Sophia Shaw’s brow furrowed slightly.
Joel Hale had indeed told her that President Abbott had the cloud silk, but she didn’t know Joanna Sherman would be here too.
She had a good idea of what Joel Hale was up to, but she didn’t want to say it in front of Joanna Sherman. She just said, "If you’ve had too much to drink, go home and sleep it off. Don’t act crazy here!"
"So you admit it, don’t you! You admit it!" Joanna Sherman’s voice cracked with agitation.
Without a second thought, she grabbed a wine bottle from the table and swung it at Sophia Shaw.
Joanna Sherman moved so suddenly and quickly that by the time Sophia Shaw realized she was being attacked, the bottle was already right in front of her.
Seeing no way to dodge, she instinctively shut her eyes.
In a flash, an arm shot out, shielding Sophia Shaw’s face.
CRACK!
The bottle shattered against his elbow.
Joanna Sherman’s gaze froze as she saw who the arm shielding Sophia Shaw belonged to. "Vin..."
The rest of his name was stuck in her throat, unable to come out, and her lips began to tremble again.
Joel Hale, who had followed them in, saw the scene and shot a vicious glare at Joanna Sherman. He rushed to Vincent Grant’s side. "President Grant, are you alright?"
"I’m fine." Vincent Grant shook the shards of glass from his sleeve and gently pushed Sophia Shaw away from the debris before letting go of her.
Joanna Sherman came to her senses, only to be met with Vincent Grant’s murderous glare.
She...
Joanna Sherman looked at her own hands in a panic, then at Vincent Grant, her voice thick with tears.
"Vincent, I... I didn’t mean to. I really just... just..."
President Abbott pushed the door open and returned to find Vincent Grant protecting Sophia Shaw. He took in the chaotic mess on the floor, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "Wh-what’s going on here?"
He immediately realized Joanna Sherman was responsible and was so furious he looked like he wanted to flay her alive.
He hastily bowed to Vincent Grant and Sophia Shaw. "I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry. This is my fault for not handling things properly. Please, don’t worry, I’ll call the police right now. I won’t let the attacker get away with this!"
With that, he started to dial 911.
Joanna Sherman stood frozen, staring blankly at Vincent Grant, her expression fragile and helpless.
She was waiting for Vincent Grant to stop President Abbott.
Vincent Grant didn’t say a word.
The last glimmer of light in Joanna Sherman’s eyes vanished completely. Her chest felt as if it were stuffed with countless stones, hard and painful.
"Vincent Grant!" Unable to bear it any longer, she broke down and started sobbing.
Sophia Shaw didn’t want to get involved in their drama. She nodded. "I’ll wait for the police outside."
Joel Hale shot Joanna Sherman one last disappointed glare and followed her out.
Joanna Sherman’s sobs spilled out uncontrollably. "Why won’t you help me? Why? Is Sophia Shaw... is Sophia Shaw really that important?"
"Do you have any idea how humiliated I was just now? That bastard Abbott forced me to drink and dance, treating me like a prostitute!"
"Sophia Shaw put him up to it! Why won’t you do anything about it?"
"Sophia Shaw isn’t that kind of person," Vincent Grant said, his voice heavy and his expression ice-cold.
Joanna Sherman suddenly fell silent. She stared at Vincent Grant, her mouth agape, momentarily forgetting to cry.
But the pain in her heart grew heavier and heavier.
’She had poured out her grievances and he hadn’t said a word in response, but the moment she accused Sophia Shaw, he was so concerned!’
"You just believe her like that?" The next moment, she broke down again. "Is Sophia Shaw that trustworthy in your eyes? You won’t even investigate?"
"Sophia Shaw doesn’t need to be investigated!"
Vincent Grant turned and strode out.
His words rang through Joanna Sherman’s mind. ’Sophia Shaw doesn’t need to be investigated. Sophia Shaw doesn’t need to be investigated.’
Countless voices overlapped, shouting until her head felt like it would explode.
"Why doesn’t she need to be investigated! Why!"
Joanna Sherman screamed at Vincent Grant’s retreating back.
The raw, metallic taste of blood filled her torn throat, but it wasn’t enough to make the man turn back.
Joanna Sherman refused to give up.
"Vincent Grant, don’t forget what you owe me!"
"You proposed to me, gave me hope, and then you ran off and slept with Sophia Shaw!"
"Do you have any idea how much that hurt me? My whole world came crashing down!"
"For years abroad, I cried myself to sleep every night, so miserable I wanted to die! Vincent Grant, you have to take responsibility! You have to be responsible!"
Still, Vincent Grant didn’t turn back or react in any way.
Refusing to give up, Joanna Sherman started to chase after him.
"That’s enough!" Joel Hale blocked her path and roughly shoved her back into the private room.
Joanna Sherman stumbled and fell to the floor, as pathetic as a crumpled rag.
The door to the room slammed shut with a BANG.
Joel Hale stared at her, utterly disappointed. "Joanna Sherman, I’m embarrassed for you! President Grant didn’t even slap you, and you’re still acting so arrogantly?"
"What right do you have to be so arrogant!"
Joel Hale kicked over a chair in front of him!
"Since you came back from abroad, do you know how much money and time President Grant has spent on you? He was so busy with you that he ignored Sophia Shaw giving birth. He ignored his own daughter being taken up a mountain by a madman! And you still have the nerve to talk about what he owes you?"
"Even if you were fucking raped ten thousand times, he’s already paid you back in full!"
"Joanna Sherman, you need to get a grip!"
Joel Hale suddenly grabbed her by the collar. "Why can’t you be a little smarter and use your brain for once? At a time like this, every time you bring up what happened years ago, you’re just reminding President Grant how much he owes Sophia Shaw. It will only make him do more for her!"
Joanna Sherman’s dazed eyes blinked, and she vaguely began to realize she had been a fool again.
Joel Hale shoved her away in disgust. "I brought Sophia Shaw here on purpose so President Grant could see how hard your life is. But you didn’t appreciate the chance and ruined everything! A few days in a holding cell will do you good. Maybe it’ll clear your head!"
Outside the room, President Abbott apologized profusely to Sophia Shaw and personally handed her the cloud silk that his family had sent over.
"Miss Shaw, I’m truly sorry. Please accept this cloud silk as a gift, and please, try to calm down."
Sophia Shaw took the cloud silk but insisted on paying him the market price for it.
"Today’s incident had nothing to do with you, so please don’t worry about it. If you don’t accept the money, my elders will feel bad when they find out, and I won’t feel right keeping it."
President Abbott scratched his head and had no choice but to accept the money.
The police arrived, took Joanna Sherman away, and had someone take a brief statement from Sophia Shaw.
Vincent Grant had witnessed Joanna Sherman’s assault firsthand, so there wasn’t much to dispute.
Although no serious harm was done, detention was unavoidable.
"Thank you," Sophia Shaw said sincerely to Vincent Grant, clutching the cloud silk.
She looked at his elbow. The sleeve was damp; he must be bleeding.
"Let me take you to the hospital to get it checked out."
"No need." Vincent Grant shook his head, his gaze lingering on the cloud silk in her hands for a moment. "My injury is nothing. You should take that to your elder."
With that, he strode away.
Halfway out, he seemed to remember something and turned back. "Faye, Old Master Sloan had someone give me some system code a couple of days ago. Could you please return it for me?"
She had already discussed this with her mentor and knew his intentions. She replied, "There’s no need. My mentor said it would be most effective in your hands."
Sophia Shaw knew Vincent Grant wouldn’t be easily convinced, so she explained Old Master Sloan’s true intentions. "This system was his wife’s concept. Her greatest wish was to use her technology to advance Cathan’s progress. If you can help fulfill her final wish, you’d actually be helping our mentor."
"Understood."
Vincent Grant lowered his gaze and looked deeply at Sophia Shaw.
"Go back and tell Old Master Sloan that I will do everything in my power to implement this system."
"Okay."
"By the way, your mentor’s wife... what was her name?"