Chapter 67

When Megan kept refusing to take even a sip of her drink, a flicker of surprise flashed through Sophia's eyes. Could that little witch have figured something out? No way-she'd covered her tracks perfectly.

Evelyn quickly set down her wine glass and picked up a juice instead. "Wrong cup," she said hastily. "I don't hold my liquor well-it's supposed to be juice for me."

Sophia let out a quiet sigh of relief. She nodded quickly, echoing,"Right,my cousin really can't handle her drinks."

Evelyn gulped down the juice like her life depended on it, clearly terrified Megan would push her to drink again. Her heart felt like it was about to leap straight out of her chest. She was pretty sure Sophia had messed with both Megan's and Tristan's drinks.

Sophia looked around, but no one else at the table made a move toward their glass. She turned to Nathan with a suggestion laced in emotion. "We were married once. This might be my last dinner with the Reid family. Nathan, will you share one last drink with me?"

Nathan sighed heavily, the sound sharp through his nose. He stood, lifted a crystal glass of red wine, and said flatly, "Fine. One last drink. After this, we're complete strangers."

Sophia's lips tightened, her eyes glinting dangerously at his words. Just as Nathan was about to bring the glass to his lips, a voice cut in.

"If Aunt Sophia and Dad spent so many years together, they should do it properly. How about a romantic toast? Aunt Sophia drinks Dad's wine, and Dad drinks hers."

Nathan's brows drew together, his tone stern. "Megan,that's enough. Don't joke around."

Sophia's expression changed in a flash. "Yeah, the divorce is done-no need for that kind of toast anymore."

Megan stood, hands clasped behind her back as she strolled toward Sophia, who was already looking nervous. "Is it really inappropriate? Or are you just scared to drink it?"

Sophia forced an awkward laugh. "Oh please. What's there to be afraid of? It's just... not the time."

Megan dragged all the wine glasses on the table toward Sophia. "Aunt Sophia, if you down every one of these drinks, the Reid family fortune's all yours."

Sophia lowered her gaze, her voice firm with pretend righteousness. "What would I want that money for?I just wanted to share one peaceful meal with everyone.Is that too much to ask?"

And with that, tears welled up in her eyes. She turned to leave,but Megan grabbed her wrist hard-so hard it must've hurt. For a brief second, Sophia shot Megan a venomous glare like a coiled snake before bursting into sobs.

She sobbed, "If none of you even want to eat with me one last time, then fine. Enjoy dinner without me."

She tried to walk again, but Megan's grip only got tighter.

The whole dining room went quiet. The air suddenly felt colder,heavier.

Megan's long black hair fell down to her waist like silk.Her pale face was framed by an unsettling smile-charming and dangerous rolled into one. She held Sophia's wrist like it was just some toy, with zero hesitation or care.

"You're not going anywhere until you've eaten-and drank-every single thing here."

Julian and Pearl exchanged a glance. Something was definitely off.

Lina caught Rachel winking at her. That sealed it-tonight wasn't a regular dinner. It was obviously a trap.

Penelope seemed to catch on. She picked up a glass of blood-red wine and walked straight to Sophia.

She rested the glass gently against Sophia's lips and said, "Sophia, drink it down."

Sophia flinched, turning her face away. "I won't drink it." Penelope didn't even hesitate-she grabbed Sophia's chin and tilted it up, pushing the glass toward her mouth.

Sophia's eyes went wide with panic. Then she slapped the glass away.Crash!

The wine glass hit the Roman-style tiles and shattered into pieces.

Red wine splashed all over Sophia's white slacks, and the color contrast was jarring.

Megan jerked her hand away, a mocking smile tugging at her lips. "Stains on pants can be cleaned,but blood on your hands? That's way harder to wash off."

She then turned to Evelyn, "Don't you think so, Auntie?"

Evelyn swallowed hard, eyes shifting nervously as she nodded stiffly. "Y-yeah, sounds about right."

Megan clapped lightly, and Nova Tech pokedits head out from under the seat and hopped onto the table.

"Hey there everyone! I'm Nova! I've got the coolest,kindest,prettiest owner ever-Megan! Super thrilled to show off my skilIs for y'all today!"

Megan:"..."

Could you not hype yourself up before getting to the point?

Seriously, the mutt's got a bragging subroutine?

Everyone was still reelingfrom the talking mechanical dog when Nova struck a wveird pose-front paws planted, butt in the air, tail up. Not exactly elegant.

Then,from beneath its tail, a beam of blue light fired out.

And bam-the holographic screen lit up midair, playing a very familiar video.

There she was-Sophia, caught red-handed in a shady hallway doing a deal with that punk, Yellow Hair.

Sophia's face went pale. Her lashes fluttered nervously as she tried to keep her composure. "This doesn't prove anything. It's just... it's nothing,really."

Rachel let out a scoff from the side. "Sneaking around behind my uncle's back and making dirty deals? Yeah,no wonder you signed the divorce papers so fast."

Megan: "..." Umm... totally not what this is about.

Clearly Sophia thought her affair was the issue and got momentarily relieved.

She settled down a bit and smiled with affected calm."I've always had a clear conscience. I never betrayed your uncle."

"But what you actually did is even worse!" Megan cut her off, raising her voice. "Bring them in!"

At that cue, Kai strolled into the dining room with his hands casually shoved in his pockets. Behind him,two men in black suits dragged a beaten-up Yellow Hair.

Now, his face was so battered, even his own mom wouldn't have known him.

Upon seeing Mr. Reid and Bruce, Kai straightened up and gave a respectful bow to them, then to Nathan and Penelope.

"This man," Kai said, "goes by Toby Collins. He was sent to meet a woman in sunglasses in the alley between a coffee shop and a sushi place. Didn't recognize what was being handed over, but he said he peeked-it was ten white pills. Sophia accepted the goods and handed over a brown envelope stuffed with a hundred grand in cash. We've now caught the woman who contacted Toby as well."

Footsteps approached.

Two bodyguards brought in an older man, maybe around sixty, silver hair at the temples, dressed in a suit.

Without a word, one of them kicked the back of the man's knees, sending him crashing to the floor.

"Talk or take it the hard way-your choice," someone barked.

The man looked up at Megan, clearly confused. Since when did it become "talk or ELSE".?

Still, he clenched his jaw and turned his head away silently, refusing to flatter or grovel.

Megan crossed her arms. "Guys like you? Filthy to the bone. You're better off gone. Nova!"

Nova leaped from the table to her shoulder. "Got it,Goddess!"

"He's stubborn. Show him what you can really do." With a buzz, two sleek metal wings unfolded from Nova's back.

It zipped to hover right in front of the man."Let Nova give you a lip tattoo!"

Huh...?

The man turned back, staring at the weird, chatty dog -just in time to see a thin needle pop out from Nova's muzzle, tip already glistening with red liquid.It lunged straight at the man's mouth.