Ethan Sullivan chuckled in the villa as he listened to Sophia Sullivan's teasing remarks.
These two fools had surprised him with their stupidity.
They had walked right into such an obvious trap.
Liam Winston's face darkened instantly when he heard the voice on the other end of the line.
That voice was all too familiar.
Gritting his teeth, he demanded, "Are you still fooling around with men? Have you no shame?"
Sophia let out a cold laugh.
"Who I'm with is none of your business."
Her tone was dripping with disdain. "You should take a good look at who's in your arms right now, Mr. Winston. When it comes to taste, mine is far superior to yours."
The corner of Ethan's lips curled slightly at the mention of "taste."
He deliberately lowered his voice, lacing it with mockery.
"My apologies, Mr. Winston. I happened to take that pill you wanted. How much do you need? I can compensate you. Heard your company's been struggling with funds lately."
His lazy tone carried a sharp edge.
Each word felt like a slap across Liam's face.
The humiliation of being played sent fury surging through him.
Liam's face twisted with rage.
"Sophia, you've really climbed high, haven't you? You don't even care about your own mother's life now. Aren't you afraid of karma?"
Chloe Evans chimed in sweetly, her voice dripping with false concern.
"Even if you've found yourself a powerful backer, sister, being this heartless will only get you abandoned someday."
Beneath her gentle facade, her fists clenched tightly.
Jealousy burned through her like wildfire.
She hadn't expected Sophia to actually win Ethan's favor.
The Sullivan family was leagues above the Winstons.
Before Chloe could say more, the line abruptly went dead.
When Liam tried calling back, he found his number blocked.
Fury exploded within him.
Without the medicine, how would he explain this to his mother?
That woman had given the life-saving drug to some random man!
Chloe soothed him with honeyed words, though her eyes gleamed with calculation.
"Don't be angry, Liam. In sister's eyes, others clearly hold more value. After all, we..."
She trailed off deliberately, leaving the implication hanging.
Her words only stoked Liam's rage further.
Right now, he wanted nothing more than to tear Sophia apart.
"She's gone completely mad!"
The two returned to the Winston estate in disgrace.
When Mrs. Winston heard the news, she immediately smashed everything within reach.
"Useless fools! You couldn't even get one pill! I nearly died giving birth to you!"
She always brought up the past.
Liam's pent-up frustration finally erupted.
"You could have chosen not to have me."
Mrs. Winston froze, sensing her son's anger.
She collapsed weakly into a chair, clutching her head as tears streamed down her face.
"I didn't mean to lash out, darling. The pain is unbearable. Now that the medicine is gone and we can't reach the research institute, Sophia is our only lead."
A sly glint flashed in her eyes as a plan formed.
"This time, swallow your pride and invite Sophia properly. Tell her the old man is critically ill and wants to see her. She was always fond of him—she'll come."
Liam frowned.
He hated using his grandfather like this.
But faced with his mother's tears, his resolve wavered.
As he pulled out his phone, it suddenly flooded with spam messages and missed calls.
The screen flickered before going completely dead.
His number had been leaked!
Liam ground his teeth, enunciating each syllable with venom.
"Sophia. Sullivan."