The leader walked up to Sophie and greeted her somewhat politely, “Are you Ms. Sophie Tanner?”
Sophie bobbed her head in response. Did they come for me?
The group of men instantly became the center of attention of the people in the school.
The leader said, “Ms. Tanner, we received a tip informing us Tanner Group was involved in illegal activities. It's inconvenient for us to spell out the details publicly, so we need you to come to the police station with us to get a better picture of the matter!”
Panicked, Simon walked over when he noticed the people were about to take Sophie away. “Who are you? How dare you take Sophie away? You're at the University of Medicine now. How could you—”
“We're on duty now, sir, so please do not get in our way. If you continue to make a scene here, we'll have no choice but to take you back with us,” the leader threatened.
“Fine! I'll go with you! You think I'm afraid of you? We didn't do anything that went against the law. Who gave you permission to arrest us?”
Meanwhile, Greta was among the crowd of curious onlookers.
A corner of her lips quirked up when she saw a group of men in uniform come to look for Sophie. Is bad luck going to befall Sophie soon? How exciting. She has always acted all high and mighty. I wonder how she's feeling now that this group of men is here to arrest her.
Sophie glared at all the uniformed men with a deadpan expression. “You're saying Tanner Group has done something against the law?”
Others girls would have trembled in fear had they been confronted by a group of men, but not Sophie. She continued enjoying her breakfast as if she was unbothered by their threat.
“That's right, Ms. Tanner. Please come with us.” The leader knitted his brows. Did she just disregard me?
“Okay. I'll go with you once I finish my breakfast,” she said. It would be a waste if I don't finish the breakfast that I was served.
Sandra became all the more confused. “Sophie, what's going on? What do they want from you? Should I call Mr. Tristan?”
Sandra, who had never seen anything like this before, was so stunned that she did not know what to do, but she knew Tristan would have ways to get Sophie out of the sticky situation. Mr. Tristan is an influential figure in Jipsdale. I'm sure he can solve the problem in no time by speaking to the people involved.
“I don't want to trouble him. It's all right, I'll follow them. Since Tanner Group has never done anything against the law, I'll not be intimidated by their investigations,” Sophie replied.
Despite saying that out loud, Sophie had somehow identified the culprit behind all this.
The first suspect that popped into her mind was James. That man is the root of all problems. Issues like this wouldn't have popped up had I gotten rid of him earlier. Anyway, it's too late for me to say or do anything now. I have to figure out a solution to tackle this matter before thinking of ways to deal with him.
Like Sandra, Simon was also on pins and needles. “Sophie, since we're in the university now, I'll talk to the chancellor. Your reputation will be ruined if they take you away like that.”
Sophie was a popular figure at the University of Medicine. People would definitely spread all kinds of rumors about her if she were taken away!
“Guys, I'm serious! Just go and do your work or attend classes as usual. Don't worry about it,” Sophie uttered. Why can't I follow them? It's not like they're taking me to a dangerous place.
Sandra was on the verge of crying upon noticing Sophie's attitude. “Please let me call Mr. Tristan. But I don't have his number. Give me his number, and I'll call him right now!”
Upon noticing how they paid no attention to him and his men, the leader expressed his disdain. “Ms. Tanner, please come with us right now!”
“Why are you in a hurry? Can't you wait for me to finish my breakfast first?” Sophie glared at the man, who could feel the intimidating look in her eyes.
Surprised by the threatening aura in such a young girl's eyes, he froze for a moment as he did not know how to react to Sophie's words.
After taking her own sweet time to finish her breakfast, Sophie drew a piece of tissue and wiped her mouth.
She then stood up and said, “Let's go! You're tired of waiting, aren't you? Tanner Group will do our best to cooperate with you in your investigation, so don't worry.”
“What's going on? Did they really come to arrest Sophie? What did she do? How come I haven't heard anything about her before this? All this while, she has always acted as if she was superior to anyone else. I can't believe she still put up an arrogant front before us,” Greta sneered.
“This time, I'm afraid she has run out of luck.” She then grinned and snorted. “See? That is why we should always stay humble because we never know what the future holds. Am I right?”
“D*mn you, Greta! Are you done? Who do you think you are? How dare you badmouth Sophie?” The nonsense Greta spouted caused the panicked Simon to explode in rage.
Greta's lips twitched. What? Did I not say the truth?
“I know I used to have a crush on you, and that was why I allowed you to control me. But I don't like you anymore, Simon. You can't stop me from saying what I have in mind,” Greta said with her head held high. I'm Charles' girlfriend now, mind you. Everyone in Jipsdale knows how influential Charles is. Does Simon think my life still revolves around him? What a joke!
Upon noticing how Simon flew off the handle, Sandra stepped in and got hold of him. “Calm down, Simon. Now is not the right time to argue with her. We have to contact Mr. Tristan. I'm sure he can help!”
Upon hearing that, Simon regained his composure. “What's with the smug look on your face, Greta? You should know what kind of person Charles is. He'll ditch you once he's done toying with you. Just you wait!”
He then left with Sandra.
After stepping out of the cafeteria, they wanted to call Tristan but soon realized they did not have his number.
“What are we gonna do now? I've known Sophie long enough to know she won't tell Mr. Tristan about this,” Sandra said. Those men wouldn't hurt her, right? Oh God, she must be terrified!
They did not know what else to do.
Simon suggested, “I'll go to Lombard Group to look for Mr. Tristan, and I need you to look for Sophie's parents. If you can't find them, look for Ysabelle!”
“You're right! I have Ysabelle's number!” Sandra immediately called Ysabelle but to no avail.
“Ysabelle didn't pick up my call. What can we do now? What else can we do?” Sandra was worried. She liked Sophie very much and did not want anything awful to happen to her.
“I'll make a trip to Lombard Group now. You keep calling Ysabelle. Let's keep each other updated from time to time!”
Simon then drove straight to Lombard Group. When he arrived, a group of security guards stopped him. There was no way he could enter the building.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Anything For Her novel (Sophie and Tristan)