Evelyn lay awake all night, tears streaming down her face.
At dawn, the bedroom door was kicked open. Nathan stormed in, grabbed Evelyn by the arm, and dragged her toward the living room.
His grip felt like it would crush her bones. Evelyn looked up, confused and helpless. "Nathan, what are you doing?"
"What am I doing?" Nathan's teeth clenched, rage spilling into every word. "I thought you were innocent, kind. Turns out it was all an act."
He shoved his phone right in front of her. "Look at what you've done."
The screen was filled with glaring trending headlines.
"Annelise Whitmore—the fake heiress who took everything."
"Nathan Langford cheated in marriage with Annelise Whitmore."
"'The Other Woman' Annelise destroys her sister's marriage."
Each headline was marked with a glaring red "Hot."
The attached photos showed Nathan holding Annelise, kissing her, the two of them wrapped closely together.
Evelyn's face drained of color as she rushed toward Annelise, whose eyes were already red.
"It wasn't me." Evelyn grabbed her hand. "Annelise, I didn't take those photos, and I didn't leak them. You believe me, don't you?"
Before she could finish, Nathan yanked her away and shoved her hard to the floor.
Evelyn hit the cold tile floor.
She looked up as Nathan stepped in front of Annelise, disgust written all over his face. "I don't care what tricks you used. Stop this immediately. This afternoon, I'm holding a press conference. Everything will be pinned on you. You were jealous of your sister, so you planned all of this to ruin her."
Hurried footsteps sounded at the door as Richard and Margaret rushed back from overseas.
The moment Margaret stepped inside, she slapped Evelyn hard across the face. "You ungrateful child, do you have to tear this family apart?"
Evelyn stood there, stunned, clutching her cheek. The words "It wasn't me" stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.
"I've lived my life doing good, and this is the daughter I get? So vicious, so cruel! I should've never let you be born. Then you wouldn't be here hurting Annelise like this!"
Richard stopped Margaret, his tone firm. "Enough. The priority now is the press conference. We need to clear Annelise's name."
Nathan spoke coldly. "I've already handled the magazine that published the photos. Now we just need Evelyn to admit she's behind it. That's the only way to fix this."
"Exactly. She's Nathan's legal wife. If she takes the blame, people will believe it."
All eyes in the room turned to Evelyn.
Margaret grabbed her hand, her voice pleading. It was the first time in Evelyn's life her mother had looked at her with such urgency, the first time she had ever pulled her into an embrace.
"Evelyn, I'm begging you. Your sister has always treated you well. She protected you, gave you everything. Can you really stand by and watch her reputation be destroyed?"
Richard added coldly from the side, "Annelise is the sole heir of the company. Nothing can happen to her. If this isn't resolved, your name will be removed from the Whitmore family."
Nathan held out a contract. "As long as you step forward, fifty million dollars will be transferred to you immediately."
Evelyn slowly lifted her head, looking at the four people surrounding her, the ones she had once believed were closest to her.
Ignoring the urgency, the pleading, and the carefully hidden disgust in their eyes, the scene looked almost exactly like the one she had dreamed of as a child.
She had once dreamed of being the one at the center of their attention.
A bitter smile tugged at her lips. In front of all of them, she tore the contract into pieces. "I won't let anyone hurt Annelise."
