Chapter 4

I stood in the shadows at the corner of the second floor, calmly watching the scene below.

Amid the commotion, someone had mistakenly identified me as the person in the video.

"Seraphine? My God, it's her engagement party today."

"Who knows? Maybe she offended someone who deliberately chose this moment to ruin her reputation."

The speaker's voice carried an undercurrent of excitement, their face wearing a smirk of schadenfreude.

I clenched my fingertips, feeling an icy chill spread through my body.

These people didn't need to see a face—just a glimpse of scandalous footage was enough for them to construct their theories.

If this were my previous life, when I was naively letting others manipulate me, I would have been utterly ruined.

Just then, two people hurried over.

"What's happening here?!"

I glanced up to see my adoptive father, Heath and adoptive mother, Amara Cooper, rushing toward us.

Heath looked up at the content on the big screen, his expression instantly darkening.

"My God, is that Seraphine?"

Amara clutched her chest with a look of disbelief, swaying as if about to collapse against Heath.

I found it laughable.

I had always respected and adored Amara as my mother, treating her with the devotion of a daughter to her birth mother.

Yet for Brielle's sake, she had repeatedly poisoned Heath's ear against me, trying to make him disappointed in me.

Thankfully, Heath always appreciated my abilities and never misunderstood me over baseless accusations.

But now, with the girl in the video not showing her face clearly, Heath obviously couldn't tell who it actually was.

He waved his hand forcefully, addressing the guests with composure, "This is clearly the work of someone with ill intentions. The person in that video is not my daughter—don't spread rumors!"

Amara's eyes flickered, her expression suggesting unspoken distress as she bit her lip sorrowfully. "Heath, knowing Seraphine as I do, I believe that is her in the video."

Heath was visibly surprised by her failure to help conceal the matter. His gaze hardened in a silent warning.

I followed his glance toward Amara.

As expected, Amara was practically hoping everyone would believe it was me.

Facing all the guests, she forced a tearful smile, "My daughter has been reckless before. Even if she's been... experimenting, I'm sure this didn't happen while she was dating Mitchell. Please, be kind with your words and stop gossiping."

Looking at this woman I had called mother for years, I felt an icy chill in my chest.

These were the family members whom I had exhausted myself trying to please in my previous life, only to find out they were secretly working against me.

Utterly ridiculous.

As I felt nauseated, the light beside me suddenly dimmed.

"Ms. Whitaker."

Before I could turn, I heard Octavius's voice, tinged with subtle amusement.

Octavius had appeared silently, standing shoulder to shoulder with me, overlooking the crowd, his tall figure imposingly intimidating.

Without looking at me, he remarked meaningfully, "That was a beautifully executed strategy."

I turned my head, accidentally meeting Octavius's unfathomably deep eyes.

His gaze held not only mischievous interest in the drama unfolding but also a flash of admiration that vanished instantly.

Meeting his gaze, I offered a faint smile, "This is just the beginning, Mr. Capulet. Interested in seeing what happens next?"

Octavius raised an eyebrow, the amusement in his eyes deepening, "By all means."

He seemed quite satisfied with this response.

I couldn't decipher his thoughts right now, nor did I have time to try.

The moment had arrived.

The grand performance I had orchestrated could finally begin.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped out from the shadows.

The sound of my footsteps reached those below, and every head turned up.

Countless contemptuous and gloating stares came my way.

I kept my gaze straight ahead, walking toward Heath and Amara with a perfectly calibrated look of confusion.

"Dad, Mom, what's going on?"

"Seraphine! Where have you been?" Amara rushed over, grabbing my hand.

Her grip was so tight my wrist bones ached.

As if afraid I might catch on, Amara bombarded me with concerned words.

"You had me worried sick! Today is your engagement party—how could you be so careless as to let someone get dirt on you? How could you be so wild in private?"

"Think about who you might have offended! What about the Whitaker family's reputation? How can your father and I show our faces in public now?"

Every sentence she uttered was calculated to confirm that the person in the video was indeed me.

Heath's eyes were filled with disappointment as he looked at me, his chest heaving.

I allowed Amara to maintain her grip, watching her performance quietly before innocently asking, "Mom, what are you talking about? I've been in the upstairs lounge getting ready. What happened?"

"Look up at the big screen!"

Amara pointed at the video showing several people still entangled, her expression anguished.

"When did this happen? How did it get leaked? Is this how you treat Mitchell? Today is your engagement party!"

Heath contained his anger, waiting for my explanation.

I looked at the girl on the screen.

She was surrounded by several men, her smooth back exposed, a distinctive mole on her shoulder clearly visible.

Blinking slowly, I calmly asked, "Without even seeing a face, you're both certain that's me in the video?"

Amara challenged, "If not you, then who?"

Her tone suggested it was obvious—only I could be capable of such behavior.

While her recently recovered daughter, Brielle, was pure and gentle, she would naturally never do such a thing.

Without betraying any emotion, I pressed a button on the remote.

The video ended, switching to a live feed from the upstairs lounge.

There stood Brielle in her newly changed off-shoulder dress, the mole on her shoulder identical to the one in the video.

Someone gasped, "Ms. Seraphine Whitaker doesn't have a mole on her shoulder, but this newly reclaimed true daughter does—exactly like in the video!"

Amara's expression changed.

At that moment, Mitchell pushed open the door.

He looked startled, seeing Brielle, clearly having expected to find me waiting there.

Then, a mischievous expression crossed his face. Taking advantage of their apparent privacy, he walked over and tilted Brielle's chin.

"Darling, why did you change your dress?"

I clenched my fist.

How many moments like this had there been in my previous life?

While I had been happily dreaming of a future with Mitchell, he had been secretly flirting with Brielle behind my back.

Well, prepare to be ruined!

Brielle thought they were alone in the lounge. She couldn't have imagined that I had already planted equipment there, livestreaming everything.

She pouted, her fingers hooking into Mitchell's belt.

"It's all because of that bitch Seraphine. You're getting engaged to her today, and after that, you'll be my brother-in-law."

As she spoke, her hand slowly moved downward.

I narrowed my eyes, surveying the room.

It was clear that everyone now understood the girl in the video was Brielle. Their expressions shifted to disgust and realization.

Amara's face turned ghostly pale. Suddenly comprehending the situation, she began screaming hysterically.

"Turn it off! Someone turn off the screen power right now!"