Chapter 65 He Is Her Backer!

Chapter 65: Chapter 65: He Is Her Backer!

Julian Sterling’s nonchalant tone seemed to drop a pebble into the calm waters. Even Sophie Winslow had to look at him, though she was barely surprised anymore. Always steady, he spoke slowly to Peter Preston, "Sterling Corp’s Longview is a leader in the smart healthcare industry and will serve as an endorsement. If we collaborate, Longview will contract Helios’s subsequent production. With this kind of background, is it to your liking, Mr. Preston?"

Stella Sutton looked up, unable to hide the tender affection on her face. It was the blissful look of someone being unconditionally pampered.

Sophie lowered her eyes, masking her irony. Julian’s implication was clear—he was announcing to everyone that he was Stella’s backer! How could she not hear it?

Peter’s facial muscles twitched slightly. "Longview is naturally an industry benchmark. I certainly trust the production capacity and quality control of a major manufacturer. However, Mr. Sterling is Mr. Sterling. We at Helios also value Miss Sutton’s personal abilities. As far as I know, she isn’t exactly experienced in this field."

To put it bluntly, Stella was too ambitious, trying to meddle in the medical field as well. Did she think she was a prodigy who had already achieved great things, like Sophie?

"I can assemble the core team; you don’t need to worry, Mr. Preston." Julian’s words were watertight.

Sophie understood perfectly. It meant he would hire a highly capable team to support Stella, leaving no room for error. Since things had reached this point...

Peter smiled calmly. "Since it’s a collaboration, Helios must consider it carefully. Still, Miss Sutton is truly fortunate. To have a big shot like Mr. Sterling elevating you at such a young age."

He felt increasingly sorry for Sophie. If even a bystander found it agonizing, how much worse must it be for her?

It wasn’t that Stella didn’t catch Peter’s drift—he was implying she was being spoon-fed resources by Julian. But so what? She was inherently competent. That was the fundamental difference between her and Sophie.

"You’re joking, Mr. Preston. When it comes to being fortunate, who can compare to Miss Winslow? Although she’s completely clueless, she still managed to get an invitation to this summit. So many people never get the chance to witness a scene like this," Finn Lockwood quipped playfully.

At this, Stella subtly curled her lips into a faint smile. Finn’s words were spot on. At least she had genuine skills to rely on. And Sophie? She could only rely on men to squeeze into a circle she didn’t belong in. Stella disdained even being mentioned in the same breath as someone like her. As for the massive database permissions of Digital Chinese Medicine, she was determined to get them!

"You can think it over carefully, Mr. Preston. Stella’s future goal is to enter the National Academy of Somatic Medicine. She will be a great help to Helios," Finn added.

Peter gave a tight, hollow smile. "Oh? Such grand ambitions. Impressive."

He knew that Sophie had already been invited to enter the Academy when she was only nineteen. If she hadn’t married a scumbag, she would have been shining brilliantly there long ago. He wondered if they would still be able to smile if they knew how hopelessly outclassed they were in front of Sophie.

Sophie only raised her eyes when she heard the Academy mentioned, but she didn’t interject into their conversation. There was really no need to stick her oar in. Julian was clearly intent on elevating Stella and, in the future, would undoubtedly go to great lengths to support the entire Sutton family.

Having no desire to listen to whatever else they had to say, she turned and headed for the restroom.

Her mother’s car accident all those years ago had been highly suspicious. She still suspected Isaiah Sutton and his wife, though she had yet to find any concrete evidence. Furthermore, Isaiah hadn’t gone through proper channels when he transferred the antique shop away; the paperwork was incomplete, which meant there must be massive underlying issues.

Ultimately, her and her mother’s lives had been ruined by Isaiah and Maeve Walsh. Yet Julian was hell-bent on adding luster to the Sutton family for the sake of the woman he loved...

Whenever Sophie thought of her mother lying there, reduced to a vegetative state with all her neural functions impaired, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. The original reason she developed the skeletal robot was actually for her mother. Unfortunately, her mother’s brain had fallen into a deep slumber and lost its neural functions, so the robot had never been put to use.

Her life’s pursuit was to develop drugs and treatment methods to combat brain death. She knew this was highly improbable in the field of medicine, but she wouldn’t stop. As for the truth of what happened back then, she would unearth it bit by bit, no matter what methods she had to use—

Sophie took a deep breath and turned to walk out. She ran into Lucas Langley head-on.

He saw Sophie’s reddened eyes. It looked exactly like she had been crying. He came to an abrupt halt, but Sophie didn’t even look at him as she brushed past.

"Is there really a need to be so devastated over him?" Unable to hold back, he grabbed Sophie’s arm.

Sophie frowned at Lucas. "Mr. Langley, are you alright?"

She wondered what nonsense he was spouting.

Lucas couldn’t understand how a married woman could be so obsessed with another man who already had a girlfriend. Were all the good men in the world dead?

"I hope you won’t ruin things between Miss Sutton and Mr. Sterling." Lucas stared at her. "Didn’t you see it clearly just now? Their relationship is indestructible, and they’re getting married soon. Just let them be."

He still hoped she could hold on to her moral bottom line. Even if things weren’t working out with her own spouse, couldn’t she at least find a single man to like?

Sophie’s lips twitched. Getting married soon? Was that what Julian and Stella were already telling people? No wonder Julian had allowed Seth Sutton to burn their wedding photos...

Sophie’s exquisite face gradually turned cold. She was thoroughly sick of it. Why did everyone have to come and remind her how much her unfaithful husband loved his mistress? Did a lawful wife not even deserve to exist these days? Why was everyone acting as a lobbyist for Stella’s relationship?

"Yeah, sure, fine, okay. I’ll go to a temple and pray for them to be bound together for lifetimes to come, locking them in so they won’t ruin anyone else’s lives. How about that?"

After she finished speaking, she turned on her heel and walked away.

Lucas watched Sophie’s retreating back. He believed she was just lashing out in anger. He had truly never seen a woman like Sophie—someone with such a low moral compass who blatantly refused to admit she was wrong, acting so openly and unapologetically wicked.

Upon returning to the venue, Lucas saw Finn discussing a smart therapeutic watch with Stella.

He looked thoughtful. "How long have you known Sophie? Is her husband an industry insider? How capable is he?"

Since Evan York had refused to tell him last time, he figured the man must be a nobody.

Finn’s expression sobered slightly, and he cast a glance at Stella.

Surprised by Lucas’s attitude, Stella calmly set down the watch. "That’s her private affair. Let’s just focus on ourselves."

She didn’t answer his question, instead casually walking off to network with other people at the venue as if she couldn’t care less.

Lucas could tell that Stella was giving Sophie a lot of face. Not only did she refrain from publicly rebuking Sophie for seducing her boyfriend, but she also refused to expose Sophie’s private affairs, sparing her the humiliation of being nailed to the pillar of disgrace for trying to cheat and become a mistress.

He greatly admired Stella’s grace and magnanimity. However...

"Why did you ask about her husband’s background?" Finn asked out of the blue, keeping an extra eye out.

Lucas rubbed his fingers together. "I was just thinking, if he were capable and respectable, he would never allow her to be so promiscuous."

And if he wasn’t capable...

Previously, he had liked Sophie with the intention of pursuing a real relationship. Now that he knew her true nature, that idea was gone. Plus, since her husband wasn’t some powerful bigwig, messing around with Sophie wouldn’t be a big deal.

Regardless of who her husband was, he could handle it anyway. Furthermore, he could help Stella secure her relationship by preventing Sophie from pestering her boyfriend. Since Sophie’s moral bottom line was so low, it would naturally be easy for him to sway her.

Finn didn’t catch Lucas’s underlying meaning and chuckled. "I don’t know about anything else, but her marriage is a failure, and her husband couldn’t care less whether she lives or dies."

Only then did Lucas fall deep into thought.

***

The smart healthcare summit came to an end.

Sophie prepared to return to the lab to oversee the progress. Just as she got into her car, she saw the first message pop up from Lucas Langley, whom she had previously added on WhatsApp.

Lucas: [Are you free tonight?]