Valerie's mother, Eunice Todd, let out a sharp, disbelieving scoff, her eyes narrowing as she fixed Valerie with a pointed stare. "Valerie, why are you asking Paulina to cut the steak? Surely, you can handle this on your own."

Valerie turned her gaze on her mother, eyebrow arched in a deliberate challenge. "I can do it myself, but Paulina made my fiance cut her steak. Isn't it only fair that she do it for me?"

The living room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence.

Valerie—once the picture of obedience, the perfect, quiet daughter—had become sharp, unyielding, and unbearably audacious.

She had even dared to speak back to the one person she had always revered most, in front of the entire family.

Yes, Valerie dared.

She was not the original girl who clung to family ties with unthinking loyalty.

The original girl's obedience had been carefully sculpted by lies.

The Todd family had spun a story that Eunice had donated bone marrow to her, saving her life from leukemia.

But Phantom—Valerie's current inhabitant—was no stranger to medicine.

She could tell that this body had never suffered leukemia.

The supposed donation was a fabrication. Eunice had never lifted a finger for her child.

The truth was far crueler: the original Valerie had been sick and comatose in a hospital without a guardian.

The hospital and police, searching for kin, had matched DNA to the Todd family.

Eunice, as the mother, had never truly cared; she had merely sent the housekeeper to collect Valerie.

Now, Eunice's carefully constructed world of respect and control cracked. She had not expected Valerie to argue back so bluntly and paint Paulina as a shameless woman seducing her sister's fiance. Her face darkened, a storm breaking just behind her eyes.

Paulina, looking every bit the picture of wounded innocence, chimed in, "Valerie, don't be jealous. Last night, you disappeared from the hotel, and I searched for you all night, catching a cold and a fever in the process. Kayden was only taking care of me for your sake. Don't be mad at him."

She threw a glance at Valerie, sharp with subtle provocation, before turning to Kayden with a look of calculated grievance. "Kayden, don't blame Valerie for staying out. She didn't do it on purpose."

Prompted, Kayden's brow furrowed. "Valerie! Where did you go last night? How could you stay out all night? As my fiancee, don't you understand the importance of decorum and rules?"

Valerie's eyes cut through him, ice meeting fire. Her words dripped with scorn. "Speaking of decorum, do you think it's right to flirt with my sister right under my nose? You're shameless, serving Paulina so meticulously while pretending nothing is wrong."

A shadow passed over Kayden's face, dark and unyielding.

Eunice's patience snapped, replaced with venom. "Valerie, you went out all night with some man. And when you came home, you insulted Paulina and humiliated Kayden. If I had known you'd turn into such a disgrace, I never would have brought you back from the countryside."

Valerie's lips twisted into a cruel smile. "A disgrace? Are you blind? Can't you see Kayden and Paulina flirting with each other? Or have you grown so accustomed to your husband's affairs that you want me to feel the same pain?"

Eunice's face contorted with rage, her hands trembling with the weight of her own shame. "Shut up! What nonsense! How could I give birth to someone like you? Paulina is far superior to you. You came home stealing, plagiarizing designs—despicable in every way!"

"Enough!" Valerie's father, Jason Todd, who had remained a silent observer until now, finally spoke, his voice carrying authority and exasperation. "Staying out all night once is no crime, but slandering Paulina is intolerable. Go to your room immediately. Confinement is the only option, or I will enforce punishment."

The punishment was harsh—whipping.

The memory lingered like a shadow. When the original Valerie had first been brought back, Paulina had accused her of stealing jewelry.

Jason's lashes had fallen five times, nearly killing her as she had just been discharged from the hospital.

Paulina's eyes glimmered with secret triumph. So what if Valerie had a sharp tongue today? She was still powerless.

The more uproar, the better. Perhaps, she could finally drive Valerie out of the Todd family.

Feigning concern, Paulina stepped forward, grasping Valerie's hand. "Valerie, don't be angry. Mom and Kayden only advised you out of care. How could you speak back to them?"

Her grip, however, betrayed her—fingers pressing into Valerie's skin, nails sharp with hidden malice.

"We understand you wanted freedom, but you were gone all night. We worried for you. A woman's reputation is everything—you can't let your personal whims tarnish the Todd family's name," Paulina continued, her words a poisoned caress, painting Valerie as reckless and frivolous.

Valerie yanked her hand free, her stare freezing the air.

Before Paulina could continue, Valerie's palm shot out, connecting with her face in a crisp, undeniable slap that echoed through the tense room.

"You bitch! Stop pretending to care about me," Valerie spat, voice ringing with accusation and rage. "I didn't stay out because I wanted to—you gave me an aphrodisiac and sent me to that old man from Wade family."

The words fell like shards of ice across the living room, freezing the air in a suffocating silence. Valerie's accusation struck with the force of a hammer.

The old man from the Wade family—a name whispered with disgust among the elite—was infamous for his depravity. His sexual dysfunction had birthed a penchant for cruelty and sadistic indulgence, leaving countless girls broken in his wake.

And yet, Paulina had actually handed Valerie over to that monster.

For the first time, Paulina forgot to maintain her pitiful and wronged persona, staring at Valerie in pure terror.

What was wrong with her?

Being sent to that lecherous old man, nearly getting raped—it was the sort of shame that could twist the stomach.

Shouldn't Valerie have kept it a secret? How could she blurt it out right in front of everyone?

Reacting quickly, Paulina clutched her burning cheek, tears pooling in her eyes. "Valerie, even if you're angry with me, you can't accuse me like that! I don't even know anyone from the Wade family. You're slandering me!"

Kayden lunged forward without a second thought, sheltering Paulina behind him. Rage painted his features, and he bellowed, "Valerie! You're a disgusting, unwanted freak! Who in their right mind would even think of drugging you? If you've got grievances, take them out on me. Leave Paulina alone!"

Eunice's voice rang out, incredulous and sharp. "I don't believe it! Paulina would never be so cruel!"

Jason even fetched the whip, snapping it sharply through the tense air. "Valerie! Get down on your knees!"

Valerie's gaze swept the room, her lips curving in a cold, mirthless smile. "Unbelievable! My parents and my fiance... none of you believes me. Everyone's too busy protecting Paulina, the adopted daughter. Without the DNA test, I'd have thought I was the adopted one."

Then she fixed Jason with a smirk sharp enough to cut steel. "You old fool! Do you remember what your medical report said? That you're impotent? I'm your only true descendant. And here you are, shielding Paulina."

The room's atmosphere fractured. Faces twisted, mouths half-opened in stunned disbelief.

"Valerie! How dare you!" Jason's face flushed violently, then drained of color as he stared at Valerie. A murderous glare burned in his eyes, yet beneath it, terror lurked like a cold, gnawing shadow.

His secret, the one he had guarded so carefully, had been exposed. How had Valerie found out?

Of course, he had no idea that, since her return, Valerie had found a computer, tapped into the Todd family's database with surgical precision, and unearthed every secret the family had ever tried to bury.

"Don't get so worked up," Valerie said, her voice deliberately slow, dripping with disdainful calm. "Think about this clearly. You're protecting Paulina now, planning to hand her the entire Todd fortune in the future. Do you honestly believe she'll be grateful? Her real parents aren't dead. When they come looking, shedding a tear or two, the fortune you've guarded your entire life will belong to them."

Paulina, who had moments ago worn the smugness of a spectator, froze.

Jason, too, felt the chill of realization seep into his blood.

Valerie had shattered his pride, but her words struck a nerve—irrefutable and precise.

Paulina had been raised in the Todd family, more attractive, more refined than Valerie. She made Jason look good in public, captured Kayden's heart, and secured ties to the Harper family. Yet at the end of the day, she was not a Todd by blood. She had her own parents.

Jason's hesitation was visible. Paulina's eyes blazed with fury. Valerie had targeted the very core of his fear.

How had Valerie grown so cunning? How could Valerie, with a few precise words, drive a wedge straight between her and Jason?

Paulina stepped forward, tugging at Jason's arm, her voice sweet like honey. "Dad, I'll never acknowledge others as my parents. I belong to the Todd family. I'll take care of you and Mom when you grow old."

Jason's features softened slightly.

Valerie's tone, laced with acidic sarcasm, cut through the temporary calm. "Sweet words are easy. But when your real parents come looking for you, who's to say you won't scheme with them just to claim the Todd fortune? Old fool, I may be rude, but I would never harm you. Sending Paulina away is far safer."

Jason wavered again. A flicker of willingness to consider her words shone faintly in his eyes.

Paulina's complexion drained to white, her eyes darting to Kayden, silently begging him to intervene.

"Valerie, enough! Paulina has always been kind-hearted. She would never harm the Todds. I'll vouch for her!"

Kayden immediately stood up for Paulina upon seeing her pleading look.

Paulina's shoulders sagged, and a shaky breath escaped her lips, as if a storm of dread had just been blown away.

Kayden was the scion of the most illustrious aristocratic family in the land. His uncle, Leland, was the President. His guarantee carried significant weight, enough to put Jason at ease.

But the next second, Valerie's voice, sharp and venomous, cut through the air again.

"How impressive! But this is family business. If the Todd family goes bankrupt, will the Harper family cover all the losses?"