Chapter 11
On the fifteenth day, Claire's wedding invitations went out.
Her social media was flooded with posts about it.
She wrote: [Thanks for all the love, everyone! We can't wait for you to celebrate with us on the fifteenth of next month. Come witness our happiness!]
And it was flooded with likes and comments.
[Claire, you look gorgeous!]
[Jason is so handsome!]
[You two are such a perfect couple!]
[I'm so jealous!]
I scrolled through the comments and spotted one that caught my eye.
[Isn't your sister coming?]
Claire replied: [She's too busy playing nanny for someone else these days. No time to show up.]
She added a string of laughing emojis.
The comments section blew up.
[Sophia's a nanny now? Wasn't she a Northbridge University grad?]
[Heard her boyfriend ditched her and she's basically homeless now.]
[Yikes]
[Same dad, but their lives couldn't be more different.]
I stared at the comments, my grip on my phone tightening.
Claire, you truly wanted to make my life miserable.
The butler walked over, his face serious.
"Miss Winters, there are some reporters at the gate. They're asking to interview Claire's sister," he said, sounding uneasy.
I shot to my feet.
"What?" I blurted out.
"They said someone leaked that a top Northbridge University graduate ended up working as a nanny, and they want to do a special report about it," he explained.
It was Claire.
She didn't just badmouth me on social media. She'd even invited reporters over.
"Let them leave," I said.
"We're already trying to get them to leave. But they've already snapped photos of the manor's gate, and soon they'll figure out this is the Landon estate," the butler said.
If this got out, it wouldn't just be me getting humiliated. It would make Charles look like he hired some pathetic reject as his nanny.
This was not only about saving face for me, but also dragging Charles right into the mess too.
I grabbed my phone, hesitated for three seconds, then called Kelsey.
"Mr. Quinn, I need your help," I said.
Fifteen minutes later, all the reporters at the gate had been sent packing.
Kelsey was unbelievably efficient.
But then he called me back.
"Miss Winters, Mr. Landon already knows," he said.
"What did he say?" I asked.
"He told me to dig into Claire Winters," Kelsey replied.
"No need..." I started.
"Mr. Landon insists. He said no one gets to use his staff for their own publicity," Kelsey replied.
I held my phone, not sure what to say.
Staff. He called me his staff. Yet the way he treated me was nothing like how an employer should treat his staff.
That evening, Charles got home earlier than usual. It was 5:30.
When he walked into the hall, I was heating up some milk for Leo.
"Sophia, come to the study for a minute," Charles said.
I followed him into his study downstairs.
He closed the door behind us.
He settled in behind his desk and motioned for me to sit.
"Did Kelsey tell you about the situation with Claire?" he asked.
"Yeah. Mr. Landon, this is my own mess. I never meant for it to involve you," I said.
"I'm already involved. Reporters already snapped pictures of the manor's front gate. If this gets out, it'll drag Leo into this mess too," he said, keeping his tone calm.
He kept his tone calm. "I'll handle it," he said.
"How?" I asked.
"That's not your concern," he replied.
"But..." I started.
"Sophia," he said, his gaze solemn as he looked at me, "some things are just too much for you to handle alone."
I stood there, stunned.
"You've been carrying way too much on your own, your mother's illness, your father's cold indifference, Claire's schemes, Jason's betrayal. How much longer do you really think you can keep doing this all by yourself?" he said.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
"I'm not saying this out of pity," he spoke evenly. "I'm just stating the facts. You're part of the Landon family now. If anything happens to one of us, I'll take care of it."
Part of the Landon family. The words suddenly weighed heavily on her heart.
"Okay," I said.
He nodded.
"There's one more thing," he said.
He pulled a file out of his drawer and slid it across the desk to me.
"What's this?" I asked.
"I had someone reopen the case on Professor Samuel Chase," he said.
My stomach dropped.
I opened the file.
It spelled out every detail about how Samuel got accused, from start to finish.
[Whistleblower: Anonymous.]
[Accusation: Academic fraud.]
[Investigation result: Insufficient evidence, but Professor Chase resigned voluntarily.]
"Insufficient evidence?" I stared at the file. "But the school swore they had proof back then..."
"If they really had proof, it wouldn't say 'insufficient evidence.' Someone messed with things behind the scenes," Charles said.
"Who is it?" I asked.
Charles looked at me.
"Are you sure you want to know?" he asked.
"Tell me," I said.
"Your father, Richard Winters," he said.
My head buzzed, and I felt like the world was spinning.
"What?" I blurted out.
"Back then, Richard racked up a huge gambling debt. The guy he owed money to was someone in the Northbridge medical system, someone who had a grudge against Professor Chase.
"To pay off his debt, Richard helped that guy fake evidence and rat out Professor Chase," Charles said.
I froze in my chair.
Samuel's project got shut down, my internship was canceled, and my scholarship were taken back.
My whole life fell apart in just one night.
And all because of my dad.
"Richard took a bribe of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars to pay off his gambling debts. The rest, he used to buy Claire that Porsche," Charles said.
Charles's voice was calm, but every word cut like a knife.
I sat there, frozen.
From start to finish, the one who destroyed me was no one else but my own father.
"Are you okay?" Charles asked.
I looked up at him.
"Is the evidence airtight?" I asked.
"It's solid. If you need it, I've got it ready..."
"Not yet," I said.
He fixed his gaze on me.
"What are you going to do?" he asked.
"I haven't decided yet," I said.
But there was one thing I was sure about. Richard, Claire, and Jason, not a single one of you would get away.
"Mr. Landon," I called out.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Why are you helping me?" I asked.