Julia froze when the gloves hit her.

A few seconds later, she let out a piercing scream.

"You hit me? You actually hit me! Do you even know who I am?!"

She turned to the camera, tears spilling on cue like she had flipped a switch, her acting worthy of an award.

"Guys! Did you see that? He started it!"

The livestream exploded, the screen filling with insults aimed at Ethan.

[Let's dox him! Who does he think he is, hitting Ms. Stone?]

[You can tell he hates rich people. He's disgusting!]

[Call the cops! Get him arrested!]

Seeing the crowd turn in her favor, Julia got even more arrogant. She pointed right at Ethan's face.

"If you don't drop to your knees, clean my shoes, and apologize properly, neither of you is walking away from here today!"

The two bodyguards cracked their knuckles, clearly ready to jump in.

Ethan was about to snap, so I quickly stepped in front of him and blocked his arm.

Don't get me wrong. I wasn't protecting Julia. I just didn't want Ethan throwing a punch and sending her straight to the ICU. If that happened, she would latch onto us and never let go.

"Hold on!" I called out, pulling out my phone. "If you're really the Stone heiress, let's verify that right here."

In front of everyone, I dialed the contact labeled "Dad."

He picked up after two rings.

"Hello? Sweetheart! Why are you calling me right now? Are you running low on money? I just transferred four million into your account. Go buy yourself something nice…"

On the other end, the richest man in Avensville sounded absurdly eager to please, like an over-the-top butler.

I put the call on speaker, his voice echoing clearly through the street.

Ethan's expression darkened even further.

I cleared my throat and asked loudly, "Dad, quick question. Did you secretly have another daughter out there without telling Ethan and me?"

"Another what?" my father sounded completely confused. "Honey, what are you even talking about? Your mother's the only woman I've ever been with. Where would I get a secret daughter from? I swear I'm telling the truth!"

I glanced at Julia, whose face had gone pale, and pressed on.

"That's weird. There's a Julia Stone standing right in front of me, claiming she's your only daughter and that you really spoil her. She even said she's going to take Ethan as her personal servant and make sure we can't survive in Avensville."

There was a three-second silence on the other end.

Then came my father's cold laugh. "Impersonating my daughter? And she's bullying Ethan, too? That's interesting. I'll look into this right now. Where are you? Just come home first. Don't waste your time on a lunatic."

I hung up and smiled at Julia. "Did you hear that, 'Ms. Stone'?"

Julia's face shifted between pale and flushed. A flicker of panic flashed in her eyes before greed and stubborn denial took over.

She lifted her chin and sneered at the camera.

"Please! Anyone can hire some old guy to act. You think a phone call is enough to scare me?"

I just stared at her.

I used to think people this dumb only existed in scary movies. As it turned out, they were real.

When I didn't respond, Julia took it as fear. She smugly flipped her hair, her gaze sliding openly over Ethan.

He was wearing a simple white dress shirt today. It was stained now, but his broad shoulders, narrow waist, long legs, and that cold, untouchable face still made him stand out.

Julia swallowed, her expression turning slick.

"Hey, handsome." She reached out, trying to touch his chest. "I was a little harsh earlier. Hope I didn't scare you. Be my personal attendant. That hundred bucks I offered was just a tip. Stick with me, and I'll make sure you've got luxury cars and mansions."

Her fingers moved toward the buttons on his shirt.

"Don't touch me." Ethan stepped back, disgust flashing in his eyes, as if he was looking at something filthy. "You're disgusting."

Ethan's comment completely set Julia off.

"You ungrateful jerk!" She snapped her hand forward. "Get him! If he doesn't know his place, teach him! Hold them both here. Nobody's leaving until this livestream is finished!"

Her two bodyguards charged in at once, one from each side, reaching to grab Ethan.

"Stop!"

Kylie suddenly rushed out, throwing herself in front of us with her arms spread wide, tears trembling in her eyes.

"Julia, please, just let it go! They don't look like ordinary people. If this turns into something serious…"

Smack!

Julia swung her hand and slapped Kylie hard across the face.

"You traitor! I pay you to work for me, not tell me what to do! Get out of my way!"

Kylie hit the ground, a streak of blood at the corner of her mouth. She clutched her cheek but still cried out to us, "Run! You can't win against her!"

That slap lit a fire in me. I joked around a lot, but I couldn't stand seeing someone pick on the weak.

Not right in front of me.

Ethan's expression changed completely. He calmly undid his cufflinks and rolled his sleeves up to his elbows, revealing lean, solid forearms.

"Juliet." He glanced at me, his voice quiet in a way that made the air feel heavy. "Step back."

I knew someone was about to regret their life choices.

"Ethan, just don't kill them. Leave them breathing so Dad can deal with it." I stepped back two paces and helped Kylie up from the ground.

The two bodyguards didn't take Ethan seriously at all. They grinned and lunged at him.

The next second, two dull impacts rang out.

Thud, thud!

No one even saw how Ethan moved. The two six-foot-three brutes flew backward, crashing into a trash can by the curb and staying down, unable to get back up.

Ethan dusted off imaginary dust from his sleeve, then walked toward Julia one step at a time. He looked down at her, his gaze cold and distant, as if she were nothing.

"You said you were going to teach me a lesson?"

Julia scrambled back in panic. Her heel twisted, and she dropped hard onto the ground.

"D-Don't come any closer! Someone help!" she screamed into the camera, her voice breaking. "Call the police! This lunatic is trying to kill me!"

The livestream chat went wild; people were stunned by what they had just seen. Some cheered, and some called him violent. The screen was a complete mess.

Ethan crouched down and grabbed Julia's chin with his fingers, forcing her to look up at him.

"How about I teach you the Stones' rules instead?"

His voice was cold as ice.

"No one gives me orders except my sister. And one more thing."

He let go of her face with obvious disgust, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his hand, then tossed it onto her face.

"Pretending to be a Stone… You really think you can get away with that?"

Julia trembled under his presence, tears and snot running together as her carefully done makeup smeared into a mess, leaving her looking ridiculous.

Even so, she was a seasoned influencer. She wasn't easily rattled.

After that brief flash of fear, she realized this was the perfect chance to play the victim.

She collapsed onto the ground and cried toward the camera.

"I can't take this anymore! I was just trying to make good content! I'm the Stone heiress. I've been spoiled my whole life. I've never been treated like this! Just because you can fight doesn't mean you get to bully a woman! I'm going to have my dad blacklist you! I'll make sure the entire internet blacklists you!"

Still crying, Julia reached into her Hermès bag and pulled out an elegant velvet box.

"Take a good look! My dad bought this for me at an auction in Enthropia last week. It's a blue diamond necklace called the Heart of the Ocean, worth ten million dollars. There's only one in the entire world!"

She held the necklace up to the camera. The deep blue gem caught the light and flashed brilliantly.

"Have you two losers ever seen something like this? Ever touched it? You could work your whole lives and still never afford a stone like this! That's the gap between us. We're not even in the same world!"

A wave of shock rippled through the comments.

[Oh my god! That looks real…]

[The craftsmanship, the shine… That's definitely authentic.]

[Is she really the Stone heiress? If she is, those two are done for…]

The tide of opinion started to shift again.

I looked at the necklace and couldn't help laughing. If I remembered right, I had tossed that thing into the corner of my closet last month because it felt too heavy.

Pamela Cross had been cleaning nearby at the time, going on and on about how beautiful it was.

And now, it was here.

The thought clicked into place.

I took a closer look at Julia. Now that I really paid attention, there was a faint resemblance between her features and Pamela's.

I see…

"Ten million?" I stepped forward, a faint smile tugging at my lips. "Are you sure your dad gave that to you?"

"Obviously! Who else would've given it to me?" Julia snapped, trying to sound confident. "It even has my initials engraved on it!"

"Oh? Really?" I leaned in closer to the necklace. "Then you should know the clasp is engraved with 'JS,' right?"

Julia froze for a split second, then her face lit up with excitement. "Exactly! JS stands for Julia Stone! That proves it. Do you believe me now?"

I looked at her with something close to pity and shook my head.

"Lack of education really is scary."

I straightened and turned to the crowd and the camera, raising my voice.

"JS is an initial, sure, but it stands for Juliet Stone. That's me."

I pointed to a barely noticeable flaw on the back of the necklace.

"Also, there's a tiny scratch back here. My dog bit it, and that's why I threw it aside. So tell me, is the gift your dad gave you something you dug out of my trash?"

The entire crowd erupted.

Julia's face drained of color. She instinctively covered the back of the necklace.

"You're lying! That's slander! You're just jealous!" she screamed hysterically. "What proof do you have that you're Juliet Stone? What proof do you have that this is yours?"

"Proof?" Ethan let out a cold laugh and pulled out his phone. "If you want to play, let's go all in."

He dialed a number. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly through the crowd.

"David, someone's stolen high-value property from the Stones and is posing as a member of the family. Also, have security bring a team over and clear the area."

He paused, his gaze sharp as a blade as it swept over Julia.

"One more thing. Tell Arnold Stone that if he's not here in ten minutes to handle this himself, I'll make sure his precious company has a new name by tomorrow."

Julia scoffed, still refusing to back down. "Yeah, right! Keep acting. Rename the company? Who do you think you are? Read too many novels or something?"

Before her words had fully settled, a deep, synchronized roar of engines rolled in from the distance.

I counted ten black Rolls-Royce Phantoms driving straight into the pedestrian street like a dark procession, forcing the crowd apart as they advanced.

The lead car came to a stop, and a middle-aged man in a sharp suit stepped out. He broke into a run, sweat beading on his forehead as he rushed toward us.

Julia's eyes lit up. She struggled to her feet, thinking her backup had arrived. "Bob! You're here! You've got to save me. These two are trying to kill me!"

The man was Bob Carpenter, the chief secretary of Stone Corporation.

However, he didn't even glance at Julia. He rushed straight up to Ethan and me, stopping short in front of us, his voice shaking but clear.

"Mr. Stone, Ms. Stone, I'm sorry I'm late. I should never have let things get this far."