Chapter 718 The End
“Miss Jessica, after hearing what Miss Reed said, can you justify your actions?” one reporter asked. “Miss Jessica, did you know that your father had sold his shares a long time ago?” Jessica couldn’t tolerate the never-ending questions that were thrown in her direction, so she pressed her palms against her ears as she scrunched up her face.
“That’s enough! Shut up! Everyone shut up!” She began to scream like a madwoman. The crowd and the live stream viewers let out sympathetic sighs when they saw her that way. Perhaps they assumed that she was raging out of shame.
Sonia lowered her gaze to give Jessica a cold glare while Jessica thrashed and raged on the ground. Sonia smirked. “Let me answer on behalf of her since she doesn’t want to do it. She was aware that Dad had sold the Reed Family’s shares, and she was aware that the shares I own have got nothing to do with her.
The reason she started all those rumors about me online was because she couldn’t get what I have. That was why she claimed that I was an illegitimate daughter who had bullied her when we were young—she wanted to use the power of the media and netizens to force me to hand her some shares.”
‘Sheesh. That’s so horrible,’ someone commented. ‘Exactly! This is my first time encountering someone who’s so disgusting,’ another one replied. ‘I knew Miss Jessica wasn’t as innocent as she seemed to be. I was right! I can’t believe she tricked all of us netizens to side with her, and I can’t believe I spoke up for her. F*ck…’
While all the netizens raged over the incident online, the reporters on the site looked as if they wanted to tear Jessica into pieces. The paparazzi and the media had always been the ones who would stir rumors and gain benefits from others’ pain, but Jessica seemed to be the one who was doing their job this time. They refused to forgive this woman so easily.
“I’m glad that Miss Reed stopped Miss Jessica’s evil plan from happening,” one reporter uttered in an attempt to flatter Sonia.
Sonia responded with a polite smile. “You’re right. However, I don’t think she could’ve succeeded from the start. She thought that I didn’t have proof of my identity as an adopted child, and she thought that I couldn’t prove that I had never bullied her as a child.
That was why she was so certain that I wouldn’t be able to speak up for myself, and that was why she thought I’d crumble under societal pressure to hand her the shares.”
“Miss Reed, are you saying that you can prove that you’ve never bullied Miss Jessica as a child?” The reporters stared at Sonia with stunned expressions. Jessica, who had been sitting on the ground, threw her head up as she screamed. “How is that possible?! How could you have proof of our childhood days?”
“Of course I do!” Sonia’s smile seemed to demolish the last bit of Jessica’s pride and ego. While Jessica stared at the flawless smile on Sonia’s face, she felt as if she were looking into the face of the devil. “You…” Jessica’s lips were trembling. Sonia wasn’t interested in having a conversation with Jessica and simply turned sideways to look at the man beside her.
Toby opened the box in front of him and pulled a USB drive out before handing it to Daphne. Sonia had been holding the box at first, but Toby had offered to help her carry it as he didn’t want her to tire herself out. That was why the box was with him.
Daphne had previously heard Sonia talking about the CCTV cameras, so she understood that the footage was stored in the USB that Toby had just handed her. Without saying anything, Daphne hurried over to the computer that was connected to the large projector. Everyone watched as Toby handed the USB over to Daphne.
When Jessica saw the USB, she felt intense fear consuming her entire being. She had already felt cold and shaky to begin with, but she was practically numb with fear after she saw the USB. She had no idea what sort of evidence the USB contained, but she knew that she was about to be thoroughly destroyed.
Meanwhile, Asher, who had been sipping on his tea and trying his best to remain invisible throughout the press conference, realized that Jessica was about to be defeated. He lowered his teacup before giving Jessica a deadly glare. She’s such a good-for-nothing! I was hoping that she might have some skills, but now I know… Once brainless, always brainless. I got excited for no reason!
Sonia didn’t care about what the reporters and staff members thought—she simply held her microphone up before parting her red lips to speak. “This USB consists of more than ten video clips showing CCTV camera footage of Jessica and me as children.
Bullying is seen in the footage, but it was Jessica who bullied me, and not the other way round. Both Jessica and her mother bullied me together.”
“That means Jessica lied again! I can’t believe she’s acting like she’s the good person here,” one reporter uttered. Sonia nodded. “That’s right. Furthermore, it’s also true that my father’s wife had cheated on him. However, it wasn’t my mom who did it, but Jessica’s mom!” Sonia pointed at Jessica.
Sonia’s cerise-colored nails complemented her slender fingers and fair skin, and Toby’s gaze darkened when he saw her pretty hands. He reached over and held her hand before he planted a gentle and loving kiss on her fingers.
He did this in front of the crowd, and it wasn’t just Sonia who was stunned by his actions—the rest of the crowd were equally shocked. I-Isn’t this a press conference? Since when did it become a place for them to display affection to each other?
“Pfft.” Rose, who had left the hospital and returned home, burst into laughter when she watched this scene on the TV. Mary happened to walk over with a plate of fruits when this happened, and she laughed along with Rose. “Young Master Toby sure is full of surprises, Old Mrs. Fuller,” Mary commented.
Rose shook her head as she continued to smile. “I don’t know what to feel about this boy sometimes. Well, I guess it shows that his relationship with Sonia is going well.”
“That’s true.” Mary agreed.
While Rose and Mary gave the couple their full support, there was another man who was grinding his teeth in anger. Zane grabbed a fistful of his hair, feeling like he was about to lose his mind. “Toby, you f*cking snake! How dare you do such a thing to Sonia during a live broadcast? You’re clearly doing this on purpose. You knew that we would be watching this press conference, and you’re doing it because you want us to see this, right?! You’re doing this to piss us off! I can’t believe you even drew attention to the ring!”
Douglas, who had been reading a comic book, lifted his head to glance at his uncle who was grumbling in front of the TV. After a few moments, Douglas lowered his head once more.
“Why does it matter if he did it intentionally? You wouldn’t be able to do it intentionally even if you wanted to, since Mr. Toby and Aunt Sonia… Oh no! I can’t call her Aunt Sonia anymore. I should call her Miss Sonia instead. Since Mr. Toby and Aunt Sonia are dating, all you can do now is to continue feeling jealous of them,” the young boy uttered flatly.
Zane stormed over to grab Douglas’s collar from the back before lifting the child up like he was some soft toy. Then, Zane held Douglas up in front of him and looked at the child’s pure and innocent face before letting out a scoff. “Hey, whose side are you on? How could you help the outsiders? You’re looking down on me, aren’t you?”
Douglas rolled his eyes in response. “I was siding with you at first, but you didn’t seize your opportunities when you had them. I even tried helping you out with Miss Sonia, yet you didn’t get her in the end.
What am I supposed to do now that Mr. Fuller won her over?” Douglas waved his arms around as he continued. “I think you should be glad that I still call you my uncle despite you being useless.”
Zane was close to dropping Douglas to the ground when he heard the child’s words. However, soon enough, Zane calmed down and lowered Douglas onto the couch before he took a glance at the TV.
“Do you think I didn’t try hard enough? I don’t think so. I think it’s all because of fate. It doesn’t matter how much I try; nothing will be enough if she doesn’t wish to consider me at all. She will never be with me. Just look at that guy from the Lane Family!”
…
At the same time, Charles was sitting in front of his computer with a forbidding look on his face. He stared at the screen as Toby kissed Sonia’s hand. Charles shared the same opinion as Zane—he thought that Toby was using the live stream to put on an act that would provoke all his love rivals. Why else would he kiss Sonia’s hand at such a public event?
