Sophie''s heart skipped a beat. She frowned and said, "Rallying people to stand against Mr. Odie? Sandra, are you sure you heard right? Who in Summerfield could possibly stand against Mr. Odie?"


    "You!"


    Sandra''s expression darkened. She had been too far away that evening, not catching much of the conversation between the two, but she could vaguely make out the gist of their talk. Sophie had clearly been asking that man to gather people to deal with Odie.


    Sandra looked up at Odie and said, "Mr. Odie, Ms. Sophie is just biding her time by your side, waiting for her lover to rescue her and take her away! I was worried about you getting hurt by Ms. Sophie. I just wanted you to see her true colors!"


    "All talk and no evidence, right?"


    Faced with Sophie''s retort, Sandra immediately said, "Though there''s no evidence, I saw it with my own eyes! Mr. Odie, this woman''s background is questionable, and she shouldn''t stay by your side! What if she really was sent by your rival? Wouldn''t that put Minton International in danger?"


    "Oh, how amusing. I''m merely a woman. I''m hardly a threat. What could I possibly do to Mr. Odie? Are you suggesting that Minton International could be jeopardized because of little me? That doesn''t speak very highly of Mr. Odie''s resilience," Sophie quipped, her sarcasm making Sandra pale.


    Sophie turned to Odie and asked, "What do you think, Mr. Odie?"


    Odie said indifferently, "Take her away."


    "Yes, Mr. Odie."


    Wayne immediately grabbed Sandra by the arm. In a panic, Sandra cried out, "Mr. Odie! Mr. Odie, I''m telling the truth! Please believe me! Mr. Odie!"


    "Move!"


    Wayne roughly dragged Sandra to the elevator at the end of the hallway. Sophie took a second look at the elevator, noting it was goingCòntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    1. up.


    Sandra''s face was a mask of despair and terror. What secret on the third floor was so fearsome?


    "Is there anything else you''d like to say to me?"


    Odie''s voice came from the side, snapping Sophie back to reality. She replied nonchntly, "Like what?"


    "About what she just said. Do you not n to exin?"


    "Mr. Odie, are you actually believing her wild tales?"


    "What if I said I do?"


    Odie pressed, his tone clearly demanding an exnation from Sophie.


    Seeing this, Sophie nodded and said, "Alright, then I owe you a thorough


    He


    exnation."


    Sophie stood up and said, "That night, I purposely seduced a man to take me away. When we got to the square, he started making advances on me. As a woman of course, yeTx


    couldn''t overpower a man, so after a bit of struggling, Sandra saw us and misinterpreted our scuffle as intimacy and concocted all these baseless stories to mislead you. I thought you were an astute man and would never believe her words. For you to question me like this... Could it


    be that you have truly taken an interest in me?"


    Suddenly, Odie scoffed coldly, "Sophie, you sure think highly of yourself."


    "Likewise."


    "But now I''m curious if your arranging


    meis


    for someone to rally against me is''


    true"