Chapter 4

After finishing the basic procedures at the hospital, Sebastian took me to a highly private restaurant.

It should have been long past closing time, yet the place was brightly lit.

The waiter brought out exquisite dish after dish until the entire table was completely covered.

I recognized the food. They were all the things I had always wanted to eat but could never afford.

Clearly, the man sitting across from me had done his research down to the last detail. He knew my preferences perfectly.

But after experiencing the tragic turn of events from just a few hours ago, I had absolutely no appetite.

"You need to eat something, Elena."

Sebastian looked at me and handed me a glass of warm water.

I stared silently at the table, saying nothing.

The man paused for a moment before formally introducing himself. "I am your fiancé, and the current head of the Sinclair family."

At the name Sinclair, my head snapped up, a layer of sharp guardedness instantly flashing in my eyes.

Mia used to flaunt her background all the time back in college. She constantly bragged that she was the most favored child of the Sinclair family.

"Are you Mia's brother?" I stared at him.

Sebastian furrowed his brow slightly. "Mia? I do know a Mia. But her last name isn't Sinclair. She is just an ordinary student sponsored by the Sinclair Charity Foundation, definitely not my sister."

I froze for a second, and then the sheer absurdity of the truth finally hit me.

Mason, who had always been desperate to climb the social ladder, had gone to extraordinary lengths to scam me for two years just to appease Mia. His goal was clearly to use Mia as a stepping stone to hitch a ride on the Sinclair family's coattails.

The hilariously tragic part was that while he had been playing me for two years, he was simultaneously being played like a fool by Mia—a completely fake heiress.

Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, I picked up the wine glass beside me and downed the red wine in one gulp.

Sebastian then went on to explain everything about my biological parents.

My family was extraordinarily wealthy. Although my parents had passed away long ago, they had left behind an unfathomably large trust fund for me.

I had always assumed my biological parents were just ordinary people living somewhere far off in Switzerland. I never imagined they were billionaires.

If only they had found me earlier... No, it was a good thing they hadn't found me earlier, or I would have never discovered Mason's true colors.

I didn't care how much money they had left me. I didn't care about it in the past, and I didn't care about it now.

"How did they pass away?" I asked softly.

"A plane crash," Sebastian's voice softened gently. "They were en route to another city at the time. Your parents loved you very much. For years, they flew back and forth between Europe and the US countless times, visiting almost every single orphanage to find you. It was during one of those exhaustive searches that they stumbled upon me, living in a remote orphanage. With their help, I was able to cross half the globe, return home safely, and reclaim my position as the Sinclair heir. It's safe to say that without your parents, without you, the current me wouldn't exist."

"I have been operating my businesses domestically these past few years, which is the reason why I was able to rush to you so quickly after receiving the news." He looked into my eyes, his gaze steady and focused. "I made a promise to your parents to take good care of you. I will personally handle all the arrangements for your grandmother's funeral. In a few days, I will host a private banquet for you to formally announce your return."

Listening to him recount the past, a lump formed in my throat.

With tears in my eyes, I picked up the silver fork, lowered my head, and took a bite of the food on my plate.

Three days later.

Grandma Clara's funeral had been impeccably handled with the highest standard of care.

Having not slept a wink for days, I looked haggard, still wearing the same faded gray clothes I had worn to the cemetery earlier that day.

Following Sebastian's arrangements, I arrived at a luxury hotel downtown, planning to head to the dressing room inside to change into my gown for tonight's banquet.

But the moment I stepped into the hotel lobby, I ran into some familiar faces.

It was Mia and Mason.

They were casually strutting inside, dressed in highly formal, expensive evening wear with their noses in the air.

When Mason saw me, the smug smile vanished from his face instantly.

They clearly had no idea that I was the guest of honor for this very banquet.

"Elena? What are you doing here?" Mason frowned, striding over to me and scolding me with a condescending tone. "I told you to wait in the holding cell. Why did you leave on your own? And besides, this is a top-tier private banquet—it's absolutely not a place you should be."

Mia stood beside Mason, sizing me up and openly mocking me. "She's probably never seen anything like this before and just wanted to sneak in for a look, right? The stench of poverty on you is polluting the air in here. The security at this place is so irresponsible. I've said it a million times, I am allergic to poor people."

I looked at them coldly, completely ignoring Mason's reprimand.

I fixed my gaze on Mia's heavily powdered face and calmly shot back, "Mia, do you genuinely believe you're any nobler than I am?"

Mason instantly rushed forward, shielding Mia defensively. He glared at me and shouted, "Elena, shut your mouth! Mia is a member of the Sinclair family!"

"Is she really?" I stared blankly into Mia's dodging eyes, not taking a single step back.

A flash of deep panic crossed Mia's eyes, swiftly replaced by intense fury.

I had no desire to waste any more time on this pointless conversation, so I turned sideways, intending to walk past them toward the dressing room.

But my utter dismissal of her completely enraged Mia.

Gritting her teeth, she raised her hand and lunged forward, aggressively trying to shove me out of the hotel.

Mason lunged forward too, tightly grabbing one of my arms and viciously jerking me to the side.

I was already top-heavy and dizzy from days of sheer exhaustion. Yanked so violently and abruptly by them, I completely lost my balance and fell hard backward.

Right next to me was a massive champagne tower set up to welcome the banquet guests. My shoulder slammed heavily into the corner of the table. With a deafening crash, the entire champagne tower collapsed.

Countless shards of glass exploded and sprayed everywhere.

"Oh my god, look what you've done!" Mia looked down her nose at me collapsed on the floor, delivering the most vicious humiliation she could muster. "Elena, lick the spilled wine off the floor right now. If you do, Mason and I might be in a good enough mood to help you pay the service fee for this mess."

I tried to stand up, but a second later, the group of lackeys trailing behind them rushed over. From the left and right, they pinned my shoulders down tightly, trying to forcefully shove my face into the glass-covered carpet.

Mia shrieked, "Lick it! Lick it now!"

"Let me go!" I struggled desperately. "You're going to regret this!"

Mia raised her foot, ready to stomp my head straight into the broken glass. But in that exact moment, the heavy double doors leading from the lobby to the inner banquet hall were violently pushed open.

Sebastian appeared under the brilliant chandeliers.

The moment the doors opened, the air around us seemed to freeze solid. Sebastian's icy gaze swept over the people holding me down.

"What, exactly, are you planning to do to my fiancée?"