Caspian and Ronan looked the most stunned. Their faces were white with shock.

"Is this a joke?" Caspian finally managed to say, his voice tight. "Seraphina, are you doing this to make me angry?"

Ronan stepped forward, his eyes pleading. "Seraphina, why him? I can be whatever you want me to be. You can use me, hurt me, anything. Just don't choose him."

His performance was so convincing that a wave of murmurs went through the crowd.

"Wow, he really loves her."

"To be willing to be her plaything... that's true love."

"What a shame. She's breaking his heart."

I almost laughed. I stepped away from Silas and faced Ronan directly. "You love me? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yes," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "I would die for you, Seraphina."

"Really?" I asked, my voice dangerously sweet. "Because I seem to recall you saying, and I quote, 'Why is it our job to cheer her up? I'd much rather be with Lyra.' Or was that someone else?"

The color drained from Ronan's face. He stammered, "I... I don't know what you're talking about. Someone must be spreading lies!" He looked around desperately. "I swear, Seraphina, I love you!"

His acting was flawless. He almost looked like he believed it himself.

"Is that so?" I said, pulling a small digital recorder from my clutch. I pressed a button.

Ronan's own voice filled the ballroom, loud and clear. "Why is it our job to cheer her up? I'd much rather be with Lyra."

The room fell into a dead silence. Ronan's face was a mess of horror and disbelief.

"That," I said, my voice as cold as steel, "was you. This morning. So please, stop the act. It's pathetic."

Ronan's eyes welled with tears as he struggled for words.

Before he could speak, Silas strode forward and punched him squarely in the jaw. Ronan crumpled to the floor.

"No one," Silas snarled, standing over him, "insults my fiancée." He looked up, his eyes sweeping over the other Fellows. "I love her more than any of you ever could."

Caspian's jaw tightened at the word "fiancée." He stepped forward, trying to regain control. "Seraphina, stop this foolishness. You know you want to marry me. We are meant to be."

He tried to give me a reassuring smile. "I will cherish you. You will have everything you desire." He lowered his voice. "Don't ruin the relationship between our families over a little tantrum."

I stared at Caspian, a mixture of fury and incredulous laughter bubbling in my chest. My eyes burned with unshed tears.

"You really think I would still marry you?" I whispered, my voice breaking. "After what you did tonight, you still have the nerve to talk about marriage?"

My voice rose, filled with a hatred so intense it felt like it was physically choking me. "I would rather die than be your wife."

The look in my eyes must have finally gotten through to him. I saw his composure crack, a flicker of something like pain in his own eyes. He flinched as if I had struck him.

"I... I don't know what you mean," he stammered, feigning confusion.

"Don't you dare play dumb with me!" I shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at the smashed projector. "That! That was you! You did that to me!"

His face went pale. "You think... you think I was the one who played that video?" His voice held a note of genuine, wounded disbelief.

"Yes!" I bit down on my lip, the coppery taste of blood filling my mouth again. It didn't matter. "The cameras in my room were hidden. You're the only one who knew how to get past my security. You can pick any lock. You're a world-class hacker. You put them there to humiliate me! To punish me for slapping your precious Lyra!"

I was sobbing now, the words tearing from my throat. "We grew up together, Caspian! How could you be so vile?"

My grief and rage culminated in a single, desperate act. I lunged forward and slapped him across the face with all my strength.

The sound echoed through the silent ballroom. A bright red handprint bloomed on his cheek.

My father, who had been watching in stunned silence, finally moved. He hobbled forward, his cane shaking in his hand. "Caspian," he said, his voice trembling with a terrifying fury. "Was it you?"

I could see the deep hurt in my father's eyes. He had loved Caspian like a son. He had planned to give him everything—his daughter, his empire.

"Tell me the truth," my father demanded.

Caspian stood tall, his expression unreadable, even with the mark of my hand on his face. "No, sir," he said, his voice calm and steady. "It wasn't me. I would never humiliate my future wife."

His face was so sincere, his denial so absolute, that for a split second, a sliver of doubt entered my mind.

But I crushed it. I couldn't afford to trust him. Not ever again.

"I will prove my innocence," Caspian said, turning to the crowd. He pulled out a laptop. "The signal that controlled the projector can be traced. It leaves a digital footprint." He looked directly at me, his eyes burning with a strange fire. "And when I find who did this, I will tear them limb from limb."

I didn't trust him.

"Dad," I said, turning to my father, "call in our own cybersecurity team. I want them to supervise."

Caspian's eyes flickered, and I saw a flash of raw hurt in them. "You don't believe me?"

"No," I said, my voice flat and empty. "I don't."

He clenched his fists at his sides, a muscle twitching in his jaw. Then he relaxed, his shoulders slumping slightly. "Fine," he said, his voice soft. "I will earn back your trust."

He sat down and opened his laptop. His fingers flew across the keyboard, a blur of motion. Code scrolled rapidly down the screen. My father's team of experts gathered around, their faces a mixture of awe and confusion. They couldn't keep up. He was on another level entirely.

Within minutes, he stopped. A grim, triumphant smile touched his lips.

"I found it," he announced.

Everyone leaned in, trying to decipher the complex data on the screen.

"Who was it?" my father demanded.

Caspian's smile vanished. His face went rigid, his complexion turning a sickly, ashen gray. He stared at the screen, his eyes wide with horror, as if he were looking at a ghost.

The code on the screen told a clear story. The signal originated from a burner phone, routed through a dozen proxy servers to hide its location. But Caspian had broken through them all. The final line of code revealed the phone's unique identifier. And attached to it was a name.

Lyra McClain.

Caspian's face was a mask of pure agony. Without a word, he slammed the laptop shut.

"There's no need to look any further," he said, his voice strained.

He lunged for the laptops of my father's security team, trying to shut them down as well.

"Caspian, what are you doing?" I yelled, trying to grab one of the computers back from him.

He caught my wrist, his grip like iron. "Seraphina, stop. It's over."

He looked over my shoulder, his gaze finding Lyra in the crowd. She was pale and trembling. Then he looked back at me, his eyes filled with an apology that tore at my already broken heart.

"It was me," he said, his voice a hoarse whisper. "I did it."