All eyes suddenly turned to me. Vivian pointed right at me from the crowd and started yelling, "It's you! You're the one who set your sister up!" She then spun around to Mortimer. "Isabella was raised under strict discipline. She would never do something like this unless someone deliberately tried to ruin her and destroy her relationship with Theodore."
Mortimer's face darkened, but before he could say anything, the video on screen got even worse-Isabella and Kevin's actions growing more intense. Isabella let out a high-pitched moan, her body going limp beneath Kevin as she panted heavily.
Kevin clung to her, whispering seductively in her ear, "Miss Isabella, you've got some real skills. Hope you drop by more often-I'll make sure I satisfy you every time."
Everyone gasped. Whispers and murmurs broke out like wildfire, and the stares thrown at Isabella in her engagement gown were sharp enough to pierce through skin.
Theodore stepped past Isabella and gave Vivian a cold look. "Mrs. Brooks, everyone here has eyes. Take a good look again. Is that not your daughter on screen? Or would you like me to dig up her entire spending history at Grandion and share it with the public?"
"No! Please, no!" Isabella cried out hysterically, lunging forward and grabbing onto Theodore's pant leg. "Theodore, listen to me! I didn't mean for this to happen!"
Theodore shoved her off in disgust, his eyes icy. "I, Theodore, would never marry a shameless woman like you. We're done here."
And just like that, he turned and walked off without a backward glance. Isabella's sobs filled the room as he passed me. He threw out a cold, mocking snort. "Congratulations, Natalie."
My hand clenched tighter around my clutch until my knuckles turned white, legs nearly giving out from under me.
I couldn't even tell when the guests started to leave. The moment Mortimer and Marjorie left, this so-called grand affair that had been all over Southveil turned into a colossal joke.
Lucille was about to walk over and help me leave, but Vivian wasn't having it - she stormed up and yanked my hair so hard it felt like she was trying to rip it out. "You bitch! This is all your fault! Are you happy now that you've ruined your sister's engagement? I'll kill you, you ungrateful slut!"
Her grip burned my scalp, and Lucille screamed as she rushed over, trying to pull her off me. But Vivian was fully unhinged at this point, flailing like a maniac, her claws jabbing at my face like she wanted to tear it apart.
Grinding my teeth, I didn't think-I just lifted my leg and slammed it into her stomach. She shrieked and flew backward, hitting the floor hard.
Hubert had been comforting Isabella, but the moment he saw what was happening, he dashed over to help her up. Vivian, completely unhinged, pointed at me and yelled, "Hubert, look at your precious daughter! She's the one who ruined Isabella! If you don't cut her off today, I swear I won't let this go!"
Still holding Isabella, Hubert's face darkened. He grabbed his cane and swung it straight at me. Lucille rushed forward to shield me, only to take the hit on her back. She crumpled to the floor, twitching in pain.
All the resentment I'd swallowed for years exploded. I shoved Hubert hard. "So what if it was me? Yeah, I had someone record that video! So what? You call that framing? Open your damn eyes. Isabella's been hitting up that nightclub countless times-how many male escorts has she hired? You really think someone like her needs help tarnishing her name?"
"That's enough!" Hubert roared, eyes blazing with fury. He bolted forward, grabbed me by the neck, and slammed me to the ground. "You disgrace!"
I felt like I'd been hurled by a truck. Pain shot through every bone in my body, and my vision blurred.
Isabella took the chance to throw herself dramatically into Hubert's arms, tears brimming as she stared at me. "You're happy now, aren't you, sis? You've always been trying to break me and Theodore up. We all saw it-how he dropped you off in the middle of the night. You must've tried to seduce him and failed, so you pulled this stunt to ruin us!"
Hubert's eyes widened with fury. He patted her hand and stormed towards me, slapping me across the face. "How could I have raised such a monstrous child?"
The slap rang in my ears, everything went white, and blood trickled from the corner of my lips.
But Hubert wasn't done. He grabbed his cane again and began to beat me with it. I tried to dodge, and in the chaos, I caught a glimpse of Vivian and Isabella's smug, victorious faces. Rage boiled in my chest.
Glaring at Hubert, I forced out a bitter laugh through clenched teeth. "Go ahead, beat me to death if you've got the guts. Ever since that woman drove my mom to her grave, you stopped being a father to me. If you kill me now, we're even. You don't deserve to call yourself my dad!"
Hubert screamed that he'd teach me a lesson, raising the cane for another strike-when a sudden rush of footsteps cut through the shouting. Theodore had come back, his driver following close behind.
Theodore's sharp gaze instantly swept over the mess-me and Lucille still on the floor, battered. His jaw tightened, and his eyes turned icy as he stared down the trio frozen in shock by his return.
Isabella flinched but still had the nerve to step forward with a weak little smile, pretending to be pitiful. "Theodore, you had second thoughts, right? You came back to make things right between us?"
Before he could respond, I let out a cold, mocking laugh, downright amused by her delusion and shamelessness.
I tried to get myself off the floor, but Theodore beat me to it. He stepped forward and scooped me up without a word.
Then, locking eyes with a stunned Isabella, he said in an icy tone, "This isn't over. Anyone who lies to me, betrays me-I won't let a single one off the hook."
