Joel Hale burst in, and the sight of the massive pool of blood beneath Vincent Grant made his heart leap into his throat.

"This isn’t President Grant’s fault," he blurted out. "The Shermans were the ones who plagiarized. The Shaws couldn’t produce any evidence, so what reason did President Grant have to not sign the contract?"

Even though Jack Holloway had been in charge back then, Joel Hale had been right there with him and knew the whole story. He couldn’t help but feel Vincent Grant was being treated unfairly.

Jenson Forrest let out a cold laugh but said nothing.

Timothy Morgan, who had come with Joel Hale, couldn’t stand to listen anymore. "So there was no evidence for that, but what about everything else? What about Sophia Shaw being stuck as a level-one employee for five years? What about how she should have been named Most Valuable Employee, but you gave the award to someone else! Or how about forcing her to resign and then making her the scapegoat!"

He didn’t even have to try; the list just went on and on!

"She clearly brought the most value to the company! We laid the proof out right in front of you, and you still chose to turn a blind eye!"

"Do you have any idea how much gossip she endured at the company? How many people mocked her? Other departments would use her as a cautionary tale when lecturing their underperforming employees!"

"How was that fair!"

"It would be one thing if she were a slacker, but the truth is, she worked harder than anyone!"

"How can you live with yourselves after doing all that?"

The more he spoke, the angrier Timothy Morgan became.

"Do you have any idea how much that Most Valuable Employee award meant to Sophia? After all the grievances she suffered at the company over the years, that was her one chance to prove she wasn’t second-rate! You people are just too cruel!"

"Back then, Sophia went to President Grant and Ms. Sherman to reason with them. President Grant was quick to act, alright—he gave Sophia a million. Does President Grant not know what that million dollars meant? You just thought she was a nuisance, so you threw a million at her to shut her up!"

"Do you know what that feels like to someone who poured their heart and soul into their work? It’s a humiliation! The ultimate humiliation!"

Timothy Morgan had so much pent up inside. Now that he finally had the chance, he was going to let it all out.

"It was the same with Sophia being forced to resign. It was clearly Jenna Judd who altered the video, but you all pinned it on her, forced her to make a public apology, and admit to a mistake she never made!"

"When Sophia refused, you just went ahead and smeared her name yourselves!"

The more Timothy Morgan spoke, the more indignant and heartbroken he became, tears streaming relentlessly down his face.

Joel Hale was panicking. "Assistant Morgan, you’re getting off-topic! We’re talking about President Grant’s dealings with the Sherman and Shaw families. Please, stop."

"Off-topic? How is this off-topic!" Timothy Morgan refused to back down. "This is all evidence of how President Grant enabled Joanna Sherman and harmed Sophia! You’re telling me to stop? Are you all just going to pretend none of this ever happened? You think we can just forget all the humiliation and injustice Sophia suffered?"

"Look, she’s a rocket genius now. That alone is a huge slap in the face to so many of us. Why are we still hung up on these trivial things..."

"So what if she’s a rocket genius? Does that give you an excuse to cover up your sins?"

Timothy Morgan truly couldn’t comprehend the logic of people like Joel Hale.

"No wonder. This issue was brought up last time, but President Grant just let it sit, never offering a solution. When you get down to it, he just never intended to give Sophia justice!"

Joel Hale felt Vincent Grant was being unfairly blamed.

"How is he supposed to give her justice? Apologize? It’s not like President Grant hasn’t apologized, but Chief Engineer Shaw was disgusted by it. Give her money? She’s not short on cash now. She’d just turn around and say President Grant is trying to humiliate her with money again."

"It’s an unsolvable problem."

Timothy Morgan laughed dryly.

"If it’s unsolvable, then why did you all act so blindly in the first place?"

"If you had shown even a shred of fairness and impartiality back then, there wouldn’t be an ’unsolvable problem’ now!"

Joel Hale and Timothy Morgan had originally come to see Vincent Grant about company business, but they ended up arguing over Sophia Shaw instead.

The argument finally ended with a phone call from the Grant family.

Today was the day for Vincent Grant’s performance review, but he hadn’t gone back.

Julian Grant was trying to reach him late into the night.

Joel Hale rushed to drive Vincent Grant, while Timothy Morgan stormed off.

Sophia Shaw, however, was completely unaware of all this.

At this moment, she was at the Forrest family’s home, giving Lillian Forrest her final lesson.

Lillian Forrest was taking the college entrance exams tomorrow. Besides the lesson, Sophia was also there to cheer her on.

When Jenson Forrest got home, he heard cheerful laughter coming from inside and knew instantly that Sophia had arrived.

He stood in the doorway, just as he had on other days, his gaze gentle yet full of longing as he watched her.

Only tonight, his feelings were more complex than ever before.

’Jaden Rhodes’s words had stirred up memories of the past. He’d once thought that if he became stronger, he would earn the right to stand by her side. But now, it seemed he had lost that right long ago.’

Jenson Forrest suddenly started coughing violently.

It startled the people inside.

Lillian Forrest walked out, arm-in-arm with Sophia. Her eyes crinkled in her brother’s direction. "Brother, were you eavesdropping on me and Sophie? Or were you trying to sneak a peek at her?"

Lillian Forrest was being deliberately obvious, trying to create an opportunity for her brother.

Jenson Forrest, however, took an awkward step back. "N-No."

When her brother didn’t play along, a flicker of surprise crossed Lillian’s face. "Brother?" she called out softly.

"It’s getting late. Sophia should be heading back."

Lillian Forrest was a little disappointed, but she couldn’t very well force Sophia to stay. She could only wave a reluctant farewell.

She told Jenson Forrest to be sure to walk Sophia to her car.

Sophia’s car was in the Forrest family’s garage, not too far away.

Sophia nodded at him politely. "Mr. Forrest, this was Lillian’s last session. I won’t be coming back."

The fingers hidden in Jenson Forrest’s sleeves curled weakly. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and finally, he managed to get a word out: "I’m sorry."

Sophia tilted her head slightly, surprised by his inexplicable words.

Jenson Forrest struggled to speak. "I’m apologizing... for all the ways I’ve hurt you."

"Don’t."

Sophia said coolly.

’Although Jenson Forrest had given her the cold shoulder and said a few harsh things, he had never caused her any real harm.’

’They couldn’t be friends, but it wasn’t as if they were enemies.’

"Faye!"

Levin Sawyer was standing outside the main gate, waving at her.

’Even though the light was dim and the distance considerable, he could still see the adoration and reluctance in Jenson Forrest’s eyes.’

’Men always see these things in other men most clearly.’

Levin Sawyer’s brows tightened involuntarily.

’His Faye seemed to have too many admirers. What was he going to do?’

"Levin, what are you doing here?" Sophia asked as she walked to the gate.

Levin Sawyer grunted in acknowledgment. "Bun’s at home calling for his mama, so I came to get you."

"By the way, what did he say to you?"

Levin Sawyer was very nervous.

Sophia just assumed he was worried Jenson Forrest had been bothering her. "Nothing," she said. "He was just apologizing."

"If you know you’ve done something to wrong my Faye, then you’d better stay away from her from now on!" Levin Sawyer said, his tone exceptionally hostile as he looked past Sophia’s shoulder at Jenson Forrest.

With that warning delivered, he pulled Sophia into the car, started the engine, and drove away.

Leaving Jenson Forrest all alone to watch the departing car, a bitter smile on his face.

***

In the speeding car, Vincent Grant’s eyes were tightly closed.

His brow was heavy with suppressed emotion.

Timothy Morgan’s words echoed in his ears, each one a sharp scrape. He knew he had to do something.

A moment later, he took out his phone...