Bankrupt Tycoon? No Problem – This Villainess Will Make Him Rich Again

Chapter 174: Chapter 177: I Am Sonia Quincy, and Also Bloom Preston

Since their argument the other day, Felix Preston had been giving Sonia Quincy the cold shoulder.

He would answer when she spoke to him, but his tone was cold and his replies were short. At night, he still came back to the bedroom to sleep, but he no longer held Sonia like he used to.

He spent his days in the studio and his evenings in the study, only returning to the bedroom to share the same space with Sonia when it was absolutely time to rest.

Several times, Sonia had wanted to talk to him, but whenever she walked into the study and saw his icy face, she didn’t know how to begin.

She was afraid Felix wouldn’t believe her, and she was also afraid she’d only make things worse and anger him even more.

So, she’d been putting it off until now.

Today was the day she would put an end to it all. She hoped Felix would be with her, by her side, to hear her confession.

But Felix was busy with work, and an important guest was coming to the studio. She couldn’t keep pestering him, so she had no choice but to let him go.

"It’s okay if you can’t make it." She looked at the closed door, speaking to Felix’s fading footsteps. "Once the livestream starts, you’ll be able to see it no matter where you are."

After sitting back down at the dining table and finishing her breakfast, Sonia Quincy left right on time.

At the entrance of the residential complex, Renee Sinclair’s dazzling ice-berry pink Mercedes was already parked by the roadside.

Sonia walked over, expertly pulling open the rear right-side door and getting in.

Renee Sinclair said, "Buckle up. Let’s go."

Sonia murmured an "Mm," pulling the seatbelt across and buckling it.

"Did you notify everyone I asked you to?"

Renee maneuvered the steering wheel, pulling the Mercedes out of its parking spot and turning directly onto the main road.

"All of them. I used the Sinclair Group’s name to invite Cecilia Quincy. She thinks I want to invest in her studio, so she happily agreed to the meeting."

"And you? Did you get ahold of Ethan Lockwood?"

Sonia opened her phone. Seeing Ethan’s recent reply on WeChat—"Coming now"—she couldn’t help but let a triumphant smile play on her lips.

"He’s already on his way. If there are no surprises, he should arrive around the same time as Cecilia."

"Hmm~" Renee raised an eyebrow, a glint of excitement flashing in her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes.

’Finally, a good show to watch...’

Half an hour later, the Mercedes pulled up in front of Mina Jennings’s studio.

Sonia had just stepped out of the car when Mina, who was waiting by the door, ushered her into the office.

"Look at what I’ve prepared! What do you think?" Mina pointed at the ring light and the newly installed monitor on her desk, asking Sonia with a proud expression.

Sonia sat down at the desk and first gave Mina a thumbs-up. "This setup is amazing!"

Then she posed the million-dollar question, "I’m only streaming this one time today. Why’d you spend so much money on all this equipment? Are you trying to go broke?"

Mina laughed and explained, "No, no. I was thinking that since livestream shopping is so popular right now, and I had to get streaming tools for you anyway, I might as well take the opportunity to buy a complete set. That way, if I ever want to livestream and sell jewelry myself, I can get started right away."

"Oh." Sonia nodded and gave her another thumbs-up. "So farsighted."

"Sonia!"

Renee walked in from outside, phone in hand, and said excitedly to Sonia, "Cecilia’s here. She’s already in the conference room."

"Hmph..." Sonia smiled. "Excellent..."

"BEEP... BEEP... BEEP..."

"BEEP... BEEP... BEEP..."

The dialing tone echoed again and again, but the owner of the number wasn’t picking up.

Cecilia Quincy stood at the conference room door, stamping her foot in frustration. ’What’s with this Renee Sinclair? She invites me here but doesn’t show her face, and now she won’t even answer her phone...’

"Mr. Lockwood, the conference room is just ahead."

"Alright."

Cecilia had just lowered her phone when she suddenly heard Ethan Lockwood’s voice from behind her.

At first, she thought she had misheard and glanced back, only to find that the person who had spoken was, indeed, Ethan Lockwood.

Dressed in a custom-tailored suit, Ethan was walking in Cecilia’s direction, following a female receptionist.

A strange panic seized Cecilia, and she subconsciously wanted to run.

But Ethan had already walked over and spotted her immediately.

"Cecilia?" Ethan frowned, sizing up Cecilia with a look of surprise and suspicion. "What are you doing here?"

"I..." Cecilia clutched her phone, guiltily lowering her head, unable to meet Ethan’s gaze.

Ethan stood before her. Seeing her bite her lip without saying a word, her expression conflicted and her brow furrowed, he guessed she was hiding something.

"You..."

"Miss Cecilia Quincy."

Just as Ethan was about to question her, a male receptionist suddenly walked up from behind Cecilia.

Cecilia didn’t dare look up, only managing a timid "Mm-hm."

The male receptionist said, "The conference room is right in front of you. Why haven’t you gone in?"

"..." Cecilia closed her eyes, a headache coming on.

"Cecilia?" Ethan watched her suspiciously, his gaze devoid of any warmth.

"Mr. Lockwood?"

The female receptionist tilted her head slightly and spoke cautiously, "The conference room is right in front of you. You can go straight in."

"...What?"

Ethan and Cecilia spoke at the same time.

Cecilia looked at the conference room, then at the female receptionist beside her, and asked uncertainly, "Is Ethan’s meeting in this room too?"

The female receptionist nodded. "Yes."

"Mr. Lockwood, everything is ready. You should go in now, so you don’t miss it."

With that, the female receptionist took two steps back, turned, and left.

Seeing this, the male receptionist made a "please" gesture toward Cecilia with his hand, then also strode away.

Suddenly, only Cecilia and Ethan were left at the conference room door.

They looked at each other in silence. Finally, Ethan was the first to move.

"Let’s go." He jutted his chin toward the conference room, gesturing for Cecilia to go inside.

Cecilia nodded and hesitantly entered the conference room.

Ethan followed close behind.

The lights in the conference room were off, and it was dark inside.

Ethan scanned his surroundings. Seeing that Sonia, the person who had invited him, wasn’t there, he walked to the wall by the door to find the light switch.

The switch was on the wall, as expected. He raised a hand, about to turn on the light, when suddenly—

THUD!

The projector screen behind him made a dull sound, and the small conference room was immediately illuminated by a white glow.

Ethan lowered his hand, turned around, and looked up at the suddenly lit projector screen.

The screen flickered twice, and then a livestream appeared.

At first, the stream was empty, but then a heavily pregnant woman sat down in front of the camera.

"Hello, everyone."

Sonia Quincy faced the camera and greeted them with a smile. "I’m Sonia Quincy, and I’m also the online jewelry designer who loves to talk gossip, Bloom Preston."