Chapter 46

Vincent Lowell's pupils constricted sharply.

Evelyn Laurent's cold, distant face flashed before his eyes.

He shook his head violently, as if trying to dislodge something filthy.

"Darling!" Margaret Hill shrieked, clutching her face. "That bitch Evelyn must have sent someone to attack us!"

Vincent sneered. "Is she even capable?"

He checked his phone, his gaze darkening.

"If she'd really climbed the social ladder, wouldn't she have a private car by now?"

The hospital room air turned frigid.

Vincent's eyes swept over the three bruised boys before locking onto Sophia Lowell.

"Sophia." His voice was glacial. "Who have you offended recently?"

Sophia trembled.

She'd never seen her father look at her like this—like she was nothing but trouble.

"I didn't..." Her voice was barely audible.

Vincent snorted and pressed the call button.

When the doctors rushed in, he was carefully examining Brandon Lowell's injuries, ignoring his daughter in the corner.

Sophia's fingers dug into the bed rail.

The bruises on her face burned, but the pain in her chest was worse.

"Evelyn Laurent..." She gritted her teeth, nails cutting into her palms.

Her phone screen flickered.

Several messages were sent in silence.

——

The sun glared mercilessly on opening ceremony day.

Evelyn stood in the Physics Department line, an empty space forming around her.

Whispers coiled around her like venomous snakes.

"That's her..."

"I heard..."

"Disgusting..."

Her expression remained blank as she flipped open her notebook, pen carving deep grooves into the paper.

Under a distant tree, Sophia touched up her makeup in a compact mirror, lips curling into a smirk.