Audrey Sullivan's move was absolutely brilliant.

Sophia Laurent's eyes burned with unshed tears.

This counterattack spoke louder than any words.

Victor Sullivan's face turned ashen in an instant.

He glared at the divorce papers, his fingers trembling slightly.

"Rip—"

The document was torn violently in half.

Audrey smirked. "Go ahead. I'll have my assistant deliver ten more copies tomorrow."

Eleanor Sullivan stamped her foot in frustration. "Can't we discuss this calmly instead of jumping to divorce?"

"Mother, look what he's done!" Audrey pointed at Ethan. "Humiliating my son in front of everyone. As his mother, how could I tolerate this?"

Victor's expression darkened. "This divorce won't happen until we settle the asset division."

Audrey crossed her arms. "After you swallowed my family's entire fortune, now you expect me to walk away with nothing?"

"If I hadn't taken over those businesses, they would've—"

"Enough!" Audrey cut him off sharply. "We'll settle this in court."

She turned on her heel, her stilettos clicking sharply against the marble floor.

Eleanor chased after her but failed to stop her.

Victor's face grew even stormier.

He stood abruptly, dragging Adrian with him as he slammed the door behind them.

Silence finally returned to the dining room.

Eleanor personally served Sophia a bowl of bird's nest soup. "Pay no mind to that foolish man."

She grew angrier as she spoke. "That Isabella girl is so affected—she's not half the woman our Sophia is."

Ethan took Sophia's hand. "Grandmother is right."

"Your judgment wasn't always this sound," Eleanor chided.

Ethan sighed. "I was young and naive back then."

Eleanor suddenly sighed. "If only Sophia were Theodore's daughter."

"Theodore could never raise a daughter like her," Ethan said firmly.

"True enough." Eleanor nodded. "Come to think of it, I was the one who arranged this match."

Grandmother and grandson continued their back-and-forth.

Sophia kept her head bowed over her soup, the tips of her ears turning pink.

After dinner, Eleanor mysteriously pulled Sophia upstairs.

From the safe, she retrieved a sandalwood box.

"This is the Sullivan family's ancestral bracelet. It should have gone to your mother-in-law."

The box opened to reveal a pair of mutton-fat jade bracelets resting on velvet.

Luminous and smooth as cream.

Sophia immediately declined. "It's too precious. I can't accept this."

"Silly child." Eleanor slipped them onto her wrists. "A treasure passed down for centuries belongs to the most worthy."

The jade warmed against her skin, accentuating her slender, pale wrists.

Ethan leaned against the doorway, smiling. "Keep them. We'll pass them to our daughter someday."

Sophia's ears burned even redder.

On their way home, Ethan suddenly grabbed her hand.

Their fingers intertwined.

"Click."

The photo captured the moment.

He quickly edited his social media post: ["Holding Your Hand."]

Sophia reached for his phone. "Don't post that—"

Too late.

Notification chimes began pinging continuously.

When she checked later after washing up, the most recent like came from Kyle Grant.

That single character "Kyle" sent a sharp pang through her heart.

Deep in her memories—

A twelve-year-old boy covered in blood still shielding her protectively.

"Brother Kyle..."

She whispered the name, her fingertips trembling slightly.