Evelyn lay awake all night, tears streaming down her face.

At dawn, the bedroom door was kicked open. Nathan stormed in, grabbed Evelyn by the arm, and dragged her toward the living room.

His grip felt like it would crush her bones. Evelyn looked up, confused and helpless. "Nathan, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" Nathan's teeth clenched, rage spilling into every word. "I thought you were innocent, kind. Turns out it was all an act."

He shoved his phone right in front of her. "Look at what you've done."

The screen was filled with glaring trending headlines.

"Annelise Whitmore—the fake heiress who took everything."

"Nathan Langford cheated in marriage with Annelise Whitmore."

"'The Other Woman' Annelise destroys her sister's marriage."

Each headline was marked with a glaring red "Hot."

The attached photos showed Nathan holding Annelise, kissing her, the two of them wrapped closely together.

Evelyn's face drained of color as she rushed toward Annelise, whose eyes were already red.

"It wasn't me." Evelyn grabbed her hand. "Annelise, I didn't take those photos, and I didn't leak them. You believe me, don't you?"

Before she could finish, Nathan yanked her away and shoved her hard to the floor.

Evelyn hit the cold tile floor.

She looked up as Nathan stepped in front of Annelise, disgust written all over his face. "I don't care what tricks you used. Stop this immediately. This afternoon, I'm holding a press conference. Everything will be pinned on you. You were jealous of your sister, so you planned all of this to ruin her."

Hurried footsteps sounded at the door as Richard and Margaret rushed back from overseas.

The moment Margaret stepped inside, she slapped Evelyn hard across the face. "You ungrateful child, do you have to tear this family apart?"

Evelyn stood there, stunned, clutching her cheek. The words "It wasn't me" stuck in her throat, refusing to come out.

"I've lived my life doing good, and this is the daughter I get? So vicious, so cruel! I should've never let you be born. Then you wouldn't be here hurting Annelise like this!"

Richard stopped Margaret, his tone firm. "Enough. The priority now is the press conference. We need to clear Annelise's name."

Nathan spoke coldly. "I've already handled the magazine that published the photos. Now we just need Evelyn to admit she's behind it. That's the only way to fix this."

"Exactly. She's Nathan's legal wife. If she takes the blame, people will believe it."

All eyes in the room turned to Evelyn.

Margaret grabbed her hand, her voice pleading. It was the first time in Evelyn's life her mother had looked at her with such urgency, the first time she had ever pulled her into an embrace.

"Evelyn, I'm begging you. Your sister has always treated you well. She protected you, gave you everything. Can you really stand by and watch her reputation be destroyed?"

Richard added coldly from the side, "Annelise is the sole heir of the company. Nothing can happen to her. If this isn't resolved, your name will be removed from the Whitmore family."

Nathan held out a contract. "As long as you step forward, fifty million dollars will be transferred to you immediately."

Evelyn slowly lifted her head, looking at the four people surrounding her, the ones she had once believed were closest to her.

Ignoring the urgency, the pleading, and the carefully hidden disgust in their eyes, the scene looked almost exactly like the one she had dreamed of as a child.

She had once dreamed of being the one at the center of their attention.

A bitter smile tugged at her lips. In front of all of them, she tore the contract into pieces. "I won't let anyone hurt Annelise."

At the press conference.

Flashes went off in a frenzy, blinding, almost swallowing her whole.

Reporters packed the place, shoulder to shoulder. Strangers had even come just to support Evelyn, holding up their phones and shouting.

"Ms. Whitmore, don't be afraid! We're all on your side!"

Evelyn sat at the microphone in a simple white dress, Nathan's carefully scripted lines repeating in her mind, lines he had revised countless times overnight.

The more tragic the childhood sounded, the more sympathy it would earn, making everything that followed seem justified.

That was what Nathan had taught her.

Evelyn faced the cameras and spoke about the cold leftover food she had eaten, the endless piles of laundry in the winter, and the old dog that used to curl around her at night and keep her company through the darkness.

Last night, when Nathan forced her to relive those memories, every word had felt like it was tearing her apart.

But now, she finished recounting it all calmly, without a trace of emotion on her face.

After a brief pause, she followed Nathan's instructions. Her tone turned cold, almost obsessive, as she spoke into the microphone, word by word.

"So I hated her. I hated that Annelise took the life that should have been mine, took my parents, took everything from me. I ruined every dress she owned. Her fiancé, Nathan, I got him drunk and dragged him into my bed. Her identity, her life, her man… all of it should have been mine! But even after marriage, Nathan only loved Annelise. I was jealous. I hated her for taking my love, so I faked those photos to smear her, to scare her. It wasn't until a lawyer warned me that I realized how wrong I was. Today, I'm here to say this… to Annelise, and to everyone… I'm sorry."

The entire room erupted.

Flashes exploded again, blinding and relentless.

"So she's the real homewrecker!"

"She staged the whole thing herself. Disgusting!"

The livestream audience exploded. Some broke past security and rushed into the venue, hurling vegetables and eggs at Evelyn. Filth splattered across her white dress.

Bodyguards rushed in, shielding her as they hurried her out.

Inside the car, Nathan closed the livestream and smiled in satisfaction. "Evelyn, you did great. Perfect. The narrative's flipped. Annelise is safe now."

Richard and Margaret stepped forward as well, patting her shoulder, smiling warmly. "Good girl. This is all thanks to you. Once the company stabilizes, Annelise will take over, and we'll transfer twenty percent of the shares to you. You'll be taken care of for life."

Relief flickered in Annelise's eyes. "Evelyn, thank you."

Everyone was smiling. Everyone looked relieved. Evelyn forced a smile along with them.

For the next two days, she left early and returned late, avoiding everyone on purpose.

She went to the mall and picked out farewell gifts for them.

Late that night, when she returned home, she found Nathan sitting on the couch, his shirt disheveled, his eyes bloodshot. "Evelyn, I underestimated you."

"Why would you frame your own sister? Why would you hire someone to smash her hand?"

Nathan shot to his feet, fury radiating off him like something that could swallow a person whole.

The gift box slipped from his hand, its contents scattering across the floor.

Evelyn took a step back, confusion written all over her face. "I didn't… I've been busy these past few days. I didn't even know she was hurt."

"And you still dare to deny it?" Nathan let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

"Last time you stepped forward at the press conference, I thought you'd finally changed. Turns out you're even more vicious behind the scenes."

He threw a stack of documents in front of her.

Papers scattered across the floor, chat logs and transaction records laid out clearly, all pointing to her paying someone to injure Annelise's hand.

"The evidence is right here. And you still say it wasn't you?"

Evelyn stared blankly at the evidence on the floor, her blood running cold.

"I didn't do it! This wasn't me!" Her eyes reddened as she stared at Nathan. "Photos can be faked! We've been married for three years, don't you know what I'm like? How could I ever hurt Annelise?"

Nathan frowned slightly. He stepped forward, snatched her phone without a word, and unlocked it with her fingerprint before opening the messaging app.

The top contact matched the documents exactly, down to the timestamps and the amounts transferred.

"And you're still lying to me!" Nathan snapped, completely losing control. He turned to the bodyguards. "Take her to the police."

Two tall bodyguards stepped forward immediately, grabbing her arms and dragging her out.

"I'm not lying! It really wasn't me!"

Evelyn shoved them away with all her strength and bolted for the door.

She had to make Annelise believe her.

She stumbled all the way to the hospital and pushed the door open. Annelise was sitting on the bed, her right hand wrapped in thick bandages.

"Annelise!" Evelyn rushed forward, dropping to her bedside. "You have to believe me. I didn't hurt you. Those records are fake. Someone set me up…"

Annelise looked at her, her eyes calm, almost cold.

She gently pulled her hand away, cutting her off. "I know. It wasn't you."

Evelyn froze, relief just beginning to rise before the next words fell.

"Because I planned it myself."

"Why…" Evelyn's body went rigid, her breathing turning shallow.

She took a step back, as if unable to believe it.

"You're lying… aren't you?"

Annelise's lips slowly curved into a twisted, venomous smile. "Why? You're asking me why? I grew up in the Whitmore family, with the best of everything. My parents loved me, Nathan loved me. My life was perfect. And then you had to show up. I felt guilty. I pitied you. I gave you everything that should have been yours. But the company is something I built with my own hands, and now the parents who once favored me want to give you thirty percent of the shares! I'm the one who's supposed to inherit it all, yet you get everything without doing a thing!"

"I don't want the shares. I can give them all to you. I never wanted to compete with you…" Evelyn murmured.

She had never wanted anything from the Whitmore family. In just two days, she would be gone.

Before she could finish, Annelise raised her hand and slapped her hard. Evelyn's head snapped to the side, a trace of blood appearing at the corner of her lips.

"That pathetic look again! Then why did you come back? Wouldn't it have been better if you'd just stayed there and died in that miserable little village, never showing up at all?"