Chapter 3 Commit Murder

The cold surface of the blade sent a shiver down her spine, but she didn't care. Without a moment's hesitation, she swung the knife towards him, leaving a small cut on his cheek. He stumbled backwards in surprise.

Drops of blood fell on Sophia, staining her white shirt. Stunned silence fell upon them.

"Sophia..." Denny trailed off, staring at the blood that stained the back of his hand. His eyes clouded over, looking as if the beast inside of him had been unleashed.

If he hadn't moved, the knife would've probably slashed his throat. He would be on the ground, blubbering his last words.

She froze, not knowing how to act.

She couldn't believe that she had it in herself to do such a thing. Sophia straightened her back, trying her best not to flinch from his glare.

Just as the intense air was about to break out, Denny's phone vibrated, breaking the stalemate.

Glancing at the caller ID, a trace of contempt flashed across his furious face. Without missing a beat, he picked up the phone and yelled, "You have the nerve to call me after your daughter tries to commit murder, John? You'd better give me an explanation or you might as well see your company in ruins! I'll sue you for every dollar you have!"

The call was from John Yang, Sophia's father. He wanted to ask his son-in-law for money to pay off his creditor, but he didn't expect to be yelled at.

"What?" John Yang stiffened at the thought of his daughter ruining their chances of having a better life. He hurriedly tried his best to coax him, "Calm down, don't worry. I'll teach her a lesson!"

Once the two reached an agreement, John Yang arrived at the He Family's household in half an hour. After apologizing to Denny over and over again, he forcibly dragged his daughter out of the villa and into his car.

"When will you ever not cause me any trouble?" He sighed in frustration as he took a sharp right. The car sped over one of the alleyways till they arrived at the gates of a condominium. "Don't you think the business has enough problems for me to deal with?" Once they reached one of the familiar corridors, John Yang opened the door and pulled her daughter into the room.

"Sophia, why did you come back all of a sudden?" Selena Lin, her stepmother, screamed in surprise. It was as if she had seen a dead ghost. The older woman waved her hands up in the air, trying to dry off the new polish.

Emily Yang snorted. With a roll of her eyes, she murmured, "Why else would she be here? She must've offended my brother-in-law."

"Sophia, I won't be scolding you since you're not a child anymore, but you still shouldn't act so impulsively! Don't you know how lucky you are to marry Denny?" Selena Lin snapped. She rubbed her creased forehead in frustration, as if she had done this multiple times before. "What do you think will happen if you got divorced? Huh? Do you think you'll be welcomed here? Well, I'll be the first person to say that you won't have a home here if you file for divorce! We don't want to be associated with you."

"Yeah! If I were you, I'd rather die than get divorce." Emily Yang scowled.

Ever since she entered the room, all Sophia had heard were meaningless echoes from both her stepmother and stepsister. However, she had already been used to them.

The mother-and-daughter duo had never liked her.

Well, Sophia couldn't care less for them either way. She already had enough of their harsh words.

John Yang followed his daughter into the room. "Don't think too much of what your stepmother has said. She's only trying to say what's good for you." He sighed. "I've already heard what happened today from Darren. Do you really want to put your family to death, girl?"

"If you are, I wouldn't be surprised!" Selina Lin scowled.

Clenching her fists, Sophia gritted her teeth. "Do you have to force me with Denny just so our entire family could be safe? Why don't you do something for a change?"

Having enough of the two women screaming back and forth, he banged his fist onto the table. "How dare you shout back? Do you know who's been helping us all these years? If it weren't for Denny, I wouldn't have the money to support all three of you! If you really want to divorce him, we'll all be living on the streets! Are you really that heartless?"

"But Dad!" Sophia protested. Staring at the old man who was about to have a breakdown, she couldn't help but feel even more helpless.

Obviously she didn't want to put her family through this, but what other choice did she have? Did she really have to suffer just so her stepmother and stepsister could walk around freely?

Noticing her hesitation, John Yang softened his tone and persuaded, "You know how difficult it's been for our family all these years. I don't want to force you to do this, but I have no other choice. For your mother's sake, please understand our situation and apologize to him, okay? Stop being so difficult."

At the mention of her dead mother, her heart softened.

After all, he was only doing this because of the company's large debt.

A few years ago, the company had been in deep financial trouble. Sophia's father cooperated with one of the major shareholders of the Sky Group, Marcus Cheng, and borrowed money worth ten million dollars. However, ever since then, the company had been stagnant, and her father still couldn't pay off the debts.

Marcus Cheng had stated that the debt should be paid within the month or else he would have no other choice but to sue the company.

If they were to go to court about this, the company would shut down for good.

"Dad... I'll figure out a way to pay the debt. Just please give me some time," she promised. Even so, she had no qualms of going back to Denny. Seeing as she had just tried to murder him, he would probably go out of his way to torture her.

After saying that, Sophia turned around and walked out of the door without turning back. She couldn't stay here for another second.

As she wandered alone down the road for a while, her mind had been swimming with complex thoughts. At this point, she didn't know what else to do.

She walked aimlessly around the sidewalks. Having no other choice, she headed to Marcus Cheng's house in hopes to persuade him to delay the repayment. Maybe then she would have enough time to pay him back.

Marcus Cheng was staying at the famous high-end villa district in the city. It was surrounded by the gifts of nature with its high mountains and peaceful rivers. The people living there were either extremely rich or extremely powerful. The residents there were the city's big shots.

Due to this, the village was naturally very guarded. However, upon seeing the sight of the weak woman, the guards simply took one look at her and allowed her to be on her way.

When Sophia arrived at Marcus Cheng's villa, she rang the doorbell.

After a while, one of his servants opened the door. Glancing at the strange face, he peered closely. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sophia. I'm here for Mr. Marcus," she explained.

The servant nodded awkwardly. "Mr. Marcus will be having an important guest later. We shouldn't let anyone disturb him."

"Please!" she begged. "I have something important to relay to him. Tell him that I'm Sophia- he knows me!"

Seeing the pitiful sight, the servant had no other choice but to nod and agree. "Just give me a few minutes, okay?" he asked softly. "I'll tell him."

"Thank you." She smiled in relief as he closed the door. Ten minutes later, the door creaked open once more.

"Miss, Sophia, right?" When she nodded, he continued, "Mr. Marcus wants you to wait for him in the reception room."

With a sigh of relief, she followed the servant into the reception room of the villa.

The chandeliers' glitter fell from the ceiling like water cascading down the cliffs. They twinkled like thousands of diamonds above her, blinding her almost completely.

Sophia sat on the sofa anxiously, waiting for the man's arrival.

The servants were quick to serve her some tea and desserts. In half an hour, Marcus finally arrived.

"I'm so sorry to keep you waiting. I have some things to deal with the company," he apologized, sitting on the couch adjacent to her. Although Marcus was in his late fifties, his balding scalp and fat figure made him look much older. His lips twitched, and there was something about his smile that made her twist uncomfortably.

"It's my fault for visiting so suddenly." She smiled.

Marcus nodded.

"So you came here for the debt?" "Yes, Mr. Marcus." She took a deep breath. "I know that our family has been in debt for a long time, but you know how hard it has been for us. We really can't pay you back wholly, but trust me when I say that we're thinking of more ways to pay you back. Please, can you give us more time?"

Marcus poured himself a cup of black tea and leaned against the sofa. He shrugged casually. "Sophia, you must know that I've given you a lot of time. It's not that I don't trust you, but it's been years since you haven't paid me back. My company has been investing in several new projects recently, and we need more cash to finance them."

"But we really couldn't afford that much money. Even if we were to sell the company, we still wouldn't be able to cover the ten million." Sophia bowed her head. "Please, Mr. Marcus, if you'd just give us more time. I swear that we'll pay you back once the business gets better."

He sighed. "Actually, there is a way for you to pay me back. That is, if you're willing."

There was something about his voice that made her hesitate. She took another sip from her tea. "What do you mean?"

"Tell me, Sophia, how have I treated you and your family all these years?"

"You've been very kind to us," she complimented graciously.

"And I've never asked for anything in return."

Seeing the glint in his eyes, Sophia knew that there was no point in beating around the bush. "Just tell me."

"I'll go straight to the point." His smile widened. Taking it as an invitation to further his point, he sat beside the woman, letting his hand rest on her legs. She froze. "If you're willing to go with me to the party tonight, maybe I'll be more willing to set this debt aside."

Looking into his ambiguous gaze, she knew that his offer wasn't as simple as one would think.

Sure enough, after seeing the look on her face, he grew even bolder. "Of course, we can watch a movie or have dinner after. I've always appreciated your presence, Sophia, and I want to get to know you more." He smiled. "Of course, I won't let you accompany me without receiving anything in return. What do you think of two hundred thousand a month?"

Now, she was a hundred percent sure that the man wanted to turn her into his mistress!