Vincent stared at Sophia dazedly for about ten minutes; his surprise and bewilderment grew as he shifted his gaze multiple times between her and Linus.
He was well aware of Sophiaâs background since he and Sophia were in the same grade at Bayside University. He knew that she was Cooperâs daughter and that she grew up in Riverdale as a child; he also knew that she became who she was today because her uncle had sold her to Joe, who then sold her to Michael.
Sophia took off her sunglasses and asked impatiently, âDidnât you say that the car had some issues, Mr.
Mitchell? What exactly is the problem with the car?â
Still being in a complete daze, Vincent stared at Sophia in shock and disbelief. He turned and asked, âLinus, where is Lucile?â
Knowing that Sophia had played a prank on Vincent, Linus answered with a chuckle, âSophia is Lucile.
Donât you know that, Mr. Mitchell?â
As Vincentâs face froze completely, some muscles on his handsome face twitched slightly. He looked at Sophia and Linus with a look of shock in his eyes.
Still refusing to believe this, he waved his hand repeatedly. âThis is impossible. This canât be true; sheâs Scarlett, Cooperâs daughter.â
The truth would be too horrifying if Sophia was indeed Lucile. The scheme behind the sports car that cost 100 million and the competition for the agencyâs contract would be more sophisticated than one could ever imagine!
Sophia frowned, but she unknitted her brows soon after that. She folded her arms across her chest and said, âMr. Mitchell, you donât really think that my father has been mining coal in Africa all these years, do you?â
Vincent suddenly recalled that Cooper had shown up and told them about mining in Africa back when Woody passed away.
Since he talked about mining, Mark assumed that he was mining coal. As word about this spread like wildfire among the Mitchell Family, the story became one about Cooper being trafficked to a coal pit to mine coal for 20 years. Vincent was also present at the time, and he recalled what Cooper had said back then about him mining in Africa.
The Michel Family had been mining in Africa as well; what their family mined was not coal, but underground diamonds and rare metals used in the military and high-tech industry.
Upon thinking about Fass and Cooper, Vincent suddenly realized that the two of them were strikingly similar to each other!
Fass was a gifted genius who headed the Michel Family, whereas Cooper was a mind-blowing hidden talent from the Mitchell Family; they both worked in similar industries with equally outstanding achievements.
Back when Cooper was present, the Mitchell Family was in its prime. Half of the worldâs computers had products bearing the Mitchell Familyâs logo and intellectual property.
After Cooper âdied,â the Mitchell Family slowly went downhill until it was gradually replaced by its later peers in the high-tech industry. On the contrary, the Michel Family had Fass, an amazing genius who led the Michel Groupâa conglomerate that had been leading the world in the first placeâto even greater heights.
Vincent thought that all geniuses were about the same, but he didnât expect thisâ¦
Alex touted Vincent as the genius who surpassed Cooper, but it wasnât until Vincent truly took over the Mitchell Familyâs business and worked in the Mitchell Group did he realize how incredible Cooper was.
He missed the era when Cooper was at the helm, but he could still see how incredible Cooper was even after more than ten years had passed.
As it turned out, Cooper was Fass!
As it happened, Fass rose to glory after Cooperâs âdeath,â and Lucile emerged after Sophia âdied.â If Fass and Cooper were one and the same, so was Lucile and Sophia!
As it turned out, all of this was a ruse. No, this wasnât a ruse at allâit was just wishful thinking on his side. He thought he had everything under his control and was a step ahead of everyone else, but he was merely an outrageous joke in the eyes of others.
Vincent thought he had gotten a great bargain after buying the second-hand sports car at 100 million complacently. However, he didnât expect to lose money and make a fool out of himself.
âHaha!â He suddenly laughed before lowering his head to wipe his tears away, looking extremely funny as he laughed and cried at the same time.
Sophia looked as though she couldnât bear to see him being hit badly by the truth. âIt seems that you arenât quite yourself today, Mr. Mitchell. I have something else to attend to, so let us talk about the car some other day.â
With that, she turned around and left. Glancing at Vincentâwho cried and laughed simultaneously as the truth hit him badlyâLinus let out a sigh and patted his shoulder while comforting him. âDonât worry about the car, and donât be so sad about overpaying for the car. If the worst comes to worst, weâll give the money back to you. You can just return the car back to us.â
To his surprise, Vincent flopped down weakly onto the floor and cried like a child the instant Linus patted the latterâs shoulder.
He cried not because he was scammed out of his money, his house, and his body, nor was he crying because he got a slap in the face after smugly posing as Lucileâs husband in the presence of Lucile herself out of his own wishful thinking. He cried because he found that the faith he had been clinging onto the entire time had fallen to pieces.
His goal had always been to surpass Cooper and become the Mitchell Familyâs true genius. He thought he was still young and could make it as long as he was given enough time. He even thought that he had achieved his goal and surpassed the then-of-the-same-age Cooper in several fields.
He thought Cooper was already past his prime and at the end of his heyday; Vincent believed that he was now the master of a new era.
Back then, Cooper invented the first-generation USB drive that could only store 32MB of information at most. Twenty years later, Vincent produced a new-generation of USB flash drives that could store 32GB of information. Thinking that he had surpassed Cooper, he was so self-satisfied that he put Cooper out of his mind.
Today, Vincent discovered that Cooper had already produced USB drives which could store up to 1024GB worth of information ten years ago. Besides, the USB drives Cooper produced were smaller than that of his, and they ran at a higher speed.
His outlook on life instantly fell to pieces. It was as if Cooper had given him a slap in the face, saying that he could never surpass the former.
He was never a match for Cooper, for he couldnât even hold a candle to the latter; this was what drove him to despair.
Vincent cried in the tearoom for a long time before he was helped away by the Mitchell Familyâs bodyguards. Crying as he walked out of the room, he had never cried so sadly and hopelessly as he did on this day in his 27 years of life.
His agonized look drew the attention of the front desk ladies as he tearfully walked to the buildingâs lobby.
However, once in the lobby, he saw someone whom he had never expected to meet.
âWhy are you crying like that, Vincent?â
Vincent wiped his tears and saw a familiar person coming toward him. Surprised, he asked, âWhy are you here, Derek?â
The person was none other than Derek, Alexâs illegitimate son and Sandraâs younger brother who used to bear the surname Oak. Vincent had known Derek back when they attended Bayside University; they even had meals, drunk alcohol, and discussed professional knowledge together. Vincent was already in graduate school at the time, whereas Derek was still an undergraduate. Nonetheless, the latter quickly rose to fame as a well-known straight-A student in the department. Back then, Vincent didnât know that Derek was Alexâs illegitimate son. However, he wanted to make Derek work for him because he noticed the latterâs cleverness and talent.
On this day, he saw a young and handsome Derek dressing like a successful businessman with a suit and leather shoes. Derek was no longer the baby-faced junior he was back then; he was now Plum Technologyâs manager. He seemed to be here on business, for he was carrying a laptop and a briefcase while being followed by assistants and bodyguards.
Vincent knew that Derek was in Cooperâs camp, so it didnât come as a surprise to see Derek here at the Michel Groupâs office building.
âStan and I are here on business!â responded Derek with a smile.
Vincent looked up to see Stanley and Sean. His tearful appearance was immediately met with ridicule from Stanley as he said, âHahahaha! Arenât you Vincent, the dupe who spent 100 million to buy a second-hand car from my aunt?â