Chapter 189

“It looks like I wasn’t wrong after all. You’re trying to smear me, Sophia. You’re trying to destroy me before the show ends. Why, Odalys? What do you stand to gain from ruining me?” Sophia’s chest heaved with ragged breaths. Her eyes were red, and she kept wiping away the tears streaming down her cheeks.

“It’s her! I knew someone had been targeting me!” Freya’s voice rang out in disbelief, her face paling before quickly turning furious. With an angry stride, she rushed forward and slapped Sophia across the face.

The sharp sound echoed in the air, and the force of the blow sent Sophia stumbling backward, falling to the ground. Her beautiful new dress was instantly soiled with mud. Sophia, still in shock, scrambled to her feet, her fury boiling over. She wanted to charge at Freya, but before she could, Odalys was there in a flash. Grabbing Sophia by the arm, she yanked her up, only to throw her back down with a swift motion. Sophia couldn’t regain her balance and fell hard, screaming in agony.

Atlas, his heart clenched with concern, rushed forward, immediately shielding Sophia and helping her up. His teeth gritted as he barked, “Odalys, are you crazy? What the hell is wrong with you? Are you violent, or are you suffering from some sort of manic episode? What did we ever do to deserve this?”

Odalys stood still, a bitter smile spreading across her face as she looked at them with contempt. “Fine, enough with the drama,” she said coolly, her voice almost mocking. “Let me show you the evidence.”

As she spoke, Sophia’s stomach sank. The group stared in disbelief as Odalys pulled out an iPad and flipped the screen toward them, casually saying, “Could the camera please zoom in?”

Sophia’s heart sank. She immediately shouted, “No, no! Don’t do it!” Sophia knew Odalys too well. She would never make empty threats, and this behavior meant she had evidence. But despite wracking her brain, she couldn’t figure out how.

Before she could react, Francis and Stellan exchanged a quick glance. They rushed toward her, shoving Atlas aside and grabbing Sophia by the shoulders, pinning her in place. She was trapped.

Odalys’s voice was calm, but there was an edge to it. “The night I saw Rafael sneaking around with her underwear, I was afraid he might do something worse…” She paused, as if savoring the moment. “We had no internet connection here, no phones or iPads to communicate with the outside world. So, I placed my iPad near the old man’s house, under some makeshift rain cover. I also placed my phone by the front door, and—well, guess what? I caught something.”

Sophia’s pulse quickened as Odalys spoke with effortless confidence. The more nonchalant Odalys seemed, the more frantic Sophia became. She stared, frozen, as Odalys clicked on the video. The video showed Sophia, after everyone had left, standing in the yard, glancing nervously toward the neighboring house. As Atlas approached, she pretended to have stomach cramps and sent him to ask the crew for medicine. Without suspicion, Atlas left. With no one around, no cameras in sight, Sophia then crossed to Rafael’s house. The moment he saw her, she rushed forward, and before she could react, he pulled her inside. Katarina was sipping cereal, but his face lit up the moment he saw Sophia, leaning down to kiss her.

“Wait,” Sophia gasped, pushing him back. Pulling back, she put on a slightly disgusted expression but lowered her voice. “You know, there’s a woman in our group who seems like a rich girl. Her family’s well-connected, and she’s loaded. Ever thought about tying her down? Maybe get her pregnant and keep her here, in the village?”

Sophia’s words hung in the air like poison. Rafael’s eyes gleamed. “She’d actually stay!”

Rafael wasn’t convinced. Looking at the women in the group, it was clear to him they were all out of his league. He was painfully aware of his own limitations, his low-life past, barely getting by with whatever work he could find until he landed in the village.

Sophia continued with a smirk, “All you have to do is get her to sleep with you, record a video, and I’ll hold onto that. Once her family sees it, her reputation will be ruined. She’ll have nowhere else to go but here. You won’t just get a wife, you’ll get ten, maybe even twenty kids!”

The idea made Rafael hesitate for a moment, then he shoved her away. Despite Sophia’s allure, Freya was the one who truly caught his attention. Her smile, the way her eyes sparkled with energy—it made his heart race, something he never thought would happen. “But how would I get close to her? She never leaves Odalys’s side. That Odalys woman is always with her,” Rafael muttered, still shaken by the brutal slap.

Sophia’s eyes glinted with something dangerous. “She might not leave her friend, but she still goes back to her room alone. You just need to hide there. She’s got this thing about cleanliness, so when she comes back, she’ll want to change. That’s when you make your move.”

Sophia pulled out her phone, holding it up in front of him. “Take this. Go to her room, set the phone up in the corner, and just let it record.” Rafael eyed the phone, quickly draining his cereal and wiping his mouth. “You’d better not be lying to me,” he grumbled, snatching the phone from her hand and storming out of the room.

Once outside, he saw that the coast was clear. His mind raced as he imagined Freya’s image. He felt like he was floating, rushing to Group B’s house. After checking for any signs of life, he snuck into Freya’s room.

The moment the video played, the room exploded in shock. Everyone’s minds went blank. Even Atlas, who had been in denial, stood frozen. “How could this be?” Atlas whispered, his voice shaky. “Sophia wouldn’t do this. This video must be fake.”

But there was no mistaking it. The video was raw, unedited, and real. Sophia’s face turned pale. “What is this? Odalys, you’re using fake videos to trap me?” She tried to charge at her, but Stellan and Francis quickly grabbed her, holding her back.

The shock was too much for everyone. They had been so confused about Rafael’s strange behavior last night, wondering why the situation had suddenly quieted down. They had all assumed the matter was over. But what they didn’t realize was that Odalys had been quietly waiting for the perfect moment to expose Sophia.

“Fake video, huh?” Odalys suddenly pulled out another phone. “Then explain this.” She held the phone high, so everyone could clearly see the screen.