Elise's phone buzzed with a new WhatsApp message.

She glanced at the screen.

It was from William.

[Should we suppress the media coverage?] he asked.

The public sentiment was overwhelmingly in their favor.

But William seemed concerned about how Elise would handle the scrutiny.

[No,] she typed back firmly.

She didn't approve of Sophia's ruthless tactics.

Yet Elise wasn't naive enough to feel sorry for Samuel.

He had intended to harm her.

She would simply watch the drama unfold from the sidelines.

[Understood.] William replied.

Elise closed the app immediately.

She rose from the sofa, stretching her aching muscles.

"I'm going to rest for a while," she told Elizabeth.

Elizabeth was completely absorbed in her phone.

She nodded without looking up.

"You must be exhausted after last night."

Her fingers flew across the screen as she scrolled through news articles.

Elise suspected Elizabeth was both condemning Samuel online.

And thoroughly enjoying the spectacle.

Sometimes Elise thought her friend would make a better gossip columnist than an actress.

At the Scott family estate, Benjamin was practically glowing with satisfaction.

He laughed heartily while reading the latest headlines.

"Samuel's been arrested because of this scandal!"

"Sophia comes out looking like the victim!"

"This gives me the perfect excuse to cut off Mitchell Corp financially!"

"I can even publicly condemn his family with pride!"

"What a brilliant move!"

Sophia was also pleased, though not everything had gone according to plan.

Her original scheme had involved Samuel actually defiling Elise.

That would have labeled them both as cheaters.

Samuel's reputation would have been destroyed.

She could have broken up with him honorably.

Elise would have suffered too.

Two birds with one stone.

But William had interfered.

Sophia had watched everything through her hidden camera.

She turned green with envy at what she saw.

Why was William still protecting Elise?

He already had a fiancee.

When William burst into the room, Sophia thought he might actually kill Samuel.

The beating was that brutal.

The evidence was undeniable.

William still had strong feelings for Elise.

That realization made Sophia cautious.

She couldn't risk going after Elise directly.

William would destroy her if she did.

So she settled for leaking the story with Elise as the victim.

The public outrage wasn't really about getting Samuel harsh punishment.

It was about giving her a legitimate reason to break up with him.

"All that's left is for me to announce our breakup to the media," Sophia said sweetly.

Her innocent expression belied the cruel conspiracy she had engineered.

"Then we'll have no further connections to the Mitchell family."

"Sophia, you continue to impress me," Benjamin said with evident satisfaction.

His eyes shone with paternal pride.

"I should have brought you into Scott Enterprise much earlier."

"Starting tomorrow, you'll come to the office with me."

"I'll make sure you get a good position."

"And about those shares I promised you-"

"Benjamin," Victoria interrupted from beside him.

He shot her an annoyed look.

"Sophia is still young," Victoria said smoothly.

"And you're not that old either."

"Distributing shares so early seems inappropriate."

"We're family - what's yours will eventually be hers anyway, right?"

She turned to Sophia with a calculated smile.

"I'm sure Sophia values our family bond more than shares."

"Don't you agree, Sophia?"

Of course Sophia cared about the shares!

Who wanted to work for nothing?

Her aunt had no real power in Scott Enterprise.

Victoria couldn't hold her head high in company matters.

She had no real influence.

Sophia refused to follow in her footsteps!

"I think Victoria makes a valid point," Margaret said before Sophia could respond.

"We're all family here."

"Handing out company shares like this makes it seem like we're keeping score."

"Don't you agree, Sophia?"

That wasn't it at all!

The Scott family clearly valued males over females.

Margaret and Victoria obviously wanted everything to go to Daniel.

Sophia hadn't considered fighting for inheritance before.

She assumed she wouldn't get anything even if she tried.

But Elise had taken Stellar Group.

Now Scott Enterprise was all Sophia had left.

The injustice burned within her.

Yet she maintained her gentle smile.

"Yes, we're family."

"I don't really care about that sort of thing."

Daniel was practically vibrating with triumph.

Elise and Sophia were just daughters of the family.

Useless when it came to inheritance.

Yet they dared to compete with him for family assets?

He would make sure they never got the chance.