Sophia Shaw had already lowered her demands as much as she possibly could. But Vincent Grant still picked up the pen and signed his name on the contract...

Each stroke of the pen was a vicious slash across her heart, leaving it bleeding profusely.

Tears streamed down Sophia Shaw’s face.

That’s her uncle’s entire life’s work! How could Vincent Grant be so cruel?

Sophia Shaw was thrown down the stairs by the bodyguards.

Outside, rain drizzled down, striking her face and head. The water was cold, and it stung.

Through the curtain of rain, Sophia watched as Vincent Grant, holding an umbrella, and a group of bodyguards fussed over Joanna Sherman and Yvonne Sherman, escorting them safely into a car.

From start to finish, he never once glanced back at her standing in the rain.

Yvonne Sherman’s high heels clicked with deliberate loudness, each tap a declaration to Sophia Shaw: she deserved to be trampled on by this mother and daughter, just like her own mother before her.

Sophia Shaw silently clenched her fists.

Justin Hughes and Jenson Forrest walked past her. Jenson coldly tossed an umbrella at her feet. "No need for the damsel-in-distress act. Vincent won’t see it, and he doesn’t want to."

Justin Hughes kicked the umbrella away. "I’d rather give it to a beggar than to a malicious, scheming woman like her! Watch out, or she’ll drag you into her plots too!"

Sophia ignored them both and walked off, one step at a time.

She didn’t dare see Yancy Shaw in such a disheveled state, so she went home to change before returning to the Shaw residence.

Yancy Shaw was already back. The man was only thirty-eight, yet his hair was already riddled with gray.

The sight of his hair made Sophia’s heart ache.

Years ago, when Yvonne Sherman and that man had conspired to humiliate her mother, only to frame her afterward, her uncle had been in his twenties, spirited and full of life.

He had stubbornly refused to marry or have children, determined to take on the Sherman family.

He wanted to clear his only sister’s name and avenge her humiliation. He wanted to make them kneel and apologize to her!

With his capabilities, her uncle should have been able to win. But who would have guessed that Vincent Grant would later intervene?

Over the years, Vincent Grant had relentlessly supported the Shermans, turning their precarious family business into the thriving success it is today.

"I’m sorry, Uncle." Sophia couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye.

Yancy Shaw had already heard that Vincent Grant signed the contract with the Shermans, and the weariness on his face deepened. But he just shook his head. "Faye, it’s not your fault. You’re finally home. Let’s have a good meal."

Sophia kept her head bowed, and no one at the table had any appetite.

The atmosphere was so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

With the project stolen by the Shermans, Yancy Shaw’s business was bound to plummet.

As she was leaving, Sophia quietly transferred the only money she had left—a little over a million—to his account.

A little over a million was a drop in the bucket for him, but it would at least ensure his family wouldn’t go hungry for a while.

As Yancy Shaw walked her out, Sophia struggled to speak. "Uncle, let it go. Let’s... let’s stop fighting them."

With Vincent Grant protecting the Shermans now, we can’t win.

Sophia hated her own powerlessness, her inability to change Vincent Grant’s mind. She hated even more that for the past six years, she had been so focused on winning the hearts of Vincent and Cedric Grant that she had completely forgotten the people who truly cared for her.

She’d failed them!

The score with the Shermans will be settled one day, but she can’t let her uncle sacrifice any more for this.

"Even if it’s just for your wife and Chloe, please, let it go."

Yancy Shaw clenched his fists tightly. His beloved sister had suffered such a great humiliation. How could he just let it go?

But when he saw June Evans in the yard, holding their child, and saw his own elderly mother, he slowly lowered his head and answered hoarsely, "Alright."

Sophia knew her uncle’s pain better than anyone.

Her mother had raised him single-handedly and earned the money for his education. He loved his sister as much as he loved his own mother.

But his wife, June Evans, had waited a decade for him. Now that they finally had a child, he owed her a peaceful, stable life.

Sophia silently vowed that she would spend the rest of her life devoting herself only to those who truly loved her.

She will protect her uncle’s family, no matter what.

On the way home, Sophia suddenly had a new idea for improving the thruster. She dropped Bun off at home with Ms. Archer, then turned around and went to find Levin Sawyer.

Levin Sawyer was at his base, which was built on an island. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

While Sophia was waiting for the boat Levin Sawyer had sent to pick her up, another vessel pulled alongside. Two masked men suddenly leaped out.

They seized Sophia and dragged her aboard.

"Don’t touch me! Don’t touch me! Please, let me go!"

The moment she was dragged into the cabin, she saw a girl cowering by a dilapidated barrel, trembling uncontrollably.

Her hands were tied, and a black cloth was tied over her face. She was utterly terrified.

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Sophia’s heart hammered wildly. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t terrified. But fear won’t do her any good. She has to save herself.

Sophia took several deep breaths. Her eyes landed on a black nylon bag behind one of the masked men, and her racing heart began to steady.

She looked up at the two masked men. "I know you’re trying to find a rendezvous boat to get smuggled out of the country, but you don’t have experience at sea. You need a guide.

"The guide you found changed the terms on you. They don’t just want money, they want people, too."

The two kidnappers eyed Sophia with suspicion. "You’re with the marine police, aren’t you?"

They hadn’t said a word, yet she had figured out so much.

Sophia had started working on projects with her professor at eighteen and had exceptional deductive reasoning skills.

It only took a bit of deduction for her to piece together the situation.

The small beauty mark just under her eye seemed to dance as Sophia gave a helpless smile. "If I were with the marine police, I would’ve acted already. I wouldn’t be wasting my time talking.

"You need a guide, right? I know where the rendezvous boat is. I can lead you to it."

The two men exchanged a doubtful look.

Sophia gestured to the other girl. "If we can’t find the boat, it won’t be too late for you to hand us both over then."

The men had kidnapped the girl for money. They had planned on releasing her once they were paid. But the people on the other side were now demanding two women in exchange, and everyone knew what that meant.

Even as wanted men, they didn’t want any more trouble than necessary. Sophia’s proposal was clearly the better option.

The men snatched Sophia’s phone and switched it off.

"Go!"

Two hours later, Sophia led them to the location, and just as she’d said, a rendezvous boat was waiting there.

The two men jumped aboard.

Sophia started piloting their boat back. When they were back on shore, she still didn’t remove the girl’s blindfold.

She tied up the boat just as she saw a car speeding toward them in the distance. Knowing the girl’s ride was here, she headed for the boat that had come to pick her up.

"Brother!" The moment her blindfold was removed, the girl threw herself at the young man before her, tears streaming down her small face. "I almost couldn’t see you again."

Jenson Forrest hugged his sister. "Did they hurt you?"

"No." The girl shook her head. "They kidnapped another woman, but she was really smart. She took them to their rendezvous boat and then brought me back safely."

The girl sniffled, the fear still fresh. "If it had been anyone else, I don’t know what would have happened."

"Another woman?" Jenson Forrest’s gaze followed to the distance, where he saw the back of a young woman, her skirt fluttering as she hopped onto a boat.

When he recognized her, his pupils contracted.

Sophia didn’t go to see Levin Sawyer after all.

After disembarking, she was suddenly struck by a new line of thought. She hopped in her car, rushed home, and immediately buried herself in her work in the study.

She worked until there was a knock on her study door.

"Faye, Levin’s here," Ms. Archer called from outside.

Before Sophia could answer, Levin Sawyer threw the door open.

Sweat dripped down his chiseled face. The frantic heaving of his chest only began to slow when he saw Sophia sitting safely behind her desk.

"Finn Morgan waited for ages, but you never showed. We couldn’t reach you, either. I thought something had happened to you."

Finn Morgan was the man Levin Sawyer had sent to pick her up. Sophia froze for a second, only then remembering that the two men had taken her phone.

"Sorry," she said. "I suddenly had a new idea and rushed back. I forgot to let you know."

She didn’t mention what had happened, not wanting to worry him.

Levin, however, just smiled in relief. "What’s there to be sorry for? The Sophia I know always puts her passion for rocketry first."

He could feel it—the woman she had been five years ago was slowly coming back.

Sophia gave a sheepish smile. She had stood Levin up more than once for the very same reason in the past. She’d even stood up her professor before.

At the thought of her professor, a shadow flickered across her fair features. She opened her mouth to ask Levin about him, but couldn’t summon the courage.