"Sophia Shaw, wake up!"

"Sophia Shaw!"

Sophia Shaw was shaken awake.

Her eyes opened to a gentle, worried face.

"Jenson... Forrest?"

Seeing that she recognized him, Jenson Forrest breathed a long sigh of relief. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

Half of Sophia Shaw’s body was buried in sand and dust.

The typhoon had swept through, felling trees and smashing everything in its path. With nowhere else to go, she had taken refuge in a culvert.

She’d avoided being crushed, but not the flash flood that followed the typhoon.

The entire culvert had filled with water, and she’d been submerged...

’I thought that was the end.’

’Everything hurt.’

Sophia Shaw said nothing.

Jenson Forrest knew she was wary of him. "Don’t worry," he said. "I’m here with the search and rescue team. This isn’t personal. Everyone’s treated the same."

He called others over to help dig Sophia Shaw out and put her on a stretcher.

Sophia Shaw was rushed into an ambulance.

The ambulance sped toward the hospital, its siren wailing. At the same time, several cars drove in the opposite direction, their silhouettes flashing past the ambulance window.

Sophia Shaw couldn’t move, but she still asked the paramedic with her for a phone and dialed Yancy Shaw’s number.

Yancy Shaw was overcome with shock and joy to learn that Sophia was okay, and he choked back sobs several times.

"As long as you’re alive. That’s all that matters."

"I’m coming back right now. I’ll be right there with you."

Yancy Shaw wiped away his tears and grabbed June Evans and Leah Evans. "Faye’s been rescued! Come on, let’s go see her."

When June Evans and Leah Evans heard she’d been rescued, they hurried after Yancy Shaw.

Meanwhile, on the mountaintop, Vincent Grant was personally commanding the search, having dispatched several helicopters.

He was in constant contact with the various search parties, his throat parched and his lips chapped from speaking.

He was so busy he hadn’t even had time to take a sip of the water bottle right next to him.

June Evans, who despised the man, looked toward Yancy Shaw.

Yancy Shaw strode up to him and kicked over the sunshade above his head. "You’re the reason my Faye was missing, possibly dead! What right do you have to get comfortable?"

He then grabbed the water bottle beside him and threw it off the cliff as well.

With that, he turned and walked away.

June Evans and Leah Evans had thought he was going to tell Vincent Grant that Sophia had been found. Seeing him pull this stunt instead, they felt a wave of satisfaction.

’A vicious, cold-hearted man like him deserved to be treated that way!’

June Evans then let out a deliberate cry, clutching her chest as she started to collapse.

She cried out, "Oh, Faye! Faye, where are you? My heart is breaking for you! If we can’t find you, I don’t think I can go on!"

Leah Evans caught on immediately. She rushed to support her sister and shouted to Yancy Shaw, "Oh no! My sister’s having a heart attack! We need to get her to a hospital, quick!"

Yancy Shaw ran over, scooped up June Evans, and dashed toward an ambulance.

He didn’t put her down until they were in the ambulance and it was pulling away.

Seeing her normally straight-laced husband playing along so perfectly, June Evans grinned from ear to ear.

But she also felt a pang of bitterness.

’That bastard Grant had pushed them too far, forcing her husband to resort to tricks he would normally despise!’

Once in the car, Yancy Shaw called Levin Sawyer.

Levin Sawyer, just as discreetly, quietly pulled his own men from the search without a single word to Vincent Grant.

By the time they all arrived at the hospital, Sophia Shaw was just being wheeled inside.

When he learned she couldn’t move, Yancy Shaw gripped her hand tightly. "Faye, don’t be afraid. It doesn’t matter if you can’t move. I can take care of you. I’ll take care of you for the rest of your life!"

June Evans’ heart ached for her, tears streaming down her face.

She nodded emphatically. "Faye, your uncle and I will take care of you and Bun. Don’t you worry about a thing. We can afford it."

"And me! I have a salary. I’ll give it all to you!"

Sophia Shaw looked at her beloved family, the ones who truly cared for her, and nodded. "Okay."

The gurney was pushed into the emergency room.

「The next day.」

The numbness in Sophia Shaw’s body gradually faded, and she was finally able to get out of bed and walk around.

The Shaws, who had been on edge all night, finally breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness." June Evans said, so happy she started wiping away tears.

’The Shaw family could certainly support her, but Sophia was still so young. If she really couldn’t walk again... the rest of her life was too painful to imagine.’

Yancy Shaw, his eyes also red, nodded in agreement.

’Sophia was his sister’s only child. If she could never stand up again, how could he ever face his late sister?’

Leah Evans and Levin Sawyer were, of course, overjoyed as well.

Everyone’s eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep.

But they all felt it was worth it!

"Uncle, Auntie, you should go home. You need to take care of Chloe, and Grandma must be worried since you’ve been gone all night."

Sophia Shaw urged them.

No one had dared to tell her grandmother what had happened.

"Alright. I’ll bring you some restorative soup later," June Evans promised.

It was a miracle that Sophia had survived such a powerful typhoon. The memory alone made June Evans shudder, and she just wanted to treat her niece even better.

June Evans nudged Yancy Shaw, who also had important matters to attend to.

The two of them started to head out.

BANG!

The door was violently thrown open from the outside.

The man in the doorway had damp hair plastered to his forehead. He was breathing heavily, and his eyes were just as bloodshot as theirs.

Vincent Grant looked up, his gaze piercing past Yancy Shaw and June Evans to land on Sophia Shaw.

Jack Holloway, following a step behind him, also saw Sophia.

He said, displeased, "Mr. Shaw, President Sawyer, how could you do something like this!"

"The lady was already found. Why didn’t you say anything? You let President Grant suffer on that mountain for a day and a night. This is a cruel joke to play."

’And when Mr. Shaw left, he threw away President Grant’s water and sunshade. How malicious!’

Yancy Shaw had been itching for a confrontation with Vincent Grant, and now the man had delivered himself right to his doorstep.

Jack Holloway’s words were like fuel poured on a fire. The rage surging in Yancy Shaw’s chest instantly roared to its peak.

He grabbed Vincent Grant by the collar and slammed him against the doorframe. "So what if I was messing with you?"

"You nearly got my Faye killed! I should kill you right now!"

He drew back his fist, aiming for Vincent Grant’s face. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Uncle!" Sophia Shaw cried out.

Yancy Shaw’s furious fist froze, trembling, less than two inches from Vincent Grant’s face.

June Evans looked at Sophia disapprovingly. "Faye, after everything he’s done to you, why are you protecting him!"

Sophia Shaw held out a hand, signaling for Levin Sawyer to help her.

Leah Evans and Levin Sawyer helped her stand and walk over to Vincent Grant.

Sophia Shaw gently pulled Yancy Shaw aside.

For the first time, Vincent Grant’s deep gaze held a hint of tenderness as he looked at Sophia Shaw.

Seeing Sophia Shaw intervene, Jack Holloway’s expression seemed to say, ’That’s more like it.’

Sophia Shaw raised her hand. SLAP!

A vicious slap landed squarely across Vincent Grant’s face.

The slap was so fast, sharp, and heavy that Vincent Grant’s head was knocked to the side.

Beneath his disheveled hair, five clear finger marks rapidly swelled on his cheek!

Jack Holloway: "..."

’Even back when Sophia was framed and he refused to look at her evidence, she had never been this vicious!’

’This Sophia Shaw...’

Sophia Shaw rubbed her stinging hand before she spoke. "I wasn’t protecting him. I was afraid he’d dirty my uncle’s hands!"

Vincent Grant just clenched his jaw, showing no anger. He only said her name. "Sophia Shaw."

SLAP!

Vincent Grant’s head snapped to the side again.

Everyone: "..."

Seeing her rub her hand, they had all assumed she was done after one slap. No one had expected a second.

The two slaps were just too satisfying. Levin Sawyer immediately burst into applause.

"Yes! Well done, Faye!"

Leah Evans also shouted, "Faye, if you run out of strength, I’ll lend you my arms!"

They all hated Vincent Grant that much.

If Sophia hadn’t been so lucky, she’d have met the Grim Reaper by now.

No one would have objected even if they’d beaten that bastard Grant to a pulp!

When she was done, Sophia Shaw coldly spat, "Get out!"

Nathan Shaw took out his phone to call security. "There’s someone here disturbing a patient."