December soon arrived, and it was winter in Jadeborough. Thus began the trial of Thalia spreading rumors of Sophia on the internet more than a month ago. Coincidentally, the trial commenced on the third of December. Despite the lousy weather, Sophia was in a pretty good mood.
In contrast, Thalia was feeling quite down. At first, she had thought that Sophia only wanted money. When Thalia received the lawyer’s letter, she couldn’t even be bothered. Following that, there were no other actions coming from Sophia, so Thalia even joked around about the matter with her friends. Alas, she soon saw the court summons right at her doorstep.
That was when she became anxious. However, she still took the matter lightly and sought Alexander’s assistance in sorting it out. Unfortunately, not only did Alexander refuse to help her, but he even advised her to stop messing with Sophia.
Thalia didn’t believe that Sophia could lay a finger on her. It was just that the issue had caused an uproar back then, and the case would be put on a live telecast on the internet. As Thalia thought about herself being recognized by all the netizens, her mood naturally plummeted.
It had been almost half a month since Sophia last saw Thalia. Initially, Sophia had presumed that Thalia had learned to restrain herself. Yet, when Sophia walked past Thalia, the latter shot a glare at her.
Arching a brow, Sophia turned to look at the lawyer beside her, Kyle Leyton. “Mr. Leyton, as you know, I’m loaded.”
That was the first time Kyle heard such a calm statement that wouldn’t offend anyone. He caught on to Sophia’s meaning in an instant. “I’ll make sure the judge detains her.”
Sophia smiled. “Thanks.”
After that, she made her way to the seat at the plaintiff’s table. At the same time, Thalia sat by the defendant’s table.
Kyle was the most proficient in cases related to defamation. Considering that Sophia had spent a fortune hiring him, this court case was bound to be spectacular.
When Thalia heard the judge’s verdict, she finally panicked. “Wait a minute! I-I can compensate for it! No matter how much the cost is!”
Thalia’s lawyer hurriedly chimed in, “Your Honor, I believe we can reach an agreement with the plaintiff.”
“Sorry. My client will not accept any form of settlement.”
The judgment was eventually called. Thalia would be detained for five days. On top of that, she had to compensate for Sophia’s emotional distress and reputational damage, totaling more than eighteen thousand.
Sophia was very pleased with the outcome, for she had wanted to teach Thalia a lesson a long time ago. Since Thalia had to come looking for trouble, Sophia obviously wouldn’t hold back.
Five days were neither long nor short. Still, for a spoiled brat like Thalia, it would be an unforgettable moment of a lifetime for her to be locked up in the detention center for five days.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Yarrow. I’ve tried my best.”
Hearing Kyle’s apology, Sophia flashed him a smile. “You’re too modest, Mr. Leyton. I’m very satisfied with the result. Even though she could be detained for a longer period, I’m too tired to waste more time on a person like her.”
Kyle heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank you so much, Ms. Yarrow.”
Lifting her head, Sophia cast a glance at Kyle. “Care to have lunch together?”
“Since you asked, I’ll gladly oblige.”
The duo had just exited the court, but Kristen was already charging toward them, fuming, “You had better go tell the judge that we’ll resolve our dispute in private!”
Raising her eyebrows, Sophia side-eyed Kristen with an impassive visage. “You must be getting too old, Old Mrs. Xenos. Didn’t you hear my proposition in court just now?”
As Sophia spoke, she let out a chuckle and continued, “Besides, even if I refused to reconcile the conflict, what can you do about it?”
Kristen could barely recognize the lady standing before her. Sophia might still appear the same on the outside, but she seemed to be poles apart on the inside.
In the past, Sophia would never refute anything that Kristen had said to her; in the present, not only did Sophia retort the remark, but she even made fun of Kristen as if the latter was some clown.
Flying off the handle, Kristen put on a grim countenance. “Y-You! You won’t be happy for long! I only need to inform Alex about this, and your trash company will flop within a month.”
“Oh, really? I’ll wait for it, then.”
Sophia had no intention to continue arguing with this vicious old lady. She glanced at Kyle and uttered, “Let’s go, Mr. Leyton. It’s lunchtime.”
Kristen was so infuriated that she was dumbfounded. Staring at Kyle by Sophia’s side, Kristen let out a sneer all of a sudden. “Some nerve you have. Don’t even think you’re all high and mighty now because you got a lawyer as a boyfriend. Just you wait! I’ll ask Alex to deal with you straight away!”
Sophia frowned at those words, for she had loathed it the most when the Xenos family slandered her.
Before she could open her mouth, though, Kyle was first to issue Kristen a warning. “Old Mrs. Xenos, we’re standing in front of the court. I’ve recorded whatever you said, so I can sue you for both defamation and humiliation on behalf of my client, Ms. Yarrow!”
Kristen’s expression stiffened as she spared glances between Sophia and Kyle. Ultimately, she could only storm off in a rage.
Sophia averted her gaze and walked off, completely disregarding Kristen.
Sophia’s defamation lawsuit had gained the netizens’ attention nationwide. It was no exaggeration to say the popularity of her case soared as high as that of the rumors of her cheating on her husband and the divorce spread by Thalia over the internet back then.
Back when Sophia had first made her statement on social media, the public had all assumed that her bark was worse than her bite.
Nearly two months had passed, and things seemed to have died down. Even so, on that very day, the court session began right away.
In addition, Sophia had also filed a case against the other media outlets that had been involved in slandering her. It was just that their trials were at a later date than Thalia.
The news of Sophia outright rejecting any form of settlement and Thalia being detained spread like wildfire. Those perpetrators were all panic-stricken.
Since the marketers had only cared about gaining popularity, they had accepted bribery from Thalia back then, thinking that Sophia was merely a divorcee from a wealthy family, so nothing would ever happen to them.
Given that even Thalia had been put under police detention, small fry like them would never stand a chance of being granted a settlement out of court.
Once again, Sophia’s name became the trending topic all over the internet. This time, the marketers only reposted the news. Never would they have the courage to spout any more nonsense.
Previously, he would’ve let her in.
But ever since Alexander and Sophia signed the divorce papers, when it came to matters regarding Sophia, Felix wouldn’t dare to take them lightly.
Kristen had just stepped out of the elevator, and Felix immediately got in her way. “What brings you here, Mrs. Xenos?”
“Where’s Alex?”
“Mr. Xenos is busy. Why don’t you take a seat and wait for him?”
Kristen had been humiliated by Sophia, and she was still burning with anger. “This is urgent.”
“Mrs. Xenos, if this is about Ms. Xenos, I suggest not reporting it directly to Mr. Xenos.”
Kristen’s face took a drastic change when she heard that. “What nonsense is that? Thalia is Alex’s sister! His sister has gotten into trouble, and you’re telling me not to let him know?”
Felix found himself in a tight spot. Right then, the door to the office was pushed open.
Standing there was Alexander, his gaze on Kristen. “What are you here for?” His face was frosty.
Glaring daggers at Felix, Kristen then shifted her gaze to her son. “Alex, Thalia is—”
“I don’t care about Thalia’s problems.”
Before Kristen could finish the sentence, Alexander immediately made his position clear. Following that, he paused for a brief moment before adding, “Also, don’t ever mess with Sophia again in the future.”
Kristen’s eyes met Alexander’s, and she shuddered. “Y-You—”
“Mr. Lane, send her back.”
Not giving Kristen any chance, Alexander ordered Felix to take her away at once.
After Alexander dropped the words, he walked past Kristen and left.
