Sophia Shaw said flatly, "Didn’t your dad tell you? I’m very busy. I won’t be coming over to look after you."

"Oh, I see," Cedric Grant said, a bit disappointed. Mom’s cooking was so much better than the housekeeper’s.

Still, it was a good thing that his mom was willing to focus on her work. Otherwise, it was always so embarrassing whenever he mentioned his mom in front of Auntie Joanna.

Cedric Grant thought for a moment, then said, "Mom, I want to recommend a content creator called Rocket Planet to you. You should watch their videos when you have free time, so you’ll have something in common to talk about with Dad and me in the future."

Most importantly, she needed something to talk about with Auntie Joanna. He really disliked his mom’s hostility toward Auntie Joanna. She was probably only acting this way because she didn’t understand anything about Auntie Joanna’s work or about rockets.

As soon as Sophia Shaw heard this, her busy hands stopped, and a bitter smile touched her lips.

She had never deliberately hidden from Cedric Grant when she was recording her videos. But for the past year, all his attention had been on Joanna Sherman. He knew what Joanna, who lived dozens of miles away, ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, yet he had no idea that his own mother, right there beside him, had been updating Rocket Planet for an entire year.

"There’s no need," Sophia Shaw said, having lost all interest in continuing the conversation. "If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up."

Cedric Grant was very unhappy and a little hurt that she had hung up on him. This was the first time his mom had ever hung up on him.

Mom was so unmotivated. She wasn’t even willing to learn something that a grade-schooler could understand.

Whatever. He’s done with her.

Cedric Grant’s attention quickly shifted away from Sophia Shaw. Seeing it was about that time, he immediately placed a video call to Joanna Sherman. "Auntie Joanna, are you off work yet? I haven’t seen my little sister all day, and I miss her so, so much."

It was very late by the time Sophia Shaw finished her work. When she opened her phone, she accidentally tapped on the security camera app.

Cedric Grant was still sitting on the sofa, video-chatting with someone. His face was beaming with joy. She didn’t even have to guess who it was—Joanna Sherman and her daughter.

Sophia Shaw glanced at the time.

Two hours had passed since she and Cedric had ended their call.

Has he been on that call this whole time?

Cedric Grant had always been very self-disciplined. Estimating it was about time to stop, he ended the video call.

Sophia Shaw exited the app as well and uninstalled the software.

She had installed the camera because she used to worry that something would happen to Cedric Grant when he was home alone. Now that Vincent Grant would be going back there often, it didn’t feel right to keep it.

By the time Levin Sawyer returned, Sophia Shaw had finished studying the new batch of materials he had given her.

She just hadn’t found a way to improve the thruster yet.

"Don’t rush the thruster problem," Levin Sawyer said comfortingly, afraid she might be overthinking it. "Countless engineers haven’t been able to crack it. Just treat it as practice; it’s okay if you can’t figure it out. Maybe our entire approach is wrong to begin with."

"I don’t think the approach is wrong," she replied. "It just needs some kind of connecting element."

Sophia Shaw had lost a noticeable amount of weight from how busy she’d been, but her eyes were sparkling, brighter than ever.

This was the same Sophia Shaw from six years ago. Levin Sawyer was thrilled to see her back in her element.

"I’m taking you to an important seminar tomorrow. You might find some inspiration there."

Sophia Shaw had been working in a bubble lately and really did need to get out and exchange ideas, so she nodded.

That afternoon, her aunt called, saying her grandmother missed her.

When Sophia Shaw had her baby, her aunt had also just given birth two days before.

Due to a high-risk pregnancy, the baby had complications, and the family had rushed abroad for treatment.

They were gone for over a month.

Sophia Shaw missed her grandmother too, so she took Bun and went over. Her grandmother and her aunt, June Evans, absolutely adored Bun the moment they saw her.

Bun didn’t cry when she saw the adults, just grinned with her little toothless mouth and giggled.

June Evans brought her son over as well.

The two little ones kicked their legs and waved their arms on the bed, gurgling and babbling, and the room instantly filled with life.

"Where’s Uncle?" Sophia Shaw asked.

Stephen Shaw doted on her. In the past, whenever she visited, he would drop whatever he was doing and rush back, no matter how busy he was.

At her question, the smiles on her grandmother’s and aunt’s faces vanished.

"He’s busy," her aunt said vaguely before heading into the kitchen to start cooking.

Sophia Shaw followed her. "Auntie, why has Uncle been so busy ever since he got back? Did something happen at the company?"

June Evans finally let out a sigh. "While your uncle and I were abroad, one of our employees submitted a proposal to a company with close ties to the Sherman family. The Shermans ended up stealing it.

"They’re shamelessly using it to seek funding everywhere, without changing a single word. That proposal was the culmination of a year of hard work from our entire company. If the Shermans actually manage to secure funding with it, our company... will be finished."

June Evans grew angrier as she spoke, gripping the knife in her hand as if she wished she could use it on the Shermans. "Those damned Shermans can rot in hell! First, they did that to your mother, and now they’re pulling this on us!"

The corners of Sophia Shaw’s eyes were red with a matching fury. Suppressing her rage, she asked, "Are there any influential companies we haven’t pitched the proposal to yet?"

"Only the Grant family," June Evans said. "Your uncle was afraid the Grants would give you a hard time, so he specifically forbade the team from pitching to them."

"I’ll go find Vincent Grant!"

Sophia Shaw left Bun with the Shaw family and drove off to find Vincent Grant. She called Vincent’s number, but as usual, there was no answer.

Sophia Shaw called Jack Holloway instead.

Jack Holloway’s voice was cold. "Miss Shaw, I’m sorry, but I’m not at liberty to disclose President Grant’s whereabouts."

"Jack Holloway, if you’re not at liberty to tell me, then I’ll just have to go to the company as Mrs. Grant and find my husband myself."

Jack Holloway was stunned. This was the first time Sophia Shaw had ever used that tone with him. Finally, he said, "I’ll send the address to your phone."

Sophia Shaw hung up, a sarcastic smile playing on her lips.

In six years of marriage, she had never once used her Mrs. Grant’s title to pull rank on anyone. To think she’d finally use it now, when they were on the verge of divorce.

Following the address from Jack Holloway, Sophia Shaw drove to a classical teahouse.

As she got out of her car, she saw Vincent Grant standing by the side of the road. He cut a tall, elegant figure as he bent slightly to open the door of a white car.

Joanna Sherman stepped out, accompanied by an elegant, richly dressed woman. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The moment Sophia Shaw saw the woman’s face clearly, she felt as if she’d been violently shoved into a vortex as hysterical images flashed through her mind.

Yvonne Sherman!

It was her. She was the one who colluded with that man to wrap her mother around their little finger. After bleeding her dry, they didn’t just cast her aside. They turned around and framed her, utterly destroying her!

The hatred was so deep that Sophia Shaw had even dreamed of plunging a knife into her chest!

"Move aside!"

Sophia Shaw was pushed aside. It was one of Justin Hughes’s bodyguards.

Vincent Grant saw her too. His gaze swept over her for a fleeting, indifferent moment before he accompanied Joanna and Yvonne Sherman upstairs.

The Sherman mother-daughter duo didn’t even spare her a glance, just as cold and aloof as ever. It was as if she were invisible.

By the time Sophia Shaw pushed past Justin Hughes’s bodyguard and ran upstairs, she arrived just in time to see Yvonne Sherman sliding a signed contract toward Vincent Grant.

"You can’t, Vincent!" Sophia Shaw screamed. "That proposal! They stole it from my uncle! I’m begging you, don’t sign it!"

Vincent Grant looked up, a storm brewing in his eyes.

Jack Holloway hurried over, signaling for the bodyguards to drag her away.

Sophia Shaw refused to be moved. "Vincent, that proposal is a year’s worth of my uncle’s entire company’s blood, sweat, and tears! If you sign with them, my uncle will be ruined!

"Even if you won’t sign with my uncle, please, just stay neutral. Don’t sign anything at all, okay?"