Chapter 219 Ganged Up On by Husband and Mistress

Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Ganged Up On by Husband and Mistress

As Stella Sutton’s words hung in the air, Sophie Winslow almost thought she had misheard.

Stella raised an eyebrow with a smile. "With a substantial investment to join Helios as a shareholder, I can provide the company with a significant boost. Will you consider it, Mr. Preston?"

She didn’t think there was much to consider. It made no sense for them to refuse the capital she was bringing to the table. Initially, she had planned to directly invest in the fully assembled tumor surgery robot that Helios had just launched. However, that would make her ulterior motives too obvious. It was better to take a roundabout approach and become a shareholder. That way, she could still reap the dividends of this device, effectively offsetting the recent scandal surrounding her own project. Furthermore, she would have another highly sought-after venture under her belt. After all, a rising tide lifted all boats. Even the developer behind the robot wouldn’t object. Why would anyone turn down something so beneficial?

"Such arrogance," Sophie said, her cold, beautiful eyes glinting sharply.

She hadn’t expected Stella to be so shameless. After her own failure, Stella immediately turned around to ride the coattails of Sophie’s project. Anticipating they wouldn’t let her invest midway, she went straight for the company’s shares, aiming to use Sophie’s successful project to gild her own reputation.

A flash of displeasure crossed Stella’s face when Sophie spoke. "I don’t believe this concerns you."

She couldn’t understand why Peter Preston repeatedly indulged Sophie’s interference in the company’s core business. Even if Sophie was a key contributor, it didn’t give her the right to act so wildly.

"It seems your life motto is taking shortcuts, whether it’s stealing a married man or trying to grab a piece of the pie the moment you see someone else’s project succeed. What’s wrong? Aside from being a manipulative thief, are you incapable of walking on your own two feet? Can you only beg on your knees for handouts?"

Sophie refused to indulge Stella’s condescending attitude. Her calm tone easily pierced through the woman like a volley of arrows.

Stella’s expression shifted drastically. It was just a few sentences, yet they struck with even more ferocity than the slap from that morning. Sophie left no room for retreat. Without uttering a single curse word, her sharp rebuke was maddeningly effective.

Julian Sterling, who had been sitting with quiet nobility, slowly turned his gaze toward Sophie at the mention of "a married man." He curled his lips into an unreadable, emotionless smile. "What do you think, Mr. Preston?"

He neither refuted Sophie’s words nor engaged in an argument with her.

Seeing Julian’s blatant defense of Stella, Sophie let out a sudden, cold laugh. Who was backing Stella up, allowing her to boldly demand shares in Helios today? If Julian hadn’t been strategizing for her and acting as her patron, Stella would never have dared to be so arrogant. Julian was here today to "seek justice" for her. He intended to make Stella a shareholder, elevating her above Sophie, just so Stella could reclaim her lost dignity. In fact, Julian was probably more bothered by the slap Sophie had given Stella than Stella herself.

Peter had seen enough of this messy situation. As the only outsider, he saw the dynamic with crystal clarity: Sophie was being ganged up on by her own husband and his mistress. Under normal circumstances, he might have carefully considered the offer based on the company’s strategy and development. However, the proposer was the woman who had bullied Sophie.

"My apologies, Mr. Sterling, but I cannot agree to this," Peter said. "Helios isn’t governed by me alone. We have many shareholders, and no one wishes to disrupt our currently stable situation."

There was no need to say anything more.

Stella was astonished, her eyes filled with disbelief. Even with all the sincerity she had brought, and the implicit threat of pursuing Sophie for physical assault, they still refused?

Julian, however, didn’t seem surprised. He stood up directly, buttoning his suit jacket with one hand. "I understand."

He didn’t press the matter, yet this only left Sophie feeling uneasy. Julian was a man of deep, unfathomable calculation. If he had devised this plan, he surely intended to see it through to the end.

"Take care, Mr. Sterling," Peter said, maintaining his polite facade.

Before leaving, Stella’s cold, resentful gaze lingered on Sophie’s face, but Sophie completely ignored her.

As they reached the door, Julian stopped in his tracks. He slowly turned around and cast a cold look at Sophie, his gaze eventually dropping to her legs. "Your pant leg is dirty. You’d better clean it up."

Sophie looked down. She realized that the untreated wound on her knee was seeping blood through the fabric. Because she was wearing thin, flowy white trousers, the stain was glaringly obvious. She frowned. She didn’t need Julian to point out how unseemly the bloodstain looked.

But Julian had already left.

The meeting had ended on a sour note once again.

When Peter returned, he shrugged. "Do you think this is over?" They were dealing with Julian Sterling, after all; they always had to think one step ahead.

Sophie sat in her chair and rolled up her pant leg. She hadn’t paid much attention while showering earlier, but looking at it now, her entire knee was bruised. It wasn’t overly severe, but it throbbed with a strange ache. Initially, she hadn’t bothered tending to it. But upon closer inspection, the foundational coding of her medical training began screaming, conjuring images of rampant bacteria. She immediately opened a drawer to grab some disinfectant cotton swabs.

"Not necessarily," she replied. "I’m guessing it’s because I put my hands on Stella today, causing her to lose face entirely, so they came here to get back at me."

Their goal was simply to use the opportunity to invest in Helios, then target her directly. There was no way Julian would let Stella suffer any grievances.

"There’s a saying that rings incredibly true," Peter said, walking over to hand Sophie a bandage. "Absolute favoritism breeds an arrogant personality. It’s too accurate when it comes to Stella Sutton."

It was purely Julian’s formidable backing that made Stella so confident and entitled. Sophie couldn’t argue with that.

She set down the cotton swab, blinking with a slight smile. "You don’t need to worry that I can’t let go of Julian, nor do you need to subtly try to wake me up. I know these facts better than anyone."

Seeing that Sophie remained relatively unfazed, Peter felt a mix of relief and bitterness. She was only able to discuss it so casually because she had been battered by reality time and time again.

He sighed. "Julian Sterling really has no taste."

He hadn’t cherished someone as wonderful as Sophie in the slightest. He deserved to be kept in the dark about Lydia’s existence. It was simply karma.

Sophie didn’t have time to dwell on Julian. Her project was at a critical juncture, and there was far too much to handle. The investment dispute was quickly cast to the back of her mind.

Three days later, she encountered Julian Sterling once again.