Revenge for the lost children

His eyes could still paralyze her. But his spell wouldn’t last long. He helped her stand up and looked her in the eyes.

However, Sophie didn’t do the same. She greeted him, bowing slightly before him and saying: “Thank you, sir. I’m sorry for taking your time.” Her voice trembled as she tried not to be impolite.

And before there was a chance, he was abandoned. She left him behind, and before he could follow her, someone called out to him.

________________________________________

Sophie entered her hotel room, breathless. She had never run so much in her life. Leaning on her right hand on the table, she collapsed.

“Damn it,” she exclaimed. Ever since that mission that got her expelled from Miami, her fingers had been broken, and the bones hadn’t healed properly, leaving her with a weak hand.

Pressing her back against the hotel’s cream-colored wall, she sighed, trying to calm her heart. Edward could still stir something crazy in her, leaving her with a mix of indecipherable emotions that could push her into doing something wrong. And Sophie could not afford to anger the Lewis family on her very first day.

Edward left her with her heart in her throat. His gaze made her blush, his touch made her body shiver. However, the words from the night they spent together were still alive in her mind. What was his intention? To play with her again? Besides, he despised her, considered her unworthy—he had ordered her to be expelled from Miami.

Anger consumed her, and her fingers clenched in friction, punished by her own emotions. She would not be used again. The old Sophie would never return.

The morning after she became pregnant, when she woke up, her memories were still scrambled. But she remembered going upstairs to one of the rooms to look for Edward, who had probably fallen ill.

However, both of them were drunk, and well… that led to that night, the night that made her wake up in a panic, hurriedly putting her clothes back on, and slipping out the door before seeing her boss’s sleeping face.

Sophie heard footsteps and hid. It was Edward’s brother, who had just entered. She should have left, but instead, she leaned against the opposite wall to listen.

“It was a mistake, John. I cannot bring trouble to Miami. My relationships must be chosen carefully and not decided by a careless act. You know that not just anyone can be part of Miami’s Elite.”

At that moment, tears streamed down her face, making her feel used and humiliated, even though she knew it was just a foolish night.

An orphan was never suitable for someone like Edward Lewis anyway. And even knowing that, Sophie couldn’t stop sadness and shame from trying to claim her heart.

Today, she no longer cried when she remembered it. That memory only gave her strength never to be carried away by foolish feelings again. That night was a choice. Now, she would never again give herself the chance of being anyone’s plaything.

Sophie stood up and grabbed one of the unopened water bottles she had bought. After the poisoning that killed her baby, she never again had the courage to consume anything already opened. Everything she ate had to be prepared by her at the moment of consumption or come sealed and new.

As she drank, her mind began to reorganize itself. That familiar scent intrigued her. It meant that one of her attackers was still there.

Her mind filled with memories of malicious laughter and male voices. Her body remembered the sting of the whip on her back, the scratches, and the crushing weight of feet on her hand.

She hurled the bottle away in anger. Standing up, Sophie went to the bedroom and pulled out papers stored in a folder in the wardrobe.

Each one listed names of factions from Miami and neighboring countries and cities. Sophie didn’t remember the exact appearance of any of them, but their methods were certainly not those of honorable men.

Either they were corrupt agents, or they had been paid to disguise themselves. What mattered was that Sophie was getting closer to them. However, there was a problem. She needed greater access to the country’s agents. And that wasn’t easily achieved.

Still, there were ways other than asking Edward for help—that would be her last option, since he was a suspect.

Even so, the way he looked at her didn’t seem malicious. Could it really have been Edward who orchestrated the ambush that got her expelled from the country? Could he truly be so vile?

She closed her eyes and let out a long sigh. Humans were complicated. The ones you least expect are often the ones who betray you. That’s why she couldn’t trust anyone at that moment.

And besides Edward, who else had the power and the desire to harm Sophie? Perhaps the council of elders. Still, she preferred to tread carefully now.

Her phone rang, and she smiled when she saw the name on the screen.

“Hello. How are you, Hanna?” she asked softly.

A delicate but calm voice answered on the other end: “I’m fine, sis. I’m more worried about you. I know how hard it is for you to return to that place.” Hanna’s voice carried concern.

“Don’t worry. I’m fine. You know, I have some leads,” Sophie reassured her as she shared her day.

“And what did you feel? Seeing Edward again?” Hanna asked, pretending not to be curious.

Sophie sighed. “I don’t know. There’s hatred, anger, confusion—everything. It feels like my heart is a hurricane of mixed emotions. I want to hate him, but I hate the way he looks at me as if he doesn’t hate me.”

“It really is confusing,” Hanna replied, but Sophie interrupted her.

“Wait, there’s someone at the door. Tomorrow I’ll send you the object so you can do what needs to be done.”

Hanging up, Sophie rushed to open the door—and destiny seemed to be telling her she wouldn’t escape Edward so easily.

He was on the other side of the door. And well, since the universe kept bringing them together, she had to take the chance.