She Used Me for a Dare… Now I Own Her Mother Chapter 354: The Vultures

"I have brought you some wonderful news!" Marcus bellowed, his voice straining with the raw desperation to ensure he was heard.

"Since the recruitment period for premier firms is now open, I have personally seen to it that your ragtag group of nobodies stays exactly where they belong. You are finished, Alex! I guarantee no firm in this city will even consider your resume!"

He stood firmly, his chest rising and falling, expecting the weight of his declaration to cause chaos. He anticipated that Alex would falter, Danny would grow pale, or perhaps Mike would wheel around in a state of defeated panic.

Instead, the four of them continued forward without breaking their rhythm.

Alex simply maintained his quiet conversation, acting as though Marcus were nothing more than the background static of an old cooling unit.

They marched on, their movements fluid and synchronized, eventually passing through the heavy glass main entrance without so much as a backward glance.

A stunning silence settled over the area. Several nearby students who had witnessed the scene quickly turned away, hiding grins as they hurried toward their classes.

"Those bastards!" Marcus hissed, his face flushing a deep, mottled purple. He kicked a loose rock on the ground, his fists trembling with a fury that lacked an outlet.

"Who do they think they are? I am talking to them! I am standing right here!"

Marcus’s voice climbed to a frantic pitch, his expression contorting into a mask of pure annoyance.

"I would have taught those idiots a lesson right now if it were not for that woman!" he spat, motioning vaguely toward the academic building.

Kyle, who had been lingering at the edge of the group, moved forward to place a steadying hand on Marcus’s shoulder.

"Forget about these losers, Boss," he remarked, his tone slick and reassuring. "Let them play tough for now. It is all for show. They are probably wetting their pants on the inside."

"He is absolutely right," Robert added, crossing his arms and spitting toward the pavement. "Let them go on their little stroll. It will be infinitely more satisfying to watch them crawl back on their knees once the rejection letters arrive. They are just acting brave because they know they are backed into a corner."

Marcus drew a sharp breath, his gaze locked onto the doors where Alex had recently disappeared.

"You are right," he muttered, although the sting of being ignored still twisted in his gut. "They will learn. Before this month is over, I will have them praying they never learned the name Steele."

Sophia remained a few paces behind the group, her arms clutched tightly across her chest as if she were desperately attempting to hold herself together.

She observed Marcus’s trembling back, the arrogant posing of Robert, and the slick grin of Kyle.

For the very first time, the facade was torn away. She no longer saw the distinguished elite or the promising heirs of the city; she saw a group of hollow, anxious boys playing pretend.

'How pathetic,' she thought, the word tasting like bitter metal.

A sense of cold, suffocating contempt rose in her throat.

When set against the man Alex had grown into, Marcus and his associates were nothing more than flickering embers standing beside a blazing sun.

'What was I thinking?' A jagged, resentful thought focused entirely on her own failures. She looked back on the thrill she had felt months ago, the petty joy of using Alex for a dare and allowing these shallow, trivial people to dictate her choices. She had savored their validation, thrived on their elitism, and thrown away the only authentic connection she had ever known.

She understood now, with a crushing sensation in her soul, just how devoted he had been to her. He had cherished her, treating her like a princess whose every desire was a command. He looked at her as if she were the only individual on earth who truly mattered.

And now? Now, she did not even merit a glance. In his eyes, she was no longer a princess; she was not even an opponent. She was simply... a ghost.

She had treated his heart like a disposable toy, and now she was the one being discarded.

She trained her eyes on the glass doors where Alex had vanished. A single, burning tear traced a path down her cheek.

'I will fix this,' she promised herself, her fingernails biting into her own skin. 'I will apologize. I will grovel if that is what it takes, but I will make him mine again, regardless of the cost.'

Her focus shifted, falling upon Jennifer, who lagged slightly behind Marcus. Jennifer’s expression took her by surprise—there was a faint, lingering secret smile on her lips, a look of private satisfaction that made Sophia’s blood boil.

She had witnessed Jennifer’s reaction when Alex was present; the way her gaze had fallen, the way she had practically recoiled beneath his intensity.

'That girl is planning something,' Sophia realized, her suspicion hone-edged. She noticed it too. She saw what he has become and is already positioning herself.

The memory of that bedroom at the estate resurfaced... her mother and her aunt, two of the most formidable women she knew... women she had considered iron-willed... reduced to begging for his attention. They had behaved like absolute harlots for him, casting aside their pride just to catch a glimmer of his authority.

Rather than breaking her, this memory forged a dark, new determination.

'I will not let him go,' she thought, her jaw locking until it pained her. 'I do not care about what my mother attempts, or what my aunt does, or what game Jennifer is playing. You can all try to claim him, you bitches, but he will be mine in the end. I was the first, and I will be the last.'

"Sophia? Are you coming?" Marcus asked, looking back with his face still flushed from his display of agitation.

She did not look at him. She could not. Looking at him felt like staring at a mistake that could never be corrected.

"Go ahead," she replied, her voice sounding hollow to her own ears. "I will join you in a moment."

She observed them walk away, their swaggering gait now resembling nothing more than the clumsy movements of puppets with crossing strings.

Sophia stood alone in the fading warmth of the parking lot, staring at the entrance until a light, familiar touch settled on her shoulder.

"Aren't they pathetic?"

Sophia did not need to rotate to identify Jennifer. She stiffened, shrugging the hand away before turning to face her rival.

"You seem remarkably happy for someone whose companions were just shamed in front of the entire campus," Sophia remarked, her voice dripping with venom.

Jennifer let out a brief, musical laugh that set Sophia’s teeth on edge. "Companions?"

Jennifer repeated the term as if it were a joke she had heard too many times.

"Please, Sophia. I was never 'friends' with these people," Jennifer stated, her voice dropping into a cool, candid tone that Sophia had never encountered before. "I was simply enjoying the spectacle as long as it remained entertaining. But lately? The show has become stale, and Marcus... well, he is starting to look like a dead end."

She shifted her gaze toward the lecture hall doors, her expression hardening into something sharp and hungry.

"However," Jennifer added, her eyes darting back to Sophia with a mocking glitter, "I assume you are losing faith in your so-called boyfriend as well, aren't you?" She emitted a sharp, biting laugh that made Sophia’s skin crawl.

"To be fair, I still think you two made such a lovely couple."

The laughter struck like a blow. Jennifer was twisting the knife. Sophia’s eyes narrowed, her earlier suspicions hardening into certainty.

'That bitch.'

She recalled how Jennifer had been boasting just last week about her mother’s corporation, and how she was essentially finishing with this "academic charade."

"What happened to that 'Director' position you were so fond of flaunting?" Sophia mocked, arms crossed. "I thought you were never coming back to this school. Didn't you claim this degree was a useless scrap of paper for people who actually work for a living? Why the change of heart?"

Jennifer did not flinch. Instead, her smile deepened, a clandestine, predatory glint entering her eyes—the reflection of a hunter who had discovered a trophy worth far more than the entire forest.

"The Director role can wait," Jennifer stated simply, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper. "I have discovered that some things have far more value than a job title. I have something much more important to pursue here now."

She glanced toward the glass doors where Alex had vanished, her interest lingering with the same hunger Sophia possessed, though tempered by a terrifyingly cold calculation.

"It is a crowded path, Jennifer," Sophia said, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized the girl she once considered a mere follower. "I just hope your 'new goal' does not find itself... crossing with mine. That would be a very grave mistake for you to make."

Jennifer offered no denial. She did not even blink. Instead, she reached out, her fingertips lingering for a heartbeat as she smoothed a stray hair on Sophia’s shoulder.

"We each follow our own path, Sophia," Jennifer murmured, her expression one of serene, untouchable absolute certainty.

"But you know what they say about the early bird. Some people are simply better at identifying a treasure before it drifts out of reach. I would hate for you to wear yourself out pursuing something that has already moved on."

She offered a thin, razor-sharp smile that never reached her eyes.

"I will see you in class?"

Without waiting for a response, Jennifer strode past her, her movements light and deliberate.

Sophia stood and watched her go, her heart hammering against her ribs. The war was no longer just against the powerful women of the Blackwood family. The vultures were already circling the terrain, and Jennifer was the first one to bare her talons.