Sophia Shaw froze. Just then, Jenna Judd spotted her too.

"Sophia, look what you’ve done! You’ve dragged down our entire department and utterly disgraced the company! You can explain yourself to Mr. Sheffield and Ms. Sherman and tell them what you’re going to do about it!"

Jenna Judd wore a look of grievance, as if she were the one who had been wronged.

Sophia Shaw quickly pulled out her phone to check the video that had been posted. Sure enough, she saw a flood of scathing comments below it, all pointing out a ton of errors.

"Your lack of professionalism has caused serious damage to the company’s and President Grant’s reputation. Start by apologizing," Joanna Sherman said without even sparing her a glance.

Utter disdain.

"That’s not right! This isn’t the video I posted!" Sophia Shaw exclaimed in a low voice. "This video has been altered!"

The only people with the account password were her, Timothy Morgan, and Jenna Judd.

Timothy Morgan would never do something like this without my permission...

Sophia Shaw’s head snapped toward Jenna Judd, and just as she expected, she saw a flicker of guilt cross Jenna’s face. "You changed it!"

"What are you talking about!" Jenna Judd flatly denied it. "You can’t handle the responsibility, so you’re trying to pin the blame on me? That’s going too far."

"Whether it was you or not, we can just check—"

Before Sophia Shaw could finish, Joanna Sherman cut her off. "The video creator is listed under your name, so naturally, you’re the one responsible! For a mistake like this, isn’t termination required in addition to an apology?"

A look of smug superiority was etched into Joanna Sherman’s cold beauty. She straightened up, her words having sealed Sophia’s fate.

A knot of indignation tightened in Sophia Shaw’s chest. Unwilling to accept this, she looked at Vincent Grant. "President Grant..."

"Handle it according to company regulations!"

Tossing her that one cold, hard sentence, Vincent Grant walked out of the office with Joanna Sherman.

She was left standing alone in the middle of the office.

The heat was on full blast, yet an icy chill cut her to the bone.

Victorious, Jenna Judd huffed as she passed Sophia Shaw.

Timothy Morgan walked over to her with a heavy heart. "Sophia."

"I will not apologize!"

Sophia Shaw loathed this kind of senseless apology! The company wasn’t willing to investigate, so she would do it herself.

It wasn’t a difficult thing to investigate.

To modify the script, Jenna Judd would have had to access the digital avatar again. Sophia’s system clearly recorded the time the digital avatar was accessed, the computer’s IP address, and a video log of the user.

Sophia Shaw had implemented this feature from the beginning, fearing someone might use Vincent Grant’s digital avatar for malicious purposes.

She compiled all the evidence and hurried upstairs to find Vincent Grant.

Sophia Shaw pushed open the office door, only to see Joanna Sherman lying on the sofa, her lips pursed, and her eyes closed.

Vincent Grant sat beside her, fanning her with a small hand fan. The corner of his mouth was turned up in a smile of helpless indulgence.

Joanna Sherman didn’t like sleeping with the air conditioner on, and as busy as Vincent Grant was, he would rather put aside his work to dote on her.

Caught off guard by the scene, Sophia Shaw felt an uncontrollable pang in her chest.

The next moment, she was met with Vincent Grant’s dark, menacing glare. He didn’t say a single word to Sophia Shaw, only shooting a warning glance at Jack Holloway, who had followed her in.

Jack Holloway immediately apologized. "I’m sorry, President Grant." He then ushered her out the door. "Miss Shaw, I hope you won’t be so ill-mannered next time!" Jack Holloway chided.

The Propaganda Department was under the Secretariat, making Sophia Shaw Jack Holloway’s indirect subordinate.

Unable to speak with Vincent Grant, Sophia Shaw had no choice but to give the evidence to Jack Holloway. "Please give this to President Grant for me."

Jack Holloway took it and gave it a cursory flip-through. "Miss Shaw, the company can’t tarnish its own reputation. Have you forgotten? Jenna Judd was just named Most Valuable Employee last night."

"So I have to take the fall for Jenna Judd?"

Jack Holloway smiled. "Whether you’re taking the fall or not isn’t for you to decide, Miss Shaw. However, your apology is indeed the way to minimize the damage."

Sophia Shaw’s chest ached with anger. "On what grounds!"

"Because President Grant will protect Ms. Sherman unconditionally. Do you understand, Miss Shaw?"

She understood. Of course, she understood.

Jenna Judd was Joanna Sherman’s choice. If Vincent couldn’t protect Jenna, then Joanna Sherman, the woman he doted on, would be criticized for her poor judgment of character.

It was a stunning repetition.

Just like last night, all the villains were protected, while she, the innocent one, was dragged out for public execution.

As long as Joanna Sherman was involved, she stood no chance of winning!

"Either you take responsibility for this, or Timothy Morgan does," Jack Holloway said.

With that one casual sentence, he once again put Sophia Shaw in an impossible position.

Sophia Shaw had barely made it downstairs when an apology letter was already circulating everywhere. It stated that an employee with the surname Shaw had operated the system improperly, accidentally feeding her own error-filled script to Vincent Grant’s digital avatar.

While she had been busy gathering evidence for her defense, they had already written the PR statement and published it without her consent.

At the same time, the news of her termination was also announced to the entire company.

Sophia Shaw stared at the termination letter in her hand, feeling so bitter that she couldn’t even cry.

Vincent Grant and Joanna Sherman are truly ruthless. They wouldn’t even give me the chance to walk out of the company with my head held high.

"Faye, are you okay?" Levin Sawyer had returned to the desert and only got online in the evening, which was when he learned what had happened to Sophia Shaw. He called her immediately.

"I’m fine."

Sophia Shaw gently stroked Bun, who was on the bed. She hadn’t been fine, originally. Being forced out of the company like that had filled her with a mixture of anger and resentment. Every cell in her body had been seething with pain.

But after coming home and playing with Bun for a few hours, the pain had magically disappeared.

In truth, Sophia Shaw knew that Vincent Grant had long considered her an eyesore and wanted her gone.

In the past, he had his reservations, so he had to suppress his hatred. Now, his power had grown to the point where no one could challenge him.

He could finally do as he pleased.

Levin Sawyer was indignant on her behalf. "Those bastards! How dare they bully you like this! Sophia, one day, we have to make them realize just what kind of person they cast aside!"

"It doesn’t matter whether they realize it or not. My life isn’t about proving a point to anyone."

Levin Sawyer agreed. "You’re right. That scum isn’t worthy of you dwelling on them!"

After finishing the call with Levin Sawyer, Sophia Shaw took out the materials he had given her last time and started reading.

As soon as she immersed herself in a familiar field, Sophia Shaw became incredibly excited, staying up until the early hours of the morning before finally resting.

The next day, Sophia Shaw was up early again. She continued to read the materials. Ms. Archer came in and out several times holding Bun, but Sophia didn’t even notice.

Ms. Archer had never seen someone study with such focus. She patted Bun and said, "Mommy is working so hard."

Levin Sawyer had given her a full six years’ worth of data, and Sophia Shaw finished reading it all in three days.

When she called Levin Sawyer after reviewing everything, he was stunned. "That fast?"

After all, if those files were printed out, they could fill half a room.

Sophia Shaw didn’t think she had been particularly fast. She asked Levin Sawyer a few questions about some points she was unsure of.

After their discussion, Levin Sawyer sent her another batch of materials. He also sent her a difficult problem. "This rocket thruster has failed several tests, and the engineers have been studying it for ages, but they can’t find the issue. Take a look."

"Okay."

Sophia Shaw once again dove into a new round of learning and research.

This time, it took a bit longer.

Aside from setting aside half an hour each day to spend with Bun, Sophia Shaw was busy almost all the time.

Being busy was a good thing. All the injustices that had once torn her apart and kept her up at night were completely purged from her mind.

This continued until a real estate agent called to schedule a viewing.

In the divorce agreement, she had agreed to leave with nothing. Naturally, she couldn’t keep living in their marital home.

The agent had also been recommended by Levin Sawyer. He was very professional and chose a type of apartment that perfectly matched Sophia Shaw’s requirements.

With the agent’s help, she signed the contract and got the keys right away.

Sophia Shaw didn’t want to waste time on trivial matters like moving, so she just packed a few clothes and Bun’s things and moved in.

After that, she became extremely busy.

Often, she would only have time to kiss Bun’s little cheek in the morning before leaving, and she would still be studying data or working on models late into the night.

It was a month later before Cedric Grant thought of Sophia Shaw and finally called her. "Mom, why haven’t you come home yet?"

Usually, even when Sophia Shaw was on a business trip, she was never away from home for more than three days.