Samuel was convinced Elise would eventually stumble and fall.

He simply had to wait patiently for her to lose everything she had.

Then he would see if she could still maintain that arrogant facade.

On the other side, Elise struggled to contain her fury as she set down her phone.

She didn't blame Samuel for his betrayal - where there was no love, there could be no obligation.

But she never imagined he could sink so low... so utterly ungrateful!

Never before had she regretted everything she'd done for him as much as she did now.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously, her patience with Samuel completely exhausted.

If she could rescue Mitchell Corp from the brink of collapse, she could certainly return it to its former state.

Just then, her phone buzzed with multiple notifications.

She tapped the screen to find several media files sent by William.

Her throat tightened.

Suddenly, she found herself questioning whether she could trust anyone at all.

Her own father had abandoned her abroad for his own gain.

The man she once lived with had turned against her for personal profit, determined to strip her of everything and destroy her reputation.

Elise placed her phone face down on her desk.

She didn't reply to William - not even with a simple thank you.

The next day's press conference at Stellar Group was packed.

Though they had only invited about twenty media outlets, hundreds showed up uninvited.

One could say every journalist in Crestwood had gathered for the event.

Fortunately, Elise had anticipated this - the conference room was spacious enough to accommodate everyone, and the refreshments prepared were more than sufficient.

Matthew Johnson knocked respectfully on her office door before entering. "Ms. Scott? The journalists have all arrived. You can head over now."

"Have Sophia come to my office first," Elise instructed.

Matthew looked momentarily surprised but quickly recovered. "Yes, Ms. Scott."

Soon, Sophia arrived at Elise's office.

Elise spoke before Sophia could. "You're accompanying me to the press conference."

Sophia froze in shock.

Elise had never mentioned wanting Sophia to join her before. If she had, Sophia would have found an excuse to avoid it.

After all, Sophia knew the press conference would be anything but peaceful, and she saw no reason to suffer alongside Elise.

But Elise gave Sophia no opportunity to refuse - she immediately stood and began walking toward the conference room.

"Sis," Sophia said, forcing herself to follow Elise while maintaining her sweet persona. "Don't worry. I'll be right by your side, supporting you. You have nothing to fear."

Elise smiled faintly - she certainly wasn't worried.

After all, she wasn't the one who would be getting hurt in today's press conference.