Chapter 257
Calla held Bea’s hand, saying, “Grandma Bea, what James sald wasn’t entirely wrong, so let’s not be too hard on him.”
Hearing this, Bea took a deep breath and said, “We’ve all had a long day. Let’s head back and rest.”
After saying this, Bea glanced at James. “James, you stay.”
James whispered to Sophie, “Go upstairs and wait for me. I’ll be right there.”
“Okay.”
Sophie didn’t say much but went upstairs.
At that moment, Calla stood up and said, “Mrs. Burke is hurt. I’ll get the first–aid kit for her.”
Then, Calla quickly ran to a room to fetch the first–aid kit.
Sophie went upstairs and waited. Shortly after, Calla arrived upstairs with the first–aid kit in hand. She looked at Sophie, her expression apologetic. “It’s all my fault. I caused you to get hurt.”
Sophie stared at Calla for a while.
Feeling uncomfortable under Sophie’s gaze, Calla hesitantly asked, “Why are you looking at me like that, ma’am?”
“Playing the martyr can be effective, but only if done right. When mishandled, it can backfire.”
Calla’s expression froze for a moment. “I don’t understand what you mean.”
“Don’t you?” Sophie smiled and said, “I was quite looking forward to this little act you’ve orchestrated. But, your performance was riddled with flaws, truly dull.”
“Ma’am, you must be misunderstanding, I…”
“First off, not just anyone would know James‘ cell number. The message mentioned you specifically, Ms. Calla, but you and James have no relation. If the kidnapper wanted money, they should have targeted me, not you. How does that make sense?”
“I wouldn’t know what the kidnapper was thinking…” Calla’s gaze flickered away.
Sophie laughed again, saying, “That kidnapper was a young man, about your age, right? He clearly had no clue about kidnapping. He didn’t even demand cash in the message. We brought a check, and he accepted it. Does he not realize how easy it is to trace a check back to him?”
“What….?” Calla visibly panicked.
“He ran off without verifying the authenticity of the check. That’s just laughable.”
With every word, Sophie was breaking through Calla’s defenses. She had never considered these points!
“Do you have any proof that I did this? Without evidence…”
“Do you really think James doesn’t know? Or do you think Bea is unaware?”
That statement made Calla’s face turn sour instantly.
Sophie smiled and said, “What do you think Bea is? Did you really think she’d be fooled by such a clumsy kidnapping attempt? Her affection for you was merely a facade to use you against me. She’s been playing dumb, and James didn’t plan to tear through this charade, all to spare you some dignity.”
Calla bit her lip, feeling a wave of humiliation. “Then why are you telling me?”
“I’m telling you because I’m tired of watching you play these clumsy games. You can like James, and if you have the means to take him from me, then by all means, go ahead. Just don’t bring these games to me, do you understand?”
Sophie’s demeanor was nonchalant.
Calla was somewhat taken aback. “Why? Don’t you care about James?”
“What I care about the most is myself.” Sophie gave Calla a dismissive glance and said, “Consider this a warning. If you try anything on me again, I will crush your dreams of marrying into wealth once and for all, I mean what I say.”