Chapter 271: Chapter 271: Retribution
The project launch ceremony soon began.
Joanna Sherman gracefully took the stage. Though she saw Sophia Shaw in the back row, she wasn’t flustered in the least.
Instead, she lifted her chin even higher.
She knew that without evidence, Sophia Shaw wouldn’t dare to make a move against her.
If Sophia really did something, she’d be the only one to face public condemnation!
Joanna Sherman even mouthed a question to Sophia Shaw: "Do you dare?"
Do you dare?
Dare to throw your reputation away.
Dare to disregard the future of Lead Aerospace.
Dare to drag down so many of your followers with you?
Do you dare?
Sophia Shaw pressed her lips together, her expression gentle and serene.
She calmly accepted the provocation.
The reporters, who had arrived early, constantly aimed their lenses at Joanna Sherman, snapping picture after picture.
Today, Joanna Sherman was the star of the show, the brightest one in the sky!
She spoke with confidence and flair, her speech full of remarkable concepts, grand objectives, and an absolute determination to succeed!
"As everyone can attest, this project is poised to become a major breakthrough in the rocket industry. Rocket carrier technology will enter a new era. As for launch costs... feel free to imagine the possibilities, but we’re projecting a reduction of at least one hundred million!"
Below the stage, applause thundered.
Onstage, Joanna Sherman applauded, silhouetted against a backdrop of a luminous rocket piercing the silent expanse of space.
She was the master of it all!
The feeling was absolutely wonderful!
Many in the audience were asking, "Can this really be done? If they pull it off, that’ll be incredible."
"Looks like Joanna Sherman is about to stage a major comeback in the rocket recovery game."
"This is more than just a comeback. It’s a major breakthrough on par with Lead Aerospace’s satellite rideshare program!"
"If Joanna Sherman actually pulls this off, she’ll be on equal footing with Sophia Shaw."
"..."
Even Chad Jennings, who hadn’t appeared in public for ages, was there. Seeing such a strong reaction from the crowd, he was grinning from ear to ear.
’The Jennings family’s hard times are finally over!’
’The money I have tied up in the Grant Group’s stock can finally turn a profit.’
CLICK!
Just as Chad Jennings was lost in his pleasant daydream, the reporters, who had been snapping photos furiously, suddenly stopped and stared at their phones in astonishment.
A moment later, their gazes shifted to Joanna Sherman on the stage.
Their jaws dropped, and the awe that had filled their eyes was replaced by a completely different emotion.
Jenson Forrest and Vincent Grant, seated in the audience along with the board members who had come to show their support, also sensed that something was wrong.
Jenson Forrest saw a reporter beside him looking at his phone. He leaned over for a glance, and his lips pressed into a thin line.
"So, it’s a useless project after all!" The board member next to him shot to his feet, his face thunderous, and stormed away from his seat.
Another board member let out a cold laugh. "Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. If you wanted to be a comedian, you should’ve tried stand-up. Why come here to make a fool of yourself!"
He too got up and left.
The few who remained clutched their phones, their expressions frozen stiff.
Vincent Grant had also seen the news alert on his phone. His gaze turned profound as he looked in Sophia Shaw’s direction.
"Dad?"
Cedric Grant, sitting beside his father, had also seen the news. Almost instinctively, they both turned to look at Sophia Shaw.
"Mom... is she... is she really that incredible?"
Vincent Grant didn’t answer. He handed his phone to Joel Hale.
Joel Hale’s face went rigid. He clutched the phone and hurried onto the stage.
Joanna Sherman had just set off a confetti cannon.
POP!
It exploded in a shower of brilliant confetti, covering Joel Hale from head to toe.
But it only made the scene look more like a farce.
"Ms. Sherman, you... you should see this."
Joel Hale held out the phone with great difficulty.
Joanna Sherman lowered her gaze to the screen, where a massive, bold headline dominated the news feed: Lead Aerospace Announces New Research Breakthrough from Six Months Ago, Boosting Rocket Recovery Rate to Sixty Percent!
Joel Hale couldn’t even bear to look at the backdrop behind them.
The huge "50%" displayed on the screen behind her now seemed like a giant, gaping mouth, mocking Joanna Sherman’s ignorance!
The reporters below erupted into a frenzy.
"Lead Aerospace hit a sixty-percent recovery rate six months ago. What’s the point of the Grant Group even doing this project? Got too much money to burn?"
"They’re at sixty percent and she’s at fifty? What a joke. And she had the nerve to hype it up like this!"
"Didn’t she call it a ’major breakthrough’? Where is it? A recovery rate that’s ten percent *worse* than Lead Aerospace? Is that supposed to be impressive?"
"Lead Aerospace finished their project six months ago and didn’t say a word. Zenith hasn’t even started and they’re hyping it to the moon. It’s obvious who’s doing the actual work and who’s just trying to grab headlines."
"Ah, Zenith. Another public embarrassment."
"The Grant Group’s stock is going to take another dive."
"First the ’Single Shot’ flop, now the ’Double Down’ disaster."
"..."
Reporters’ tongues are sharper than most, and their words could kill.
Joanna Sherman’s grip on her phone tightened, as if she intended to crush it to dust!
She snapped her head up, her gaze stabbing toward Sophia Shaw.
Sophia Shaw raised her chin slightly. The crimson beauty mark beneath her eye seemed to tremble, but her expression was neutral—no smile, no tears, no smugness, no gloating, no contempt.
Yet it was crueler than any sharp knife, piercing through Joanna Sherman’s chest again and again!
Sophia Shaw gently parted her lips and mouthed a single word back at Joanna Sherman: Payback.
Joanna Sherman collapsed onto the table, clutching her chest with all her might, but she couldn’t stop the overwhelming pain as she crumpled to the floor.
Joel Hale was the first to catch her.
He looked helplessly at Vincent Grant. "President Grant."
Vincent Grant pulled out his phone and made a call. "Get the paramedics over here. Send Ms. Sherman to the hospital, now!"
No sooner had he hung up than there was a THUD from another direction.
Chad Jennings had fainted too!
"Faye, you’re so incredible!"
After leaving the Grant Group’s launch ceremony, Lillian Forrest still clung tightly to Sophia Shaw’s hand, her face filled with adoration.
"To think you developed the rocket recovery technology so long ago, and you even managed to keep it a secret!" Lillian Forrest thought that if she’d created something that amazing, she would have told the entire world immediately, without a second’s hesitation.
Jenson Forrest had taken a hurried phone call and left without her.
Not that she was willing to go with him anyway.
Right now, she just wanted to stay with Sophia Shaw.
"But..."
’Joanna Sherman must be in a pretty sorry state right now.’
Lillian Forrest didn’t have a good impression of Joanna Sherman, but the woman had saved her, after all.
Not wanting to upset Sophia, she kept the thought to herself.
Sophia Shaw, of course, knew what she was thinking. She squeezed her hand. "Lil, Joanna Sherman doesn’t deserve your pity. Listen to me, and stay far, far away from her from now on."
Sophia Shaw rarely gave people such advice.
But Joanna Sherman was too venomous, and she didn’t want to see Lillian Forrest get hurt again.
Lillian Forrest vaguely sensed that Sophia knew something more. But since she didn’t say, Lillian didn’t press, just nodded earnestly. "Faye, I’ll listen to everything you say."
Although she didn’t know what Sophia was leaving unsaid, she knew that Faye never spoke carelessly. If Faye said you couldn’t associate with a person, then you absolutely couldn’t!
Sophia Shaw didn’t reveal what Joanna Sherman had done, simply because she had no proof.
Without proof, one can only inflict punishment, not pass judgment.
"By the way, the one who tried to assault you last time... it was Yasmine Reed."
Sophia decided it was better to tell her.
"Your brother left just now to handle it."
By the time Lillian Forrest and Sophia Shaw rushed to the police station, Jenson Forrest had Yasmine Reed by the collar and was landing punch after punch on his body.
Several police officers were trying and failing to pull him off.
Jenson Forrest’s usually gentle and refined face was filled with a ferocity Sophia had never seen before.
"Damn you, Yasmine Reed, you goddamn son of a bitch!"
Jenson Forrest snatched up a chair and swung it at Yasmine Reed’s head.
"Jenson!"
Although Lillian Forrest was blind, she could hear the complete loss of control in her brother’s voice and cried out in utter panic.
Seeing how out of control Jenson was, and seeing Lillian about to rush forward, Sophia quickly moved to shield Lillian and wrap her arms around Jenson’s waist to restrain him.
