Their Mistake, Her Rise - Chapter 354: Chapter 354

Sophia's face darkened instantly. "Zoe, how dare you call me stupid?"
"At least you're not hopeless if you can understand me," Zoe sneered. "But you'd better stay away from those so-called clever friends of yours, unless you want to be used as a pawn again."
Sophia was boiling with rage. "I'm the real mastermind here. Eunice was just my pawn," she screamed internally. But trapped in this situation, she couldn't utter a single word in her own defense.
Zoe acted deliberately. Since she couldn't expose Sophia's crimes just yet, she chose to publicly humiliate Sophia. It would serve as a clear warning.
Sophia noticed the whispers around her. Though she couldn't make out the words, she was certain they were mocking her for being manipulated by a prisoner.
Humiliated yet unable to defend herself without exposing the truth, she shoved Zoe in frustration. "Who the hell do you think you are? How dare you question my intelligence?"
Zoe sneered, "What? Are you too cowardly to admit your own stupidity? Fine, I'll show everyone here just how foolish you really are."
Sophia's anger turned to panic as she realized Zoe had come well-prepared.
Zoe pulled out her trump card, a damning recording of Eunice calling Sophia to discuss their scheme. But she deliberately stopped the playback mid-way, leaving Sophia on edge.
Sophia, panicked at the thought of Zoe playing the whole recording, lunged at her to snatch it. "Where did you get this?"
"Credit to Eunice," Zoe replied. "She recorded the call herself."
Sophia's eyes flashed with panic. "If Eunice recorded this, then she must have recorded all our previous conversations too," she thought.
Zoe sneered, "Eunice is dumb enough, but you? You've actually managed to outdo her. Seriously, didn't you know she's into Shawn too?"
Sophia stared at Zoe in shock, thinking, "I really didn't know about this. Was I actually played by that scheming bitch Eunice?"
The realization made her blood boil. She couldn't sit still any longer. She had to find Eunice and settle scores right now. "If that bitch dared to deceive me, she'd better be ready for hell to pay," Sophia thought.
Seeing Sophia trying to escape, Zoe stepped forward swiftly, blocking her path. "Who said you could leave?"
"What do you want now?" Sophia snarled, her voice trembling with anger.
"Apologize," Zoe commanded icily.
Sophia snapped, "I didn't do anything wrong. Why should I apologize?"
"You teamed up with Eunice to frame me. Don't you owe me an apology?" Zoe shot back.
People around Sophia started whispering and pointing. "Sophia is way too naive. She trusted an outsider and framed Zoe. Maybe Zoe didn't hack the computer. It was probably someone Sophia brought in."
Sophia felt totally humiliated. With all these officials watching, she'd be ruined if this got out. Desperate to save face, she screamed, "This isn't my fault. It's all Eunice. If you want an apology, go find her."
Zoe smirked coldly.
Banking on her privileged status, Sophia was about to shift all the blame onto Eunice.
The crisp sound of a slap cut through the air, leaving everyone stunned, including Sophia herself. Clutching her reddening cheek in utter disbelief, she stared and exclaimed, "How dare you hit me?"
"This slap is payback for nearly getting me killed," Zoe said coldly. At first, her action drew disapproving murmurs. Some thought she was being vindictive. But with those words, the crowd fell silent.
It suddenly dawned on them. Sophia had falsely accused Zoe of treason, a capital offense. For such a grave crime, a mere slap from Zoe was far, far too lenient.