After Divorce, She Became a Global Sensation and Won't Forgive Her Groveling Husband and Son

Joanna Sherman looked away, lifting her chin arrogantly. "Sophia Shaw, just admit it. You’re jealous of me."

"You keep using that little bit of suffering you went through to guilt-trip Vincent Grant, thinking that without his help, I’d be crushed."

"But the truth is, even without him, I can still get investments and still launch my projects!"

At that moment, Joanna Sherman was like a proud peacock, flaunting her superiority for Sophia Shaw to see.

She even clicked her tongue pointedly. "Honestly, you’re the one who climbed your way up to Vincent Grant, and you married him willingly. Now you’re turning around, crying about how bitter and wronged you are, complaining to him about everything. Don’t you find that disgusting?"

When she looked at Sophia Shaw again, Joanna Sherman’s eyes were filled with utter contempt.

"You got what you wanted and had Vincent Grant for six or seven years. No matter how you look at it, you’re the one who came out ahead."

"If I were you, I’d be burning incense and praying every day, thanking heaven for the opportunity!"

"Joanna Sherman, you’re as shameless as ever—just like your mother!" Sophia Shaw clenched her fists, barely restraining herself from slapping her across the face.

"Given that your mother was shameless enough to occupy my mother’s home, use my mother’s husband, and live a pampered life sucking my mother’s blood, only to turn around and play the victim—it’s no surprise the daughter she raised wouldn’t be very classy."

"First you preyed on Vincent Grant’s guilt to bleed him dry, and now that you’ve drained him, you’re using this ’lifesaving’ debt to latch onto Jenson Forrest and bleed him too! What can the Shermans do besides suck people dry?"

Sophia Shaw’s words weren’t accusations; they were slaps, each one making Joanna Sherman’s face tighten.

Sophia stood on the higher ground, her fiery gaze locked on her. "Given how you’ve used Vincent Grant, I have every reason to suspect that you had something to do with what happened to Lil!"

"What are you talking about!"

She had already tried to change the subject, but Sophia dragged it right back, and a flicker of panic flashed across Joanna Sherman’s face, though it vanished in an instant.

"Sophia Shaw, stop spouting nonsense!"

"Drive!"

Joanna Sherman’s car slid past them and vanished down the road.

She looked angry, but it was more like she was fleeing in disgrace.

The beauty mark beneath Sophia Shaw’s eye seemed to lift as her eyes narrowed deeply.

Back in the pediatric ward, Sophia told him about Lillian Forrest and her own suspicions.

Levin Sawyer tapped the takeout container with his chopsticks. "Forget ’suspicions.’ Joanna Sherman is absolutely capable of something like this. I’m one hundred percent sure she was involved in what happened to Lillian Forrest!"

"The only thing we’re missing is proof!"

Sophia couldn’t help but think of Lillian Forrest’s hysterical screams she’d heard from the hospital room doorway, and a numb ache pulsed in her chest.

For a young woman in the prime of her life to experience something like that... one could only imagine how devastating it was for Lillian Forrest.

Joanna Sherman’s viciousness was on par with, if not worse than, Yvonne Sherman’s!

The more she thought about it, the more her chest tightened with anger.

"Lil was hurt so badly, yet her tormentor is thriving, her life getting better and better. Is there any justice in this world?"

"No. A wicked person has no right to build a good life on the backs of their victims. And good people shouldn’t be harmed like this!"

Seeing Lillian Forrest now was like looking at her former self.

Sophia couldn’t just look the other way!

Levin Sawyer watched her, his heart aching for her. He knew she was feeling a deep sense of empathy.

Although Sophia rarely spoke of it, he had learned a great deal from Yancy Shaw.

Levin Sawyer stood up and pulled her into a hug. "Easy now. We’ll investigate this properly. We’ll find proof of Joanna Sherman’s crimes, and I promise, we will take her down!"

He had to save not only Lillian Forrest but also Sophia, who was still trapped in a past she couldn’t escape.

Sophia stayed in his embrace for a moment, pulling away only when the ache in her heart had eased. "Thank you, Levin," she said softly.

Levin Sawyer’s long fingers curled slightly in the empty space where she had been, the faint warmth of her body still lingering on his chest.

He didn’t reveal his reluctance to let her go, simply offering her a gentle smile. "Anything that’s your business is my business."

Sophia didn’t read too deeply into his words, her mind already back on Lillian Forrest. "We need to hurry. Lillian’s parents are here. They want to marry her off to their housekeeper’s son."

"Their daughter was just assaulted, and now they’re forcing her to get married?" Levin Sawyer was incredulous. "Figures. No one in Vincent Grant’s circle is a decent person!"

Sophia sighed softly.

’Isn’t that the truth?’

’Any other parents whose daughter had gone through such a trauma would be heartbroken.’

’But not them. All they ever care about is their own interests and reputation.’

As Sophia turned her head, she saw a figure flash past the crack in the doorway.

Although Cedric Grant pulled back quickly, she had seen him.

Sophia pretended she hadn’t seen, neither telling Cedric to leave nor going out to find him.

Outside the door, Cedric Grant’s heart was pounding in his chest.

He had come to see Bun.

Everything Bun had been through was a crushing blow to Vincent Grant, and to him as well.

Cedric knew that after the terrible mistake he’d made, he had no right to see Bun, yet he couldn’t stop himself from coming over.

When he saw Sophia and Levin Sawyer move to the side, he pressed his face to the door’s crack again, his gaze desperately searching for a glimpse of Bun.

Bun’s fever had broken. She was sitting up in her bed, amusing herself by patting the bed rails.

As Cedric watched, tears began to stream down his face.

That was his sister. His very own little sister.

But he hadn’t even known when his mother was pregnant with her!

Cedric felt like a total scumbag.

Then he remembered seeing his mother’s pixelated face on the news, and his chest felt like it had been stabbed, the pain sharp and deep.

When Stella Grant was a baby, she would wail and scream from a single mosquito bite.

Bun was dragged into the mountains by a lunatic. How did she ever survive with all the mosquitoes there?

She was so small, yet she already had such a huge scar. How much must it have hurt back then?

’If... if only I had finished that phone call with Mom. Or if I had just called her every day to ask where she was. Or even if I’d just talked a little longer whenever she called me... I would have known she’d had a baby sister.’

’Dad and I could have rushed over to take care of them, and my little sister wouldn’t have...’

Cedric’s crying spiraled out of control. Afraid of making a sound and alerting Sophia and Bun, he covered his face and walked away.

Once he found a deserted spot, he began to hit his own head, over and over.

"I’m such an idiot! I’m such an idiot!"

He really was an idiot.

He had poured his whole heart into caring for someone else’s child, giving all his love to a sister with whom he shared no blood, while completely neglecting his very own sister!

Tears streamed down his face as his sobs grew louder.

"I’m sorry, little sister! I’m so sorry!"

"Mom, I was wrong. I was so, so wrong."

...

「The next day.」

Joanna Sherman came to the hospital again.

She handed a large thermos to Cedric Grant. "Cedric, are you hungry? Auntie Joanna made some congee for you and your dad. Here, go ahead and eat."

Cedric looked at the congee she offered and almost recoiled instinctively.

But then he remembered that all the pain Sophia had experienced was his own fault, so it wasn’t right to blame Joanna. He took the thermos and said softly, "Thank you, Auntie Joanna."

Joanna Sherman smiled gently. "You don’t have to thank me. In my eyes, and Stella’s, you and your father will always be our closest family. Of course we should take care of you."

In the past, Cedric would have been so happy he would’ve secretly pumped his fist and cheered.

Now, however, he couldn’t feel happy at all.

In fact, her words even made him a little uncomfortable.

Cedric didn’t know how to respond, so he just lowered his head, unable to find any words.

Joanna knew in her heart that she no longer seemed so lofty and impressive in Cedric’s eyes.

’I can’t let him become completely disenchanted with me!’

’Cedric admires the strong. Once the illusion is completely shattered, even if I marry Vincent in the future, my fate will be no different from what Sophia’s was.’

So she said, "Cedric, I’m working on a really incredible project right now. We’re going to recover all the rockets after they launch. In the future, we won’t have to build new rockets to launch satellites; we’ll be able to reuse the old ones over and over. It’ll save a ton of time and money."

"When I have some free time, I’ll take you to the base to see the new project!"

"No one’s ever done a project like this before. It’s incredibly difficult!"

"But I am one hundred percent confident I can overcome the challenges and complete the mission. When I do, the entire process of launching rockets will be completely revolutionized!"

Cedric was intrigued by Joanna’s grand description, and his eyes suddenly lit up with interest.

But then he immediately remembered the conversation he’d overheard between Sophia and Levin Sawyer the night before.

He blurted out, "Is that the project Uncle Forrest invested in? Auntie Joanna, I heard that Uncle Forrest only agreed to invest because you saved his daughter. But they also said... that her getting injured had something to do with you. Is... is that true?"