Storm's facial reaction changed when he heard what Sophia said. His eyes were full of sadness, and they had a lot of emotion aside from that. Storm sighed deeply as he went to the other couch.
“I was rushed to the hospital; someone put a peanut on my food which led me to the hospital. I heard some maids talk about how Erin asked the maid to do that. Auntie hurt her, which led her to go to the hospital.” Sophia explained. Her eyes were full of worry. Her lips trembled while her eyes slowly formed tears.
Storm was shocked because of what he had found out. He was sure that it was really Erin who planned to kill Sophia using the peanut. He couldn't believe Erin had done that to Sophia, his cousin, too.
“I didn't know you were in the hospital, too.” He whispered. He sympathized with his cousin, especially when she saw how simple Sophia was—seeing her eyes made him go back to their past when they were still kids.
Storm was too close to Sophia when he was young. He liked to be with her because she was too simple and kind. When they were kids, it was Sophia who was always with him. She was the one who supported him in whatever he liked.
When he met Blossom, Sophia pushed him to be friends with her. Sophia was the reason— Unfortunately, Sophia needed to go outside the country, which made Erin and Blossom meet and have a friendship.
“Yeah, I'm worried about Erin. I felt guilty that she was in the hospital because of me. I don't want her to get mad at me because I want us to be friends and sisters. You know, Storm, when I went to this country, I had no friends. You're the only friend that I have.” Sophia forced herself to look like she was unfortunate; she took a deep breath before she peeked at Storm.
“Sophia, are you mad at me because I didn't make my promises to you? I didn't mean to break it, I even asked daddy to get you back here, but you know that uncle was more powerful than him.“ Storm explained. He took the juice, the juice that one of the maids was given to him.
“I'm not angry because you didn't even have power then. Well, I want to tell you that I'm back here now. Daddy wanted me to handle the company; I'll be the successor of it. It's quite fascinating.” Sophia stood up, stared at Storm's juice, and secretly formed a smirk on her lips.
Sophia smiled innocently. If Storm thought she was dumb, they were all wrong because she knew why Storm's father didn't want to help her. She's the hindrance on his path to becoming one of the most potent in the company.
Storm's father knew Robert would choose her as his successor because she was his legitimate daughter. Sophia was sure that Storm's father was connected to Amelia. This was the reason why they didn't want her to study abroad.
“Oh, I didn't know that uncle would give you his company. Then, congratulations, but if you don't mind me asking, is it possible for you to handle that big company? Dad told us that you didn't even study abroad, so it means you aren't qualified to be the owner of the company.” Storm bit his lips. He didn't intentionally ask Sophia a sensitive question, but what he was saying was that there were a lot of businessmen who would reject the idea— that Sophia would lead the company.
“Aside from that, you are a woman. Those businessmen would be scared to take a risk for trusting you– a woman will change her name after she gets married.” Storm added.
Sophia nodded. If Storm thought she was stupid, they were all wrong because she had already thought about it when she wasn't back in the country.
It looked like they didn't really know her at all, and they thought she didn't finish her studies out of the country. What wrong step did they take after putting her back in the country without the slightest support; they didn't even check on her to see if she was studying.
A businesswoman helped her, changed her name, and enrolled her in a different school. But, to make sure that Amelia and Storm's father didn't find out about it, she always went to her home and even did a part-time to sustain her daily needs even though she didn't need them.
That businesswoman was the one she cherished the most, and she felt grateful that she had found her. That woman even taught her how to invest and play with a company using her hands.
“You are right. Storm, I don't think I'm ready to handle the company. But thanks to my father, he asked me to study everything.” Sophia giggled like a child, which made Storm force himself to smile. He didn't like that Sophia was the one who would manage their company, he was waiting for his turn, but now it looked like Sophia hindered his dream.
Storm felt pity for Sophia because her father made her a trap, and she didn't even notice it. She would be damaged collateral if her father died and left the company in her hands.
But Storm was thankful for that because his rival was too weak than him. All he would worry about was Erin because he was sure that Erin would like to lead it, too.
Sophia bid her goodbye to Storm. There was a hidden smile on her lips before she left him. As she walked to her room, she stopped, and her expression changed into anger.
Her jaw became tense as she took a small bottle from her pocket. She entered her room, broke the bottle, and flashed it in the toilet. She even took the box of the bottle, soaked it, and flashed it too.
She was excited to hear that Storm would rush to the hospital after several hours. That liquid she put in Storm's juice was too silent when it entered the body. So, she knew that Storm would notice someone it was from the liquid she drank.
She didn't have any plans to expose herself but to make sure that Storm would drink it, she acted innocent at Storm even though she wanted to slap and smack his face.
Sophia took her small laptop; she checked her emails which contained the money that she had invested in a lot of companies. She was known as cunning when it came to her investments. She smirked; she thought that she needed to invest in her father's company.
If her father thought that she had forgotten what he had done to her mother, he was wrong because she would get her revenge on every people who did something nasty to her and her mother.
Storm went to the meeting with his investor. He decided to eat food with them so they could talk about the stocks and how their company performed so well. He groaned when he felt his stomach aching, and his heart was throbbing too fast, making him unable to breathe correctly.
Storm held his chest, and he gasped to have some breath. “Ahh!!” He screamed.
Storm fell from his seat, which made his people panic and ask someone for help. While Sophia was staring at the clock, she was humming when she saw how the clock turned to lunchtime.
“Sorry, Storm. You're such collateral damage. When you teamed up with Erin, we weren't cousins anymore. It's just a warning; you will be thankful to me that you are still alive.” Sophia murmured. She faced her small laptop and emailed her attorney to fix the needed papers.
Hours passed, and Robert went back to his house. Amelia was still in the hospital because she was too guilty for what she had done to her daughter. Robert asked for Sophia's presence to eat with him, which made Sophia oblige.
“Are you sure that this meal didn't have any peanuts?” Robert was anxious because he didn't want Sophia would go to the hospital once again.
That time when he was asking, Sophia came to the dining table. Sophia hugged her father before she took a seat.
“Your cousin was in the hospital. He was still unconscious; the doctor said it was a heart attack.” Robert informed Sophia, so she would be more aware of what happened to their family.
Sophia widened her eyes, “Daddy, Storm went here, but he was looking for Erin. We talked about little things. He's too young to have a heart attack.”
“Heart attack didn't have any age, I think. He should learn how to take care of his body. After all, he still didn't have a wife because he kept pestering Leo's wife.”
“Are you talking about Blossom? Oh, she's incredible. But having an affair with a married woman was such a bad image for our family. I think he should need to settle down, daddy. If some pressed discovered this, there is a chance that this might affect the company.” Sophia started to suggest. She slowly munched the steak.
Robert was stunned by Sophia's bold suggestion. He was thinking about that, too, but he thought that his nephew could choose someone he loved. Arranged marriage wasn't their family thing.
”Are you mad at me, daddy? Well, I'm thinking about the image of our company. We needed to avoid some scandals, and you should tell Erin to clarify her relationship with Leo because Leo is a trending topic this day, and I'm sure it affects our company's stocks today.” Sophia added. Robert nodded, even though he didn't want to admit Sophia was right.
Because of Erin, their stocks went down, and some investors pulled out their investments. That's why Robert thinks that if he gave the company to Erin, it would create a significant effect on their company.
Hearing what Sophia suggested, Robert thought that Sophia was trying to study more about their business which was too pleasing for him. “What do you think we should do? You are the successor of our company, and I want to hear what's on your mind.”
“Well, I think you should give a man to Erin, too. So they would think that the news was fake. For Storm, make him marry a fine woman. I know that uncle will obey you because he is maybe planning it, too. Our company was known, and I don't want us to be known because of the scandals; we wanted to know because of our projects.”
”It's too risky for us. But, I will tell this to your uncle.”
“Please, don't tell them that it's my suggestion. I don't want them to get mad at me. I know that they can kill me whenever they want.” Sophia acted like she was scared for her life which made Robert feel terrible for his daughter. He didn't even know how Sophia grew up like this. He didn't even know that Sophia didn't study, so her confidence wasn't inside her.
Robert sighed. He lost his appetite while he was looking at his food. He didn't even know that he was playing with it, and he stopped when Sophia called him.
“Daddy, you shouldn't play with your food. Did you know that there are a lot of people who wish to be like you? They were the people who searched for food in the trash so that they could eat for a day. Some people work so hard to eat once daily, and I'm one of them. It's too hard to find work, especially when I was a nobody then.”
Robert forced himself to eat his food. He didn't even know that Sophia had turned into a beggar while he was enjoying his lifestyle. “Okay, I will eat this. Thank you for teaching me.”
“Don't thank me because I always think about them. I was with them when you all left me after you threw me away outside the countryy.”