After a good night’s sleep, Josephine Sterling woke up early in the morning. Scrolling through the news online, she was in a fantastic mood.
She stretched, walked over to the window, and picked up the police report receipt from yesterday. After a quick glance, she unlocked her phone. She drafted a post: "Although the dust has settled on this matter, I still intend to report Miss Young to the police for her slander and defamation against me.
"Miss Young, we are not well-acquainted, nor do I owe you for raising me like I did the Sterling family, so I will pursue this to the bitter end."
The drafted message sounded like a declaration of war!
The accompanying image was the police receipt. She also attached a link to the post Yvonne Young had published previously, the one containing the secretly taken photos of her and Sean Pierce.
Speaking of Yvonne, the woman was truly stupid. The official police statement had already been released, and the apology letter from the Sterling mother and son had been plastered all over the internet for an entire night. Yet, she surprisingly hadn’t deleted her rumor-mongering post. She was practically begging to be sued. If Josephine were to go easy on her now, it would be a disservice to her sheer stupidity.
After finishing all this, she went downstairs to find Sean. "Pierce, go to the car dealership and ask for the security footage from the day we bought the car. If they refuse to give it to you, show them the police receipt."
Sean nodded. "I’ll go right now."
After he left, Aunt Shaw and Ken Moran both looked toward Josephine.
"Why are you both looking at me like that?" she asked.
Ken clenched his fists and approached her. "Miss, were all those previous injuries real? Were they all inflicted by the Sterlings?"
"Why even ask? They were all backed by hospital medical records. Of course they’re real." Aunt Shaw’s face darkened as her eyes grew red with unshed tears. "Josie, how on earth did you survive all these years? I can’t even bear to imagine it."
Josephine hadn’t expected that after leaving the Sterlings, she would meet such soft-hearted, good people. Their kindness moved her slightly. However, having already died once, she no longer possessed such an abundance of rich emotions.
She waved her hand expressionlessly. "It’s all in the past. I don’t want to bring it up again. Is there any food? I’m hungry."
"Yes, yes, yes! I’ll bring it right out for you." Aunt Shaw brought out the warm breakfast from the kitchen. "You’re too thin. Make sure you eat on time from now on. I promise to nourish you until you’re fair, plump, and beautiful."
Beautiful? Josephine smiled indifferently. She didn’t seem to care much about that anymore.
Ken tightened his fists. "Miss, I will protect you from now on."
"Of course. I hired you specifically to protect me, didn’t I?" Josephine smiled and lowered her head to eat.
Just as she picked up her bowl, a notification popped up on her phone. Seeing the sender’s name, she was slightly taken aback. Ethan Sinclair? Why would he be messaging her? Was there a result regarding the material? But it had only been two days.
Josephine tapped to open the message: "Are you free? Let’s meet up and chat."
Was he asking her out? Josephine pulled up Ethan’s number and called him directly. "President Sinclair, is there a result regarding the material?"
Her voice sounded completely normal, perhaps even a bit cheerful. This left Ethan, who had been tossing and turning all night with worry, feeling somewhat depressed. He had originally been concerned that the incident online would affect her. Fearing she might be sad and feeling helpless, he had wanted to find an excuse to see her. Now, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have thought of Josephine as far too fragile.
How could someone who dared to publicly cut ties with her family of origin—and immediately called the police the moment she learned they were spreading rumors—be fragile? She wasn’t just resilient; she was far stronger than Ethan had imagined. Yet for some reason, whenever he thought of her small, delicate face and frail figure, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.
For the first time in his life, Ethan lied. "Yes, there’s a result. Is it convenient for you? Shall we meet and talk?"
"Yes, definitely! You pick the location, and I’ll head over." When it came to making money, there was no such thing as an inconvenient time for Josephine. Besides, she was very much looking forward to the launch of this material.
Ethan quickly sent over an address. She didn’t delay. After finishing her breakfast, she changed her clothes and happily headed out to the appointment.
In stark contrast to her joy, the atmosphere at the Sterling family’s home was far from pleasant.
Upon learning that Caleb Sterling had been detained, Howard Sterling flew into a violent rage at home.
"Fools! You knew she called the police, so why did you keep provoking her? Now the third son is locked up. Are you satisfied? You’ve completely disgraced the Sterlings!"
He hurled a ceramic teacup fiercely to the floor. A sharp fragment ricocheted up and sliced a shallow cut across Grace Hayes’s face. Beads of blood immediately welled up, and the sharp sting made her gasp in pain.
"You can’t blame us for this. Who could have imagined that Josephine would suddenly become so ruthless? You have no idea.
"At the police station, I was just short of getting down on my knees and begging her! But she still refused to relent and absolutely wouldn’t sign Caleb’s settlement agreement.
"It’s as if she genuinely wants him to lose everything! Having lived with her for over two decades, I never knew she could be so unfeeling.
"Sterling, tell me, do you think she figured something out?"
Apart from that possibility, Grace couldn’t think of any other reason. Howard stiffened in shock, but before he could say anything, Liam Sterling pushed the door open and walked in.
"Who figured what out? Mom, Dad, what are you talking about? Where’s my younger brother?" he demanded. "Are the rumors online true? Did Josephine actually sue you all and get him detained?"
Seeing her eldest son, whose wrist was still wrapped in bandages, Grace ignored the wound on her own face and rushed forward to support him with an aching heart. "Weren’t you supposed to rest at the hospital? Why did you come back so suddenly?"
"With such a massive crisis happening at home, how could I not come back?" Liam had originally thought that with his parents stepping in personally, they would definitely bring Josephine back without a hitch.
Relying on taking down the Sinclair Family to teach Josephine a lesson was too slow. He simply couldn’t wait. If Josephine dared to have someone beat him up like this, he was absolutely going to make her pay.
Yet, he had waited in the hospital for a full day and night without hearing any news of Josephine being dragged back to the Sterling residence. Instead, he saw them battling it out fiercely online. The spectacle ultimately ended with an apology from the Sterlings and the detention of the third young master.
Unable to sit still in the hospital any longer, Liam had returned home to find out what exactly had gone wrong. Was the Sinclair Family really pulling the strings behind all this? If it weren’t for them, where would Josephine get the courage to clash head-on with the Sterlings?
"Mom, Dad, you went to the Sinclair Family’s home. What did they say? Are they really protecting Josephine?"
Grace let out a heavy sigh. "Ethan Sinclair did indeed say he’s going to protect her!"
"I knew it was him!" Furious, Liam slammed his fist onto the coffee table. "Does he think that by inciting Josephine to cause trouble for us, he can embarrass the Sterlings?
"Does he think this will drown my company in public backlash and give him an opening to strike?
"If so, he’s far too naive!"
Not only would he refuse to be swayed by public opinion, but he would also deal a fatal blow to Ethan. He would make Ethan regret opposing him—and regret ever protecting Josephine!
"Mom, Dad, don’t worry. The Sinclair Family won’t be able to stay arrogant for much longer. Once our company’s new material hits the market, the Sinclair Group will be served to me on a silver platter.
"When the time comes and I acquire the Sinclair Group, forget about Josephine—even Ethan Sinclair himself will have to get down on his knees and apologize to me!
"I will extract vengeance for my brother, with interest."
Howard frowned deeply. "Have you resolved the issue with that defective material?"