Ex-Lover as My Divorce Lawyer? This Train Wreck Just Got Scorching! - Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Sophia's bag dropped to the floor with a loud thud.
"What did you say?"
"Stay calm. I've already notified Ethan—he's on his way to pick you up."
Sophia took several seconds to process before coming to her senses. She quickly retrieved her bag and entered the elevator.
"Got it. Thanks for telling me."
She hung up and immediately called Ethan.
She hadn't saved his number, entering it from memory based on her visit to his office.
But her hands shook so badly she couldn't complete the twelve-digit number.
Seconds later, the number she had just started dialing appeared on her incoming call screen.
"It's me. I'm waiting outside your building."
His steady, powerful voice acted like a sedative, making Sophia's heart beat less frantically.
"I'm coming down right away."
Hanging up, Sophia rushed out of the elevator and spotted Ethan's car at the curb.
Once inside, Sophia didn't bother greeting Ethan, immediately searching online for more information about the incident.
"Hasn't the school called you yet?"
Ethan floored the accelerator while checking on Sophia's situation.
Sophia's voice trembled with anxiety: "Why would they call me about something like this?"
At that moment, a live feed of the incident appeared on Sophia's phone.
Someone living nearby had captured the scene.
From a high-rise perspective, on the tree-lined path near the school gate, a woman was holding a child hostage. She waved a sharp knife, preventing anyone trying to help from approaching.
At her feet lay two children in school uniforms.
Sophia covered her mouth tightly, not daring to check if Mia was among them.
The incident updates continued, with photos and videos constantly refreshing.
Before they reached the school, Sophia anxiously scrolled through images and videos, hoping for good news, hoping all the children were safe, hoping her Mia was unharmed.
But the next photo that appeared on her screen struck her like lightning: "How could it be..."
"What's wrong?" Ethan was equally tense.
Sophia's eyes widened enormously, her entire body trembling uncontrollably: "The person holding the children hostage is Victoria."
Why was she there? Who was she looking for?
Her appearance at Mia's school—was it truly coincidence?
In the photo, Victoria's hair was disheveled, her clothes filthy, looking completely deranged.
"Didn't you say her family issues wouldn't affect her? Why is she..."
She had thought that even with her family's problems, Victoria's material life wouldn't be impacted. Victoria could still be a socialite.
Liam had mentioned Victoria's disappearance.
She had even assumed Victoria was hiding somewhere to recover, but now it seemed Victoria had been plotting revenge against society.
"She couldn't accept her family's downfall. Even before her family's troubles, she had been seeing a therapist for a long time."
Sophia looked at him with disbelief, tears spontaneously falling as she imagined her daughter's possible situation.
"So if she's really hurt someone, she might face no punishment in the end?"
"I don't know. Let's get there first."
Half an hour later, the car stopped in a jammed area. Sophia jumped out and sprinted toward the school, only to be stopped at the police line.
School security had already blocked bystanders and other students.
Sophia stood at the cordon, watching Victoria's twisted face, her mind going blank.
Suddenly, she glimpsed the backpack charm of a little girl lying on the ground.
The school had standardized uniforms and backpacks, but the charm on Mia's backpack had been personally attached by Sophia.
She immediately felt her legs give way, stumbling backward.
Ethan caught her as she desperately cried: "That's Mia's backpack."
She didn't even dare cry out, fearing it would provoke Victoria to harm other children.
But her daughter was lying there on the ground, with no one able to help her.
From this distance, Sophia couldn't tell if the child was injured.
Just as she didn't know what to do, Ethan's hand on her shoulder suddenly tightened.
An even more desperate voice sounded in her ear.
"The child on the ground isn't Mia. Mia is in her hands."
Sophia finally looked toward the little girl in Victoria's grasp.
This look completely drained all strength from her body.
Mia was held hostage by Victoria, with blood on her face and arms.
She wasn't crying or making a fuss, just tightly gripped by Victoria.
What devastated Sophia even more was seeing explosives strapped to Victoria's body.
Sophia collapsed on the ground, her brain feeling hammered, ears ringing with repeated alarms.
She felt as if she were in a vacuum, with all surrounding sounds fading.
She crawled up from the ground and staggered toward Victoria.
Security guards tried to stop her, but she pushed them all aside.
She didn't know how she reached Victoria, but when she came to her senses, she was looking into Mia's eyes.
"You finally came."
Victoria looked at her, eyes full of vicious satisfaction.
"You hate me, why target children?" Sophia's heart felt like it was being sliced open.
Victoria laughed maniacally for a long time before pointing her knife at the children on the ground.
"Which one here is your daughter? Her?" The knife quickly turned toward Mia. "Or her!"
The blade nearly pierced Mia's eye, making Sophia's tears fall uncontrollably.
Mia suddenly shouted: "She's not my mommy!"
Mia's courage awakened Sophia. She struggled to compose herself, negotiating with Victoria.
"Hurting children never satisfies like hurting me directly. Release her, and take me as your hostage instead."
"Are you stupid or do you think I am? If I let her go and you're rescued, I get nothing."
Sophia used this time to quickly check the two children on the ground. The little boy had an abrasion on his forehead from falling, while the other little girl...
After turning the girl over, Sophia froze in shock. The little girl with Mia's backpack charm was Jamie, whose clothes were already stained red with blood.