Anger rose from within Alyssa as she clenched her fingers tight!
She thought Max was being crafty with his words by twisting the truth. He was the one who had the intention to murder but was now attempting to push the blame onto Jasper.
He was trying to stir things up to drive a wedge between Jasper and the Harper Group. He was trying to give Cornelius the confidence to stand up for him!
âJasper, this greatly affects the reputation of both our families. You shouldnât take this as a joke!â
Sophia made herself appear like the head of the family. She pretended to be concerned for him as if she were doing so for the benefit of all.
In a concerned voice, she said, âWe know that you have always felt like you owe it to Ms. Alyssa because of your divorce. When you realize that she met with an accident, itâs inevitable that you want to take revenge on her behalf â¦â
â¦
âRevenge? Mrs. Beckett, what made you say so?â
Preston became more and more upset as he listened to her.
He furrowed his eyebrows and questioned, âWhen did anyone in the Harper family ever wrong Mr.
Beckett? Why does he have to take his revenge on one of us? Are we pushovers, or are we his punching bag? Donât you dare cross the line!â
Prestonâs speech made the people on the Harper Groupâs side feel outraged. They glared at Jasper with vicious looks in their eyes.
âOh, Mr. Preston, youâve misunderstood. What sort of grudge could me with Landon.â
Sophia raised the corner of her lips into a grin. She looked at Alyssa with a frosty gaze.
âAlyssa is the one who has a grudge against you all. The entire Solana City knows that Alyssa and Zoe do not get along. They are the ones who do not see eye to eye.
âWhen Alyssa met with the recent accident, and with Harper Group this close to winning the competition, Iâm sure these made Alyssa unhappy. It is understandable that you, Jasper, were wanting to avenge her.â
Everyone was startled!
It had been obvious to them that Alyssa and Zoe were at loggerheads. However, had she made such a move to shift the blame onto Harper Group, all in the name of revenge?
Winstonâs expression was cold as ice. He pressed his pale lips into a straight line.
He pondered over how despicable and shameless Sophia was. He felt that talking to or looking at a woman like her was him being disrespectful toward himself!
Right when Jasper and Jonah were about to voice out, someone else spoke up first.
âSophia, I didnât think that even after so many years, you are still as wild as before.â
Despite being timid at most times, Lyla stepped out with her eyes gleaming. â20 years ago, you loved to cause trouble. 20 years later, you are still so malicious. Shame on you!
âItâs too bad that youâve picked the wrong target. Lyse is a person of people in her life. She is well-
known in Belbanks. Sheâs not someone whom you can defile and slander with mere words!
âI am also not the same Lyla who would be trampled by you in the past. You may use that evil tongue of yours to insult and shame me. But donât you dare repeat your old tricks and try to harm Lyse!â
Everyoneâs jaw dropped.
Lyla was as they had heard. She was a gentle person, and those were probably the angriest words she had ever said in her entire life.
The reason for her stepping up wasnât because she wanted to stand up for herself. It was because she couldnât bear to see Alyssa being oppressed by Sophia!
âLylaâ¦â Alyssa choked. She was on the brink of tears.
Sophia chuckled. âLyla, when did I ever cause trouble for you? I donât think that you should make false accusations against others.â
Sophia gave a little shrug and acted all innocent. Even so, every word she said was hurtful.
âOut of all that I have said, was there anything that was untrue? Back then, you were the one who didnât abide by the right morals. Out of a moment of greed, you consumed illegal drugs and suffered from incontinence. As a result, your reputation was ruined.
âWas there anyone who forced you into that? Was there anyone who harmed you?
âIf you were truly innocent, why didnât you show any evidence to prove. your innocence when shit happened that year? Instead, you chose to disappear completely?
âToday, do you think that times have changed because you are the high and mighty Lyla Taylor and have a child with Mr. Winston Taylor?
yourself while having the Taylor family back you up?
âYou said that I was shameful. As a third wife, are you any different?â Sophia laughed.
The air was tense. Everyone was silent.
Even the Harper family members were left speechless. They felt that Sophia was too brutal with her words. She had truly crossed the line!
Betty observed that Javierâs expression had gotten darker. He twitched his lip and looked furious. Her palms were clammy from the anxiety.
She also thought that Sophia was too much. She looked unusually excited.
That was especially true for her last two statements. She was pretty much hurling a direct insult at her!
âSophia Beckett!â
Lylaâs eyes bulged with hatred. She was so furious that her entire body was shaking!