“Eric, don’t listen to her! It’s all a misunderstanding!”
“We’ve always been best friends. How could I hurt her?”
“You know very well whether it’s true.”
I put away my phone and looked at them calmly.
“Tonight’s dinner: 1.28 million. Not a cent less.”
“You don’t have to pay.”
“But my lawyer will send you a letter—and while we’re at it, I’ll compile all your ‘glorious deeds’ into a collection.”
“Then I’ll send it to your million followers so they can see exactly what kind of person their idol really is.”
Rachel completely panicked.
What she cared most about was the carefully crafted image of being “graceful and talented.”
If this dirt got out, she’d be finished.
“No!” she screamed, tears falling instantly.
“Sophia, I was wrong! I really was wrong!”
“Please forgive me just this once!”
She turned to Eric, crying piteously.
“Eric, please beg Sophia for me!”
“With our years of friendship, she won’t do this to me!”
Eric was clearly shaken by what I’d said.
He looked from me to Rachel, his face torn.
“Sophia, could this all be a misunderstanding?”
“Rachel’s not that kind of person.”
I looked at him, chilled to the bone.
Even now, he was defending her.
“I’ll give her ten minutes.”