Chapter 4

Leonard never imagined that Sophie, who used to bend over backwards just to please him, would speak to him like this. She couldn't even be bothered to spare him a glance.

He stood there, stunned for a few seconds, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot. He gritted his teeth and said, "Sophie, stop pretending. You did all this just to get my attention, right? You've had your fun playing hard to get. Now, quit while you're ahead, or you'll end up embarrassing yourself."

"Playing hard to get?" I nearly burst out laughing at how absurd he was. "Seriously, are you okay? Do you really think every woman on earth is dying to fall for you? Let me tell you, even if every man on the planet dropped dead, I still wouldn't look twice at someone as blind and terminally love-brained as you."

I paused, then delivered the fatal blow. "Idiot. You just let others take advantage of you and still help them get away with it."

As soon as I said that, Leonard's face turned beet red, shaking all over with rage. He pointed at me, but couldn't get a single word out.

"You... You're talking nonsense!" he finally managed to stammer.

"Oh, nonsense, huh?" I pulled out my phone, hit record, and shoved it right in his face. "Go on, say it again if you've got the guts. I'm recording every word,getting in my way and harassing me. I'll post it online so everyone can see how the CEO of Reed Enterprises throws his money around to harass women right on the street."

I smiled sweetly. “By the way, I leaked Rose's recording yesterday, and your family's stock crashed. Imagine what happens if I post this.”

Leonard's face instantly went pale, and he instinctively took a half-step back.

He wasn't scared of me causing a scen. What really got to him was the thought of his company's stock price tanking and Reed Enterprises' reputation taking a hit.

Watching him freak out like that totally made my day.

Seriously? This is the so-called big-shot CEO? He doesn't even have half the guts my old boss had when dealing with tough clients,' I thought.

I put my phone away, dragged my suitcase past him, and headed straight for the gate, not even bothering to look back.

"Sophie!" he shouted after me, his voice a mix of disbelief and pure rage. "Don't come crying to me when you regret it! Without the Lane Family, without me, let's see how you manage to survive in Riverdale!"

I didn't even slow down. I just waved my hand over my shoulder and shouted back, "Relax! Even if I end up begging on the streets, I'd never come crawling to you! You'd better keep an eye on your precious Rose. Don't let her sell you out and still have you counting the cash for her!"

Just then, an empty cab pulled up. I flagged it down, tossed my suitcase in, and slid into the back seat, didn't spare Leonard a single glance the whole time.

As the cab pulled away, I caught a glimpse of Leonard in the rearview mirror. He was still standing there, staring after us like an idiot.

Man, that was satisfying!

I'd been stuck in this book for three days, holding in all my frustration, and today I finally let it all out.

The cab driver glanced at me in the rearview mirror and chuckled, "Hey, did you just have a fight with your boyfriend? That guy was driving a Mercedes. Looks like he's loaded"

"Boyfriend? Ugh, as if," I rolled my eyes. "He's just an idiot. So what if he's loaded? It's not like he ever spends any of it on me."

The driver just smiled and didn't ask any more questions.

I leaned back and opened a rental app.

First, I needed a place to crash. There was no way I was going back to the Lane Family. The original Sophie only had about four grand left in her account. She'd scrimped and saved every penny, while blowing the rest on gifts for Leonard. Total love-brained sucker.

After scrolling for ages, I finally found a one-bedroom apartment close to downtown. It had an elevator, solid security, and the deposit plus first three months' rent came to just over two grand. That left me with enough cash to last until I made my first buck.

I set up a viewing with the landlord, and half an hour later, I was standing outside the apartment complex.

The place was even better than I'd hoped. I signed the contract, sent over the rent, and got the keys right then and there.

I dragged my suitcase into the room, flopped onto the soft bed, and finally felt like I could breathe again.

From today on, I, Sophie Lane, am done being that villainess who wasted her life chasing after men and the Lane Family.

I've only got one thing on my mind: getting rich! filthy rich!

I got up from the bed, fired up my laptop, and started planning my new account, drawing on my three years of experience in social media management.

The original Sophie was gorgeous and had a killer body. She was basically born to go viral. No more sappy romance stuff. I'd focus on being clear-headed, making bank, and flipping the script on the usual heiress tropes. This was definitely going to blow up.

I downloaded the short-video app and registered an account under the name "SophieOnFire."

Just as I finished filling out my profile and hit register, my phone chimed with a new message.

It was from my eldest brother, James Lane.

I opened it and saw just one line, dripping with arrogance:

"This is your last chance. Drag yourself back to the Lane Family by tomorrow and get on your knees to apologize to Rose. Otherwise, I'm freezing all your accounts right now. Let's see how you manage to survive out there."

I laughed out loud at James's threatening message.

Did these people get their brains slammed in a door or something?' I thought.

The recording that totally roasted Rose for framing me just dropped yesterday. It hasn't even settled, and they're already trying to threaten me? Do they seriously think I'm still that lovesick idiot who can't make it without the Lane Family?

My fingers flew across the screen as I fired back a message.

Are you out of your mind? Freeze my accounts if you want. Who gives a damn about your petty cash? You really think I'd fall apart without the Lane Family?' I scoffed as I typed.

As soon as I hit send, a red exclamation mark popped up.

Damn, James beat me to the block.

I rolled my eyes, tossed my phone onto the bed, and headed to the kitchen to boil some water. While I was at it, I fired up the delivery app and ordered myself a full-sugar milk tea and some honey-glazed fried chicken.

Before I started stirring up trouble, I needed to fill my stomach first.

After all, I was about to drop a huge "surprise" on the Lane Family and their biased crew.