Chapter 2

The atmosphere grew more tense. Everyone stared at the scene.

The two officers stepped forward. "Ma'am, please cooperate with the investigation. Come with us."

Allegra's lashes fluttered. She lowered her head, lips curving slightly.

When she looked up, worry had replaced the smile. "Officers, my sister hasn't seen much of the world. Please don't frighten her…"

Gemma yanked her back and turned to the police, voice shrill. "Officers, take this menace to society away! The Wipere family cut ties with her ages ago!"

Allegra lowered her eyes. Her lips twitched upward.

Just then, Lucinda lifted her gaze past the officers and locked eyes with Allegra.

That stare was too calm. Unsettlingly calm.

As the officer reached to escort her away, Lucinda spoke. "Officer, I'd like to file a report. Allegra is involved in drug smuggling."

The security checkpoint went silent.

Drug smuggling—a far more serious charge than simple possession.

Allegra's lashes trembled violently. Her eyes instantly reddened. "Lucinda, what are you saying? Haven't I treated you well these past few months? You put poison in our food, and I looked the other way. You turned the house upside down, and I covered for you… And now you're throwing this kind of accusation at me?"

Gemma wrapped her arms around Allegra, glaring at Lucinda with fire in her eyes. "Allegra's done nothing but look out for you. You drug our food, and now you want to send her to prison?"

Preston's face darkened. "Lucinda, take responsibility for your own actions. Don't drag Allegra into this."

Lucinda looked at them. A trace of understanding flickered in her eyes.

Quite the performance.

Too bad you picked the wrong opponent.

"Last August, border patrol busted the K163 major smuggling case. Among the seized poppy husks was a batch with serial numbers ending in 417—moisture damage left fine mold spots on the surface. Three went missing during inventory."

She raised her eyes. "The three in my bag? Three husks. With mold spots."

The crowd fell silent.

"So what?" Gemma jutted her chin stubbornly. "You know perfectly well where you got them!"

Lucinda ignored her. She picked up a bottle of water from the security counter and twisted off the cap.

Allegra instinctively stepped back. "What are you doing?"

The next second, ice-cold water splashed down over her head.

Allegra shrieked and staggered backward, water dripping from her hair. She looked thoroughly bedraggled.

"Lucinda, you're insane!" Allegra screamed, wiping her face. Her voice pitched up sharply.

Lucinda set the empty bottle back on the counter. She looked at Allegra calmly.

Allegra trembled with rage. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, she froze.

She looked down at her hands.

The hands that had just been soaked—brown stains were appearing on her fingertips, bit by bit.

Mottled brown marks, varying shades, like they'd seeped into her skin.

Allegra's face went white. "That's impossible…"

"The K163 batch has a distinctive feature." Lucinda's tone was even. "The powder oxidizes and changes color when exposed to water. What's on your hands?"

Allegra jerked her hands behind her back.

Too late.

Everyone had seen.

She frantically rubbed her hands on her clothes until her skin turned red, but the brown stains wouldn't come off.

"This is impossible… you set me up! You did this on purpose!"

The two officers stepped forward. "Ms. Allegra Wipere, please cooperate with the investigation."

Allegra grabbed Gemma's arm desperately. "Mom! She framed me! Make her confess! I'm your real daughter—you can't let them take me away!"

Gemma instinctively reached for her, but the officers blocked her path.

Drug control was strict these days. How would Allegra have gotten poppy husks?

Lucinda pushed aside her doubts, picked up her backpack, and turned toward security.

"Lucinda!" Gemma rushed after her and grabbed her wrist, voice dropping low. "Go tell the police you made a mistake. Take the blame for her! I raised you for twenty years—it's time you paid me back!"

Lucinda didn't respond. She lifted her other hand and peeled Gemma's fingers away one by one.

The force of it made Gemma stumble back two steps. She watched helplessly as Lucinda walked through security without looking back.

"Lucinda!" Gemma's curses exploded behind her. "You ungrateful wretch! Twenty years I raised you, and this is what I get? You'll never know peace!"

Behind her, Allegra's shrill cries rang out. "Mom—Mom, save me—!"

Lucinda didn't look back. She walked straight toward the boarding gate.

The PA system kept announcing gate changes.

Lucinda glanced at the departure board. Her flight showed in red.

[Check-in Closed]

The earlier delay had caused her to miss her flight.

She turned and headed for the rebooking counter.

She'd barely taken two steps when a figure caught her peripheral vision—a man striding quickly from the arrivals area.

He wore an impeccably tailored dark gray overcoat, the fabric catching the light with understated sheen. Clearly expensive.

But the hem was dusty, as if he'd just come from somewhere covered in dirt.

The man glanced down at his coat, frowned slightly, and brushed at it with his hand.

Dust puffed up. He turned his head to avoid it, his expression rueful.

The moment he looked up, his gaze traveled across the crowd and landed on Lucinda's face.

He froze. For several seconds, he stared at her, as if confirming something.

Then he walked toward her with long strides.

"Are you… Lucinda?"

Lucinda looked up at him.

As he drew closer, she could see his features clearly.

Deep-set eyes, a prominent nose, an air of authority that came from years in positions of power.

But the way he looked at her was gentle—with a careful, tentative quality.

"I'm your third brother, Francis Douglas."

His voice was low. "I'm sorry I'm late. The signal at the launch base was terrible. By the time I got the message, it was almost too late."

He glanced down at his dusty hem and smiled helplessly. "Just came from the base. The fuel system on Starship had issues, so I spent a few days monitoring it. The sand there is brutal—got covered in dust, didn't even have time to change."

Starship.

Lucinda's gaze shifted slightly.

Starship was a national-level deep space exploration project with global attention. Anyone involved was among the world's elite.

She looked at the man calling himself her third brother. The shock inside her grew.

Hadn't she been told her biological parents lived in the slums? That she had three good-for-nothing brothers?

Then who was this?

Francis seemed to sense her confusion. His tone remained gentle. "I'll explain everything on the way. Come on, the private jet's waiting. If we're any later, they'll start worrying."

Private jet?

A family from the slums with a private jet?

It seemed her biological parents weren't at all what Gemma had described.

Lucinda lowered her eyes, concealing her emotions.

"Lucinda!"

Gemma's shrill voice rang out behind her.

Lucinda turned to see Gemma and Preston running toward them.

Tear tracks still marked Gemma's face, her eyes alarmingly red. Preston followed, his expression grim.

They reached her, but before either could speak, their gazes fell on Francis standing beside Lucinda.

Gemma's eyes swept him from head to toe.

Dark gray overcoat—decent fabric. But that dusty hem, the wrinkled sleeves, the dirt on his shoes…

Undisguised contempt flickered in her eyes.

Dressed like that, looking travel-worn—clearly some construction worker.

Big cities were full of these types. Wearing a decent coat to keep up appearances, but underneath, still country trash.

People from poor backwaters—no matter how well they dressed, they couldn't hide that shabby air.