Chapter 7

The others seemed to snap out of their daze.

They were supposed to be giving Wendy a hard time!

Warren Turner, the head of the news department, looked Wendy up and down with open disgust.

He'd been hopelessly in love with Sophie for years and had heard countless stories from her about how Wendy used to bully her.

As far as he was concerned, Wendy was nothing more than a pretty face hiding a rotten personality.

When he'd learned she was joining the department, he'd rejected her appointment immediately.

But apparently, whoever was backing her had enough influence to override his decision.

He instinctively glanced at Sophie.

Sure enough, she was staring at him in disbelief, as though she couldn't believe Wendy had managed to get a job at the station.

Warren panicked.

He quickly lowered his head and sent Sophie a text, desperate to reassure her.

I tried to stop her from joining the department, but she's got someone powerful backing her.

Sophie lowered her gaze to read the message, her eyes already red with unshed tears.

When she saw the part about Wendy having a powerful backer, she frowned.

Over the past three years, she'd done an excellent job of winning over the Wynns.

At the very least, there was no chance they'd use their influence to help Wendy, their adopted daughter.

The Shaws were even less likely to get involved.

Unless it was Sean?

No. That was impossible.

Sean didn't even know where Wendy was working.

Could Wendy really have found herself some powerful man overseas?

But no matter how influential he was, could he possibly compare to Sean Shaw?

Excitement surged through Sophie.

She immediately sent Sean a message.

‘Sean, I saw Wendy in the news department today. Everyone's saying she has someone powerful backing her. Did you arrange for her to work here?’

His reply came almost immediately.

‘No.’

‘That's strange. It wasn't either of our families, either. I wonder who it could be?’

The implication was deliberate.

Sophie wanted Sean to suspect that Wendy might have gotten involved with another man during her time abroad.

Perhaps she'd found herself a wealthy admirer.

After all, she and Sean had lived apart for three years.

Who knew what might have happened in that time?

Sophie's eyes grew red with excitement.

But to Warren, she looked as though she were struggling not to cry.

From what he'd heard, Sophie had suffered at Wendy's hands since childhood.

Her poor health was supposedly the result of Wendy pushing her into a swimming pool. She'd nearly drowned that day.

And because of Wendy, Sophie still hadn't been able to officially reclaim her place in the Wynn family.

As far as Warren was concerned, Wendy was utterly despicable.

Sophie rose to her feet.

"I'm so sorry, everyone," she said gently. "My family is having dinner together tonight, so I really need to go. I'll treat you all to dinner another time to make up for leaving early."

She didn't bother looking at Wendy.

She'd already set the stage. The others would make sure Wendy had a miserable evening.

Keeping her head lowered, Sophie hurried past Wendy.

As she passed, she leaned closer and whispered so only Wendy could hear.

"Sean called and asked me to go to dinner with him at the Wynns' place. I'd better get going. You have fun dealing with this crowd."

There was unmistakable delight in her voice.

Then she disappeared through the door.

Once she reached the hallway, Sophie could no longer hide her smile.

She quickly sent another message.

She needed to find out exactly who Wendy's mysterious backer was.

Everyone knew Wendy was hopelessly in love with Sean. No one would believe she'd deliberately cheated on him.

But what if she'd gotten drunk and slept with someone?

That was entirely possible, wasn't it?

All Sophie needed was for the Wynns and the Shaw family elders to hear that Wendy had been sleeping around behind Sean's back.

Once they believed she'd been unfaithful, they'd surely push for the divorce to be finalized as quickly as possible.

Sophie could hardly wait to get to the Wynn family home.

—

Back in the private dining room, Warren watched his beloved Sophie practically flee.

She hadn't even dared confront Wendy directly.

It was heartbreaking to think how deeply Wendy must have traumatized her.

His expression hardened.

"Three glasses? That's nowhere near enough. You're drinking all three bottles!"

Wendy calmly surveyed the room.

It was spacious, with more than a dozen people gathered around the table.

But Susan, the intern who'd sent her the invitation, was nowhere to be seen.

Warren was the department head.

Once he started attacking Wendy, the others were only too eager to join in.

And Warren knew exactly how to rile them up.

"I heard you're Sophie's so-called sister. You stole her place as the Wynn family's daughter for more than twenty years, didn't you? I thought they kicked you out. So who's the powerful man you're sleeping with now?"

The others immediately perked up.

So there was more to this story than they'd realized.

"What a shameless woman. She's spent her whole life trying to steal what's rightfully someone else's."

"No wonder Sophie left. How could anyone stay calm around the woman who stole her entire childhood?"

"And Sophie is Sean Shaw's sister! He's never appeared on anyone's talk show except hers. I don't know where some people get the nerve to mess with her."

Wendy glanced at the three glasses of vodka on the table.

The sharp smell alone told her how strong it was. Downing all three would probably land her in the emergency room.

Seeing everyone turn against Wendy, Grace stood up with renewed confidence.

"If you refuse to drink those three glasses, you'll have to deal with the consequences."

She already had an idea of how to make Wendy pay.

Wendy merely smiled, looking completely unbothered.

On one side, everyone was practically spoiling for a fight.

On the other, Wendy stood there as calm as could be.

The contrast only made them angrier.

Warren grabbed a bottle from the table and hurled it straight at her.

He'd do anything for Sophie.

Even if it cost him his career.

Even if it meant breaking the law.

Wendy didn't have time to dodge.

The bottle struck her forehead before crashing to the floor.

Shards of glass scattered across the room, and one of them sliced the back of her hand.

"Grace is right! Drink the damn alcohol, or you'll regret it!" Warren roared. "I swear I'll kill you tonight!"

Wendy touched her forehead.

It throbbed where the bottle had hit her.

Frowning, she took out her phone and called the police without hesitation.

No one had expected her to actually involve the authorities.

Warren was the department head, and Grace was a recognizable television personality with more than a million followers on social media.

If word of this got out, it could cause a major public scandal.

"Wendy! How dare you call the police!"

Grace was furious.

She lunged toward Wendy, trying to snatch her phone.

But Wendy immediately stepped back, keeping it out of reach.

Her voice remained steady.

"My phone's been recording since the moment I walked in. Try anything else, and I'll release the footage."

Grace stopped.

Her eyes burned with hatred, but she didn't dare make another move.

She looked as though she wanted to tear Wendy apart.

The others realized Wendy wasn't bluffing.

None of them wanted to get dragged into a police investigation.

They stayed in their seats, suddenly too afraid to interfere.

The police arrived soon afterward.

Wendy had no intention of wasting another minute there.

She turned to the officers.

"I'm not interested in settling this privately. I'll leave the rest to you."

She glanced around the room.

Everyone had gone completely silent.

Then she turned and walked out.

With that, she'd effectively made enemies of more than half the department.

Warren gritted his teeth.

"You bitch! Just you wait! I'll make you pay for this!"

Grace remained seated, her face twisted with rage.

Her fists were clenched so tightly that her nails nearly pierced her palms.

Then she remembered what Sophie had told her earlier.

Her chest heaved with anger.

Finally, she lowered her head and opened her social media account.

If Wendy wanted to play dirty, Grace could do the same.

She posted a message to her followers, making herself sound like the victim.

She explained that she would no longer be appearing as an on-camera reporter and hinted that she might have to retire from the industry altogether.

She was only in her thirties.

Under normal circumstances, there was no reason for her career to end so early.

Her followers immediately flooded the comments, demanding to know what had happened.

Seeing their chance, several of her coworkers jumped into the discussion.

And they made sure everyone knew the name of the woman supposedly responsible.

Wendy Wynn.