Chapter 87: Chapter 87: You’re Letting Sophie Lose to a Mute?

Sophie’s fingertips curled.

She knew about this project.

Tristan Lawson’s new-energy solid-state batteries, developed abroad, had seen a meteoric rise after entering the market.

Two years ago, Tristan Lawson had intended to bring his solid-state batteries to the domestic market. He planned to launch a shared charging station project with automated battery swapping, aiming to eliminate the "battery anxiety" associated with new energy vehicles.

Customers could even opt to buy a new energy vehicle without a battery and simply rent one of the solid-state batteries from the shared stations. This would have dealt a massive blow to the domestic new-energy battery industry.

Sterling Group was one of the first domestic companies to manufacture new energy vehicles and had its own independent battery project as well.

After getting wind of Tristan’s plans, Sterling Group retrofitted all the service centers at its car dealerships with the infrastructure for shared charging stations overnight. All they needed was to plug in the batteries to go live.

But for Tristan Lawson, who was just entering the domestic new-energy sector, rapidly establishing so many stations across the country required site selection and construction—a process that couldn’t be completed in a day or two.

There were other, slightly inferior new-energy batteries on the market. If Sterling Group integrated one of those instead and cornered the market first, there would be little point for Tristan to pursue his project.

Hugo Sterling’s move back then had a clear objective: to force Tristan Lawson to license his solid-state batteries to Sterling Group, thereby salvaging his own company’s position in the new-energy battery market.

Such is the nature of business competition.

It was easy to understand Hugo Sterling’s actions. If he didn’t resort to such tactics and simply allowed Tristan to expand, Sterling Group’s batteries would quickly lose their market share. It was a chain reaction; the failure would inevitably drag down their new energy vehicle sales as well.

If Tristan Lawson refused to cooperate with Hugo Sterling, his own independent rollout of the project would be significantly delayed, putting him far behind Sterling Group.

Tristan Lawson was an incredibly ambitious figure in the business world. A project that didn’t meet his expected returns held little interest for him.

At this point, cooperating with Hugo Sterling was the only way to maximize profits.

The project was a direct threat to traditional gas stations, and everyone knew full well just how massive the future market would be.

Hugo Sterling coveted Tristan’s product. Knowing Tristan had the resources to go it alone, Hugo forced him into a passive position to ensure he could get a piece of the pie.

Of course, Tristan loathed being strong-armed like this, so cooperation was out of the question.

And now, Hugo Sterling was suddenly handing the project over to Tristan. Who knew what he was really plotting?

Sophie was worried they would start fighting.

Sophie’s voice was grave. "Brother Hugo, we’ve all known each other since we were children. We can’t avoid each other in a place like Glenwater. You fight for this project when you feel like it, and now you’re just handing it over? What do you take Tristan for?"

Noelle Sutton’s fists clenched tighter.

’These people had all known each other since childhood.’

’She had no idea what this "shared charging station" Hugo Sterling was talking about, yet Sophie seemed to understand it all perfectly.’

’This world of theirs... even though she was married to Tristan Lawson, she could never truly be a part of it.’

’Only today did she realize just how out of her depth she was.’

Hugo Sterling chuckled. "Miss Hughes, are you defending him in your capacity as Tristan’s little aunt?"

"And why not?"

Sophie Hughes’s gaze and expression hardened. She was the very picture of determination, completely focused on defending Tristan Lawson.

Kyle Sawyer frowned at Tristan, giving him a nudge. "Tristan, do you want the project or not? You have to say something."

Hugo Sterling’s gaze shifted back to Tristan. "Here, take it. Consider it payment for the help I’m asking for. That’s all."

Two years ago, when Tristan refused to cooperate, Hugo had only built the stations without connecting any batteries. He knew full well that installing Sterling Group’s own batteries would have meant completely burning his bridges with Tristan, and there was no need for that.

Tristan’s inaction over the past two years had bought Hugo some breathing room.

The business world changes in the blink of an eye. Over the past two years, he had focused on his vehicles’ exterior, interior, and brand influence. That way, even if his batteries weren’t superior in the future, he could still remain competitive.

His mother was nearing the end of her life, and she missed her younger sister more than ever. The woman had disappeared years ago, and after two decades, finding her again would be incredibly difficult.

Tristan Lawson’s TS Cloud was one of the top databases in the world. Although originally developed for commercial use, its powerful data analysis could be applied to many industries, giving it a significant edge in tracking missing persons.

Over the past couple of years, Tristan had frequently integrated TS Cloud with various government systems to provide public services.

Just then, Tristan’s calm, unreadable gaze drifted toward Noelle. "Since you’re here, you can answer for me. Do we take the project or not?" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Even Hugo Sterling, a man who had seen it all, was somewhat stunned.

Why would Tristan Lawson let an unfamiliar woman answer such a question for him?

As for Kyle Sawyer and Adrian Grant...

They, however, weren’t surprised. After all, they knew before they even came in that the woman in the room was Tristan’s wife.

’She was beautiful.’

’Waist-length, straight black hair and a gentle, graceful aura... she was somewhat reminiscent of Sophie Hughes.’

’That told them everything they needed to know.’

’But one thing was for certain: this woman was more beautiful.’

’Sitting there quietly, her large, beautiful eyes looked dewy, framed by long, curved lashes. They were clear and expressive, with a purity that inspired tenderness.’

’The outer corners of her eyes tilted up slightly, adding a hint of subtle, alluring charm.’

’Tristan Lawson wouldn’t marry just any woman.’

Sophie Hughes, however, pressed her lips into a thin line.

’Back in the lobby, she had pointed out that Tristan hadn’t introduced Noelle to everyone.’

’It was one thing for her to say it, but now it seemed Tristan himself intended to make Noelle’s identity public.’

’A sense of injustice began to bubble up inside her.’

Noelle Sutton glanced at Tristan, her beautiful eyes cold and distant. There was no way she was going to answer for him.

’He might seem refined, but every single thing he did, every word he said, was designed to stop her from getting the money she needed, forcing her to crawl back to Westhill Villa.’

Hugo Sterling, not knowing the relationship between Noelle and Tristan, couldn’t fathom Tristan’s intentions. He said, "Tristan, Miss Sutton is mute. She can’t answer for you, so don’t put her on the spot."

Kyle Sawyer’s eyes flew wide open. He shot to his feet, agitated. "She... she... She’s actually a mute?!"

He couldn’t believe it. Tristan Lawson had married a mute!

Adrian Grant was equally stunned.

Hugo Sterling glared at Kyle, saying with displeasure, "What are you shouting for? Stop calling her a mute. Miss Sutton is my guest!"

The look in Tristan Lawson’s eyes instantly turned several shades colder.

Kyle Sawyer ignored Hugo, his glare fixed on Tristan as he said furiously, "Tristan, what is this? You didn’t have the guts to marry Sophie back then, so you go and marry a mute? You could have at least found someone normal! But you bring home a mute and let Sophie lose out to... to a mute? Huh?"