Free Web NovelChapter 302: Chapter 302: Trading a Real Death for Vincent Grant’s Forgiveness
In the video, Joanna Sherman stood on a high railing, holding Stella Grant and crying uncontrollably.
"Vincent Grant, I was wrong. I’ve made a terrible mistake."
"I thought you loved me. I thought you would divorce Sophia Shaw and marry me."
"I thought you cared about the accident six years ago, that you were hurt by it."
"I was so arrogant. That’s why I made such a huge mistake. When Sophia Shaw handed you the divorce papers, I schemed to trick you into signing them. I even deceived the lawyer and Joel Hale into filing the divorce for you."
Through the video, Sophia Shaw saw Vincent Grant’s face freeze, twisted in utter disbelief.
"What did you say?" he growled, his chest rumbling with the force of it.
Joanna Sherman gritted her teeth and shouted, "Vincent Grant, you and Sophia Shaw... you’re already divorced!"
Even through the screen, you could feel something inside Vincent Grant snap.
His fingers were in a death grip on his phone, his knuckles turning a stark, painful white from the pressure.
His fingertips dug in, and the screen shattered under the force!
Joanna Sherman’s face was flushed from crying, tears scattering in the wind. "I’m only just now realizing how horribly wrong I was. Vincent Grant, I can’t face you... all I can do is die!"
Of course, she didn’t die. At the last second, Vincent Grant lunged forward and grabbed her.
Firefighters swarmed in and pulled her back to safety.
The video ended.
Underneath was a text message: "I was willing to actually die to earn Vincent Grant’s forgiveness. Are you?"
The provocation was blatant.
Sophia Shaw sent a thumbs-up emoji back to her and closed the page.
She turned and saw Cedric Grant standing there blankly, his eyes red-rimmed as he stared out the window.
His lips were pressed into a thin, tight line, and his bloodshot eyes were brimming with sorrow and despair.
You could tell that even Bun had started to accept him again.
’He’d thought if things just kept going like this, he and his dad could slowly, bit by bit, ease back into Mom and Bun’s lives and win their approval again.’
But his dad had dropped the ball.
He had never been so utterly disappointed in Vincent Grant.
Sophia Shaw walked over and gently patted his shoulder in a comforting gesture.
Cedric Grant looked up at Sophia Shaw, his eyes puffy and red. "Mom... does Dad... not have a chance anymore?"
’He could finally understand the agonizing wait Sophia Shaw had endured. So this was how painful it felt.’
Sophia Shaw remained silent.
Cedric Grant lowered his head, his small hands hanging limply at his sides. "I’m sorry, Mom."
At some point, Sophia Shaw’s hand had come to rest on his cheek.
Cedric froze.
’She hadn’t touched him like this in a very, very long time.’
Feeling this intimacy he had missed for so long, Cedric Grant’s tears began to fall even faster.
’Everything that had happened before felt like a dream. He couldn’t understand how he’d become so infatuated with Joanna Sherman, or why he’d ignored the person who treated him best in the entire world for her sake.’
"Why are you stopping me? I’m Sophia Shaw’s biological father! It’s my granddaughter’s birthday, so what if I came to see her?"
A commotion startled the two of them.
Sophia Shaw turned her head and saw Chad Jennings outside. A bodyguard had him by the collar, but he was still puffing out his chest and arguing, his eyes wide with indignation.
Standing opposite Chad Jennings were Yancy Shaw and June Evans.
Yancy Shaw’s face was stiff and cold, his eyes filled with undisguised loathing. "Chad Jennings, have you no shame! Sophia Shaw has had nothing to do with you for fifteen years, and Bun has nothing to do with you either!"
"You have no right to be at Bun’s birthday party!"
Yancy Shaw waved his hand impatiently. "Don’t let this... thing... disturb the kids. Throw him out!"
Chad Jennings struggled frantically, trying to rush inside, but the bodyguards simply lifted him up and hauled him away.
Once the scene was over, Yancy Shaw and June Evans started walking back, hand in hand.
June Evans was still fuming. "Honestly, we’re just trying to throw a birthday party for a child, and all the riff-raff comes crawling out of the woodwork!"
"So now he remembers he’s the kid’s father? Where has he been all this time?"
June Evans’s words were a double-edged sword, aimed at both Chad Jennings and Vincent Grant.
The words stung Cedric Grant’s ears.
His head sank even lower.
June Evans paused for a second when she saw Cedric Grant, but she didn’t regret a single word she’d said.
’Even if you’re a child, a mistake is a mistake. It’s like a nail in a wall—even when you pull it out, it still leaves a hole.’
’You can’t just let things slide because he’s a kid.’
June Evans said pointedly, "What makes a family a family is that you’re supposed to stick together, through thick and thin. It’s fine to have idols, to have people you look up to. But if you’re willing to abandon the person who treats you best just to chase after some idol, then you’re trash and deserve to be thrown out!"
Yancy Shaw gave her a gentle tug, signaling for her to ease up a little.
Though Yancy Shaw was an imposing figure whose word was law in the outside world, he was always gentle with June Evans, always putting her first. freeweɓnøvel.com
Even if he disagreed with her, he would only hint at it discreetly rather than calling her out in front of others.
June Evans let out a little "Hmph," her tone softening with a coquettish pout—the kind only a woman truly doted on by her man can pull off.
Still, she did stop talking.
Sophia Shaw watched June Evans with a hint of envy.
Of all the women she knew, she was the only one whose suffering had finally given way to happiness.
Ultimately, Yancy Shaw simply had more integrity than Chad Jennings or Vincent Grant. That’s why he knew how to cherish the woman who had stood by him through hardship.
At three in the afternoon, the party was drawing to a close, and guests began to file out.
Leah Evans ran in, her expression dark. "My brother-in-law just had Chad Jennings thrown out, but he’s refusing to leave! He’s standing by the main road and told a waiter to pass on a message that he absolutely has to see you!"
"He said that if he doesn’t get to see you, he doesn’t know what he might do. The man’s a psycho! He’s completely lost it!"
Sophia Shaw thought for a moment. "I’ll go see him."
"Mom, I’ll go with you," Cedric Grant said softly.
Sophia Shaw could see how hard he was trying to mend their relationship. She shook her head gently. "You stay here. I’ll be right back."
’There was no need to drag the next generation into her messy affairs with Chad Jennings.’
When Sophia Shaw went outside, Chad Jennings was standing by the road, wiping his face.
She couldn’t tell if he was wiping away sweat or tears.
Seeing her, he rushed over. "Faye, you finally came! For the sake of the fact that I’m your father, I’m not asking for much—I’m just begging you to help me."
Chad Jennings’s legs were so weak he looked about to fall to his knees in front of Sophia Shaw.
His eyes reddened as he began his woeful tale. "That Joanna Sherman is completely unreliable! If she wants to jump off a roof, fine, let her jump! But why did she have to go and spill the beans about you and Vincent Grant being divorced?"
"The Grant Group’s stock price hadn’t even recovered from the last hit, and now it’s hit the daily limit down again! All my shares were wiped out! I was forced to liquidate my position—I’ve lost everything!"
The more Chad Jennings thought about it, the more miserable he felt.
’Hadn’t he been good enough to Joanna Sherman? Ever since she was a little girl, he would have plucked the stars from the sky for her if she’d asked. When she was unhappy with Sophia Shaw and bullied her, he stood by and said nothing.’
’And what was the result?’
’She was the one who screwed him over the worst!’
"Now the bank is calling in the four-hundred-million-yuan loan, and I don’t have a penny to my name... They said if I don’t pay it back soon, they’re going to sue me. I’ll go to prison!"
Yvonne Sherman was in prison, and he had visited her twice.
Each visit sent a deeper chill through his heart.
Prison was no place for a human being. The glamorous Yvonne Sherman he remembered had, in just a few months, become dark-skinned and haggard, looking like an old crone.
Chad Jennings grabbed Sophia Shaw’s arm. "We’re father and daughter, after all. Faye, you have to help me."
"I swear, from now on, you’ll be my only daughter! I’ll only ever be good to you!"
