When They Beg I Rise (Lemira) novel Chapter 1037

Sophia looked completely disheveled, her face stained with streaks of mascara and tears.

Lemira wasn't surprised by the pathetic display. The Sinclair women had pulled this exact stunt with her before, begging for mercy. But the moment Sophia secured Gregory Jones's backing, she had ruthlessly turned on her, spitting on her parents' memories.

Lemira walked over and looked down at her. "You really have no shame, do you? If you put this much relentless effort into actually building a career, you'd be wildly successful by now."

But the Sinclairs preferred plotting and manipulation over actual hard work.

Sophia snapped her head up, her eyes venomous. "Lemira, I truly underestimated you."

She had thought she held all the cards and could effortlessly destroy the witnesses and the evidence. Instead, her plans had blown up in her face. And to make matters worse, Lemira had somehow convinced that bastard Gregory Jones to abandon her.

Sophia was entirely backed into a corner. After her scandalous hotel entrapment made headlines, she was ruined. What elite family would ever accept a scandalous socialite as a daughter-in-law?

Out of desperation, she had come to beg Mrs. Amanda, hoping to exploit the older woman's soft heart.

"No, I'm the one who underestimated you," Lemira replied coldly. "The Sinclair family was a sinking ship, yet you almost managed to pull off your scheme."

If Sophia had successfully stolen the flash drive and driven Evelina's father to suicide, Lemira really wouldn't have been able to touch Amelia. The case was simply too old.

Sophia let out a bitter, mocking laugh. "Cut the act, Lemira. You must be thrilled right now."

"I am," Lemira agreed with a nod. "Watching you face the consequences of your own actions is incredibly satisfying."

Furious, Sophia scrambled to her feet and pointed a trembling finger at Lemira's face. "You think you're so pure and righteous?"

Lemira slapped her hand away. "There's one thing I don't get. You knew your mother committed a crime. You could have let her turn herself in and take the punishment, and you could have focused on living your own life. Why did you listen to her and sell yourself to Gregory Jones?"

"Who are you to judge me from your moral high ground?" Sophia screamed. "You did everything to avenge your parents! Why can't I do whatever it takes to save my mother?"

"Since you made your choice, there's nothing more I can do for you."

"Because there's no satisfying the greed of the Sinclair family," Lemira interrupted. "Hasn't Mrs. Amanda suffered enough because of your manipulations?"

The sheer audacity of Sophia coming here to beg, acting as if she were entitled to salvation, was repulsive.

"What gives you the right to call her Mrs. Amanda?" Sophia spat. "You just want to marry Orion! But he belongs to me! You stole him!"

Sophia hated Lemira with every fiber of her being. This bitch had stolen Orion and destroyed the perfect life that was rightfully hers.

"Sophia," Mrs. Amanda said firmly. "Orion was never yours. Even when I tried to push the two of you together, he never had any feelings for you."