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The beautiful woman walked out of the ICU with her head down, only looking up when she was right in front of Lawson.
Their eyes met, and Lawson noticed a flash of anger in hers.
"Are you stalking me?"
She kept her voice incredibly low, clearly terrified of being overheard.
"Ms. Sofia, please don't flatter yourself. I have a friend admitted here. I'm just here to take care of her."
Lawson matched her low volume, lifting the coffee and sandwiches in his hands to show her.
Sofia suddenly realized she had jumped to conclusions, likely driven by the immense pressure Francis had put her under over the past two days.
"I'm sorry! I... I guess my nerves are just shot!"
"This isn't the place to talk. Follow me."
Lawson noticed the guys in black suits guarding the ICU were already eyeing them. He immediately turned and walked down the hall.
Sofia hesitated for a split second, then pretended nothing happened and kept walking, though she constantly tracked Lawson's movements out of the corner of her eye.
A few minutes later, the two met up in a different, quieter hallway.
Sofia checked her surroundings nervously, acting like she expected a sniper around every corner.
"Mr. Lawson, are you genuinely just here to visit a friend?"
"100%. If you don't believe me, I can take you straight to her room."
"No need. I'm afraid I don't have that kind of time."
Lawson slightly raised an eyebrow.
"Ms. Sofia, is someone actively threatening your life?"
Sofia bit her lip, seemingly too ashamed to speak the words aloud.
Seeing this, Lawson had no choice but to push her again.
"Ms. Sofia, you literally just said you don't have much time. I strongly suggest we stop wasting it."
That finally forced Sofia to speak.
"I feel like my stepson, Francis Ricci... has inappropriate intentions toward me."
Lawson wasn't surprised in the slightest. With a woman as stunningly beautiful as Sofia, it was completely normal for men to have inappropriate intentions.
Especially since her husband was currently comatose from a stroke, making her an incredibly tempting, unprotected prize.
It was exactly like Lawson told her back at St. Mary's Church: an expensive canary doesn't magically gain its freedom just because its owner dies.
"So, the canary's old master is incapacitated, and someone is already rushing to take his place?"
Sofia glared at Lawson. She had no idea why she completely lost control of her emotions whenever he was around.
"Mr. Lawson, what exactly are you implying!"
"Ms. Sofia, calm down. I'm simply reminding you of the brutal reality of your situation. Plus, you look significantly better angry than you do looking perpetually depressed."
Lawson's words caught Sofia completely off guard. Flustered, she quickly looked away, too embarrassed to meet his eyes.
"Mr. Lawson, you said you had a way to deal with Francis Ricci. Is that actually true?"
"Absolutely. But I need the perfect opportunity to expose him publicly. That's where you come in."
"What do you need me to do?"
"Find a highly public setting. A major Bonanno family gathering is best. Get me inside, and I guarantee I will destroy Francis Ricci."
Sofia nodded slowly.
"I'll try to find out when the next family sit-down is scheduled."
"Ms. Sofia, we don't have time to burn! Just last night, Francis orchestrated a hit that wiped out over a dozen Bonanno mid-level bosses. He is rapidly consolidating power. If he succeeds, you know exactly what that means for you."
The intel Lawson dropped made Sofia's eyes go wide. She knew exactly what it meant: she'd be trapped as a canary for the rest of her miserable life.
Suddenly, massive self-doubt crashed into Sofia, and tears began welling in her eyes.
"How did it come to this? Can we actually pull this off?"
Yeah, this woman's core personality was incredibly weak. Old Martin practically murdered her parents, yet she obediently played his pet canary for ten years without ever plotting revenge.
Lawson had already pointed out she had countless opportunities to strike back at Old Martin. Throughout history, the "honey trap" has proven to be an eternally undefeated tactic.
Countless warlords and empires have fallen because of a woman. If Sofia simply possessed the sheer ruthlessness, she absolutely could have flipped the board.
Unfortunately...
Then again, if Sofia was a ruthless killer, she wouldn't need Lawson in the first place.
Lawson fully activated the power of his Clown Trump Card, lacing his voice with a strange, undeniable magnetism.
"Ms. Sofia, are you terrified?"
Sofia nodded involuntarily.
"But let me tell you, fear accomplishes absolutely nothing! The only way you achieve true freedom is by eliminating Francis Ricci!"
Sofia's breathing turned ragged. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore; they spilled down her cheeks.
"I can't do it! I really can't!"
Lawson suddenly reached out, gripping her chin firmly and forcing her to look him dead in the eye.
"Think about your father who was driven to suicide. Think about your mother who died of illness. Do you still remember their faces?"
Sofia's pupils rapidly dilated and contracted, indicating a violent, agonizing internal struggle.
"Back then, you lacked the power to change anything. But right now, the opportunity is literally sitting right in front of you. Are you really going to let yourself keep sinking?"
Sofia bit her lip, her eyes darting away. She was instinctively trying to reject Lawson's words.
"Look at me, Sofia! The only way to conquer fear is to stare it in the face!"
Sofia simply squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to look at him.
Clearly, you can't rewrite a fundamentally weak personality overnight.
Lawson had no choice but to drop his ultimate weapon.
"Sofia, if you can't believe in yourself, then believe in me!"
That made Sofia open her eyes and look at him.
"Believe in you?"
The two were standing by a window in the hallway. At that exact moment, a beam of sunlight hit Lawson perfectly, casting a faint, almost ethereal glow around him.
In that split second, Lawson looked exactly like a descending angel.
"Yes. Stop overthinking. Follow my instructions. Do exactly what you need to do. Leave the rest to God!"
"Leave the rest... to God..."
Sofia muttered the phrase repeatedly, her gaze slowly hardening with absolute resolve.
"I understand. I'll do exactly as you say! I have to go now, or those men will get suspicious."
With that, Sofia quickly wiped her tears, turned, and headed toward the hospital exit.
Lawson let out a massive sigh. Finally got through to this woman.
As expected, playing the religion card was the absolute best move.
The fact that Sofia religiously attended St. Mary's Cathedral every single week proved she was deeply devout.
So, exploiting her faith was the most effective strategy. The only issue was how long the brainwashing would hold.
With weak-willed people, you never knew when they were going to completely crack under pressure.
"Looks like I need to accelerate the timeline. Or maybe I should just legally change my name to Jehovah?"