Mr. Chairman’s Devious Wife

“You” Sofia’s hand trembled the moment she saw Lawrence calmly sitting down on the chair next to the bed, a gun in his hand.

Sofia’s heart lurched into her throat, squeezing with icy terror that instantly eclipsed the exhaustion that had moments ago been her only concern. Lawrence. How? It was impossible.

He was supposed to be rotting away in some godforsaken prison cell, a consequence of the years of torment he’d inflicted upon her. Yet, here he sat, casually perched beside the bed, a glint of manic amusement dancing in his eyes as he regarded her with the same chilling smile that he used to fool her mother and her!

“Hello… Sofia,” Lawrence spoke.

“How?” Sofia asked, her voice trembling. How was he able to get out of prison?

The question tumbled out of Sofia, laced with a tremor that betrayed the storm raging within her. But even as she demanded answers, a horrifying realization dawned. It didn’t matter how he escaped. He was here. In her sanctuary. A predator in her den. Panic threatened to consume her.

Lawrence, however, seemed to relish in her reaction. He uncrossed his legs, the casual movement sending a fresh wave of nausea through Sofia.

“Let’s just say,” he drawled, his voice dripping with sickening amusement, “prison wasn’t exactly living up to its name. But hey,” he shrugged, his gaze flickering around the room, taking in the subtle signs of Alexander’s presence, “looks like I found myself some rather… comfortable accommodations.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked. This man must have escaped prison just now or a couple of hours ago. Meaning, he should have had the time to run away from Illinois, but he didn’t. Sofia thought

about her dead phone. Again, she had forgotten to charge it earlier.

Perhaps someone tried to call her, informing her of Lawrence’s escape, but she wasn’t able to receive it as her phone died.

A cruel amusement glinted in Lawrence’s eyes. “Is that really a question that you should be asking right now, princess?” he drawled, his voice dripping with condescension. He gestured lazily with the gun in his hand, the casualness of the movement making Sofia’s stomach clench.

“Sit down, Sofia,” he commanded, the amusement fading into a steely glint. “We have a lot to catch up on.”

The order scraped against her raw nerves. “Go on…” Lawrence smiled. “Do not make me say it again.”

Sofia swallowed.

“Uh-uh… get your things out of your pocket and throw them on the bed,” he added.

This time, Sofia complied. She took her keys and phone out and then threw them on the bed.

“Now sit…” Lawrence gestured towards the bed. “Hands on your head.”

“Really?” Sofia asked. “Do you really think I am a threat?” Disbelief flashed in her eyes. When she was younger, she always wanted to learn martial arts and well, she tried to. But Lawrence insisted that she

follow her passion. The next month after that, she quit and started going to art school.

Lawrence only smirked in response. “I never saw you as one…” he said. “But look at me

now?”

She frowned but slowly complied. In the end, Lawrence was in prison because he

underestimated her.

A tense silence filled the room, broken only by Sofia’s breaths. Lawrence watched her with amusement, the gun still a constant, chilling reminder of his power. Defiance simmered within her, but it was tempered by a cold dose of reality. This wasn’t the time

for heroics.

Taking a deep breath, Sofia forced her voice to remain steady. “Alright, Lawrence,” she began, each word measured. “Let’s talk.” Her eyes flickered towards the discarded phone on the bed. “What do you want?” she asked. “You could have used the time that you stayed here to run away from this place.”

Was that a brilliant thing to do?

By all means, Sofia found it a bit stupid. If he wanted revenge, he could have run away first and then come back when he was ready for his

revenge.

“Where is Eunice?” he asked.

Almost immediately, her face turned ugly. “In a safe place.”

“Hmmmm….” Lawrence pursed his lips. “It seems that you still do not understand the question.” Out of nowhere, he pulled out what looked like another black metal. It took Sofia a few seconds to realize that it was a silencer for the gun.

The metallic click of the silencer attached to the gun echoed in the tense silence, shattering Sofia’s fragile hope.

Panic clawed at her, but she forced it down, shoving it deep where it wouldn’t cloud her judgment.

“Eunice,” Lawrence repeated, his voice a low growl. “Tell me where she is, Sofia. Now.” Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

The glint in his eyes wasn’t amusement anymore. It was a cold, predatory hunger, and Sofia knew exactly what it meant. He wasn’t here for some twisted reunion, for some pathetic attempt to recapture a past that never truly existed. He was here to finish what he started.

“She’s safe,” Sofia answered as her gaze darted around the room, searching for an escape, a weapon, anything. But there was nothing.

For a few seconds, she wished Alexander would come barging into the door with the authorities, but she knew it would be impossible. The man was not even in the US!

“So, she is indeed alive,” Lawrence smiled. “But we both know that is useless, yeah?”

“You-”

“The poison should have been enough to ruin her insides. She would stay in that state forever until she breathes her last.”

“You are- evil.”

Lawrence beamed as he leaned back without saying anything. However, Sofia did not miss the amusement in the man’s eyes.

“Why?” she spat, her voice ragged but laced with steely resolve. “Why did you want her dead?”

“Curious, aren’t you?” he drawled, his voice devoid of emotion. He tapped the silenced gun against his knee, the rhythmic click a constant reminder of her precarious situation. “Let’s just say, your dear old mother knew a little too much about some… unpleasant things.”

“What?”

“I wasn’t originally planning to end her just like that… after all, we were in love. I did love your mother if you were curious.” Lawrence answered, the smile on his face did not vanish.

“She…. Did she discover the smuggling?” she asked. Right now, this was the only thing that Sofia could think of. Lawrence was meticulous. He slowly poisoned her and her mother. He had been patiently waiting for years.

Why would he do something drastic? Why would he suddenly tell Dr. Mulach to increase the dosage?

Sofia was talking about the conversation that she managed to hear between Mr. Oh and Lawrence when she just discovered that Daniel was cheating on her. At that time,

Lawrence must have already known that Eunice would not wake up again. What was the point of trying to end her life?

“Hmmmm….”

A flicker of genuine emotion, something akin to sadness, flickered across Lawrence’s face before he quickly masked it

with his usual amusement. “Love?” Sofia scoffed, the word a bitter taste in her mouth. “You poisoned her! How can you call that love?”

Lawrence chuckled, a hollow, humorless sound. “Love can be a complicated thing, Sofia. Especially when it’s tangled with hate and a thirst for revenge.” He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “I mean… how can I not love my little sister?”

“What?” It was as if the world narrowed down on her. “What did you just say?” she asked. Did he just call Eunice, his sister? Wait…

Wait what?

“You heard me,” Lawrence shrugged. “Oh my… I have always dreamed of this day. Watching your face when you hear the truth about everything.”

“What?”

“Since you seemed a bit confused then let me just let it out.” He leaned a bit closer and smiled. “Your grandfather took advantage of my mother. Despite this, my father still treated me like his real son. Sadly, when your grandfather discovered my existence, he tried to kick my father out of the company and us out of the States.”

Sofia’s face turned ugly. “Stop talking nonsense.”

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“I mean… how much do you even know about your grandfather and grandmother? Tell me… how much do you know outside of your comfortable bubble?” Lawrence asked.

His words struck her like a dull knife. How much does she know about her family- the- Lockhart Family?

She grew up close to Lawrence and Eunice and not to her grandmother. She doesn’t interact with most of the Lockhart Family either. Everything that she knew about them was stories from the news, her mother, or her grandmother. Aside from that, she doesn’t know a lot.

his son-

dead! He wanted me

“Your grandfather raped my mother and wanted me- to die to cover up his mistakes!” Lawrence cackled. “But guess what? He ended up dying instead.”

“You-”

“Not only that…” Lawrence’s eyes were wide. “The woman who covered his mistakes… ended up dead too!”

“Did you- “Sofia’s lips trembled. “Did you want to kill my mom because she discovered that you were… siblings?”