Sophie seemed to have started arguing with Jessica, and in the end, Jessica just hung up the phone.

At that moment, the entire study became quiet, and they could even hear Linda downstairs talking with a few other ladies.

Only then did Chris push the door open and see Jessica supporting her forehead, sitting in the chair, looking very tired.

“It’s all my fault for spoiling her,” said Jessica. “My mom had already said that Sophie should go out and learn something on her own. Even if she didn’t manage the family business, she couldn’t just loaf around outside all the time. But I didn’t listen, and now I really regret it.”

Chris walked over to Jessica’s side and gently placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

“There’s no helping it. You only have one sister, and she grew up like this. Besides, the Wilder Group has you, and Mom wouldn’t want Sophie to work so hard anyway.”

Indeed, managing the Wilder Group was an exhausting task.

Jessica barely had any days off. While ordinary workers could rest on weekends, she still had to work overtime at the company.

In all the years Chris had been with her, he had never seen Jessica take a full holiday.

Because of this, Chris felt even more sympathy and care for her.

“Is she really not coming back?” asked Chris.

Jessica nodded. “She said she’s in another city, but she wouldn’t tell me where. It’s fine, as long as she’s not with Michael.”

Actually, Jessica’s biggest worry was that Michael would make a move on Sophie.

She had noticed before that Sophie’s attitude toward Michael was strange, and now that she had been sent away, she still had to worry.

“A few senior folks have arrived downstairs; they said they’re Mom’s friends who have worked together before. Do you want to go see them?”

Jessica shook her head. “They’re all elders. It’s inappropriate for me to be down there. Forget it. Stay here with me for a while.”

The two of them simply sat down in the study.

As soon as Chris sat down, Jessica’s head leaned against him.

Chris hugged her and said, “Sophie is still young and studying abroad. She will grow up eventually. Besides, as long as Michael doesn’t get close to Sophie, it’s fine.”

“No,” Jessica said. “I found out that the streaming platform Sophie’s been using recently… it was Indya who recently seems to be connected to Michael. I hadn’t noticed before.”

“Before the New Year, you sent Calum abroad to look into this, right?”

“Sort of. It was also a good chance for Calum to check on Sophie.”

The two stayed in the study for a long time until Albert knocked and said that the ladies had all left and they should come downstairs.

In the living room, Linda looked like she was in a good mood.

On the nearby table were some gifts that had just been delivered.

The other gifts were immediately taken away by Albert, who casually handed them off to someone else.

But the gifts from these few people seemed to be kept aside.

“I just called Sophie,” Jessica said in a not-so-good tone, sitting next to Linda and watching the utterly uninteresting TV program. “She said she’s spending the New Year with friends. I’m worried that Michael has started making moves on Sophie.”

Linda didn’t look away from the TV. She was actually not paying attention to what was on the screen.

But whenever the topic turned to the Hall family, Linda always acted like she didn’t care, but in truth, she wanted to get revenge on the Hall family for her husband’s death.