joanna, she had been so high and mighty, so arrogant that she seemed to look down on even Vincent Grant.
How much time had passed?
The arrogance in her eyes was gone, replaced by the look of a housewife abandoned by her husband.
It took Joanna a long moment to force out a quiet "Okay."
Vincent’s voice came again. "Were you the one who sent that content to Sophia’s neighborhood group chat?"
Cedric Grant had told him about it on the way back, and he had come here immediately.
Joanna flinched violently.
’So, Vincent didn’t come today for Stella, or for me?’
Ever since getting out of the hospital, Joanna had been claiming to be sick and staying at home.
She had thought Vincent came to visit her.
"Vincent, you... you came here to interrogate me?" Joanna’s voice trembled.
Tears of grievance welled up in her eyes, shimmering on the verge of falling.
Vincent stared grimly at the floor, saying nothing.
"I knew nothing about my dad threatening to jump! Ever since Lead Aerospace revealed that Sophia had already completed the rocket recovery project, I’ve been trapped in a whirlwind of public opinion. I haven’t even dared to leave the house."
Joanna paused, swallowing sorrowfully.
She watched Vincent out of the corner of her eye.
His gaze still wasn’t on her.
In the past, Vincent had cared a great deal about her reputation and would never have allowed any reporter the chance to expose her in a negative light.
But now, she sounded so wronged, yet Vincent had no reaction at all.
Joanna was at the brink of despair. She bit her lip, her expression a mixture of stubbornness and hurt. "In any case, I didn’t do it. But don’t worry, I’ll solve it!"
"No matter what, I won’t let Cedric’s mother be slandered!"
After hearing her out, Vincent just nodded slightly and turned to leave.
’He’s... just leaving? Like that?’
Joanna stared at his retreating back, a figure completely devoid of any emotion.
Ever since she returned from abroad, Vincent’s feelings for her had vanished. She had always believed that with her talent, she could easily defeat Sophia and win him back, so she had never been in a hurry.
At this moment, her anxiety peaked. She instinctively ran forward and grabbed his arm. "Vincent, can’t you see? Sophia flirts with other men right in front of you. Her feelings for you faded long ago."
"No matter how much you do for her, she’ll never be grateful!"
Vincent pulled his sleeve from her grasp, displeased. "Joanna, this is between my wife and me. You’ve crossed a line."
’Crossed a line...’
Joanna was on the verge of a breakdown, laughing and crying at the same time. ’They’re already divorced, what line is there to cross?’
"Are you protecting her like this just because you found out she’s a rocket genius?"
The only response Joanna received was the sound of the door closing.
