Chapter 3

Sofia's POV

In the end, I knocked on Professor Victor Harrington's door.

The white-haired scholar took one look at me, disheveled and worn out, and didn't ask a single question. He simply stepped aside and let me in, as if I were still his best student.

My eyes stung, and tears rolled down my cheeks.

Years ago, when I gave up a full scholarship and insisted on marrying the man I thought was my true love, Victor had opposed it vehemently.

He even refused to attend my wedding and only sent me a text that day.

"Sofia, a man's mercy might save you, but it will destroy your soul. In a world where the strong prey on the weak, anyone who begs for mercy is doomed to spend the rest of their lives on their knees."

Time had proven Victor right.

After I had cried myself empty, he finally pushed up his glasses and spoke. "I hope you didn't forget everything you learned during those years with him.

"There's a research project in a nature reserve. You'll have to go deep into the mountains to collect samples. It's dangerous, dirty work. Are you up for it?"

I froze. Honestly, I had expected mockery. Instead, he had thrown me a lifeline.

Victor looked at me. "What's wrong? You've been living the pampered life for so long that you can't even imagine yourself handling the hardships of real academic work anymore?"

I wiped away my tears and smiled genuinely for the first time in three years. "Of course I can, Professor Harrington. As long as I never have to go back there, I can handle anything."

He grunted, though the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "Then start packing. Science waits for no one."

With Victor's help, I joined the research team soon after.

At first, I struggled to adjust to the harsh field conditions. But the knowledge I had spent years building soon came rushing back.

Our stern team leader patted my shoulder and gave me a thumbs-up. "Sofia, at first, I was worried that you were just some pretty face sent here to pad her CV. Turns out, you really know your stuff."

I laughed as I wiped the mud from my face. "Well, it took me some time, but I finally understand that the only person I can rely on is myself."

We were gathered around the campfire, laughing and chatting, when a pair of glaring headlights cut through the darkness. A black car pulled up at the edge of the camp.

The door opened, and Camilla stepped out in a designer outfit. She pinched her nose and looked around at me and my colleagues with disgust.

"Don Vitale said you ran away. I wondered where you could have gone. Looks like you went back to mingle with these lowlifes."

Without Domenico around, Camilla dropped the act. Gone was all the fake respect she showed me.

My expression hardened. The team and I had just returned from the marsh, covered head to toe in mud. Somehow, I found the mud far cleaner than the filth her expensive perfume couldn't mask.

"And which rock did you crawl out from under this time, Camilla? How do you manage to show up everywhere I go?"

Her face flushed crimson. She was just about to explode when a tall, imposing figure stepped out of the car.

"What's going on here?"