Sophia was weeping at Benjamin's sigh. "How did it go, Father? Does she still intend to press charges?"

"Of course she does!" Benjamin snapped, his anger boiling over. "Weren't you the one who promised to win over William Levine? It's been weeks, and he remains completely devoted to Elise!"

Sophia looked even more distressed at his words, tears welling in her eyes. "I was trying to help our family, but Elise is clinging to him so desperately. I can't even get near him..."

"Oh, Benjamin, you mustn't blame her," Victoria interjected, always quick to defend her daughter. "These matters of the heart cannot be rushed. And look at poor Sophia—she's been crying so much she nearly fainted! We need to focus on convincing Elise to drop these charges. If Margaret is formally charged and sent to prison, the scandal will ruin our family's reputation. We'll become the laughingstock of Crestwood!"

Benjamin naturally considered this, a vein throbbing visibly at his temple in frustration.

"This is all my fault," Sophia began playing the victim again. "Grandmother wouldn't have struck Elise if not for me. I should go apologize to her... I'm willing to get down on my knees and beg if that's what she demands, as long as Grandmother doesn't suffer..."

"It's not your fault!" Victoria exclaimed. "This is your sister's doing—she cares nothing for our family's reputation and seems determined to humiliate you. Scott Enterprise has already been affected by this mess. It's no wonder your grandmother couldn't bear it and confronted Elise."

"Moreover," she added, "Samuel Mitchell is proving so petty, trying to scandalize Elise out of jealousy over Stellar Group's success—only for Elise to turn the tables on him! I once thought him such a promising young man after he revived Mitchell Corp from near collapse... But his recent behavior shows such poor judgment. He'll likely destroy Mitchell Corp with his own hands."

Though Victoria's assessment sounded reasonable, she was clearly shifting blame from Sophia onto Elise and Samuel.

Predictably, Benjamin listened to her and growled viciously, "Elise truly treats us as if we're not family! She never considers our interests! I would have confronted her myself if my mother hadn't beaten me to it!"

Victoria smiled darkly—even after Benjamin's years of infidelity, he always listened to her.

"Anyway, you're right about Samuel not being the ideal partner we believed him to be, Sophia," Benjamin said, as if suddenly remembering this fact, his agitation growing.

"Yes," Sophia replied meekly.

"Don't waste any more time on Samuel—focus entirely on winning William Levine's affection," Benjamin growled through clenched teeth. "The Levines rule this city! Our family will ascend to unprecedented heights if he falls for you! Most importantly, Elise will never be able to strut around so arrogantly again!"

"Yes." Sophia nodded. "I'll do my absolute best, Father. But I'm still terribly worried about Grandmother..."

"Elise won't drop the charges even if you beg," Benjamin stated with certainty. "She'd only use the opportunity to humiliate you further."

"Then what should we do?" Sophia's eyes were red and tearful, her expression full of self-blame.

Benjamin huffed angrily. "She'll have to take responsibility and apologize properly."

"Do you think she actually will?" Sophia asked.

"She must," Benjamin growled determinedly. "Or she's going straight to jail!"

Meanwhile, back in Elise's hospital room, William returned her phone.

"Thank you," Elise said quietly as she took it.

He watched her for a moment before approaching her bedside and picking up the patient file lying there.

"Deafness in the right ear?" he inquired.

"Temporary," Elise responded.

William raised an eyebrow. "For how long?"

"If it's like previous episodes, about a month."

"Previous episodes?" William seemed particularly adept at catching key details.

"The same thing happened when I was a child," Elise explained flatly. "It lasted exactly one month then." William's fingers tightened around the patient file, his hand trembling slightly despite his firm grip.