I went skiing alone on Valentine’s Day to clear my head. I never expected that later that night, my younger brother, Mason Cases, would show up after running away from home following a fight with our family.

The front desk stopped him and asked for additional registration. I explained, "He’s my brother. He ran out after an argument and didn’t bring his ID. He’s just staying one night. I’ll take him home tomorrow."

After hearing that, the receptionist, Riley Rowe, gave us a suggestive once-over, winking at my brother with a look that said, "I get it."

"Alright," she said with a flirty smile. "It’s Valentine’s Day. I understand. No need to be shy."

Seeing how exhausted Mason looked, I forced myself to swallow the disgust and brought him upstairs.

That night, I came across a local post online.

"Girls these days have no shame. Bringing some random guy back to a hotel on Valentine’s Day. She got caught and still had the nerve to lie, saying he’s her brother. Like I can’t tell?"

Some users questioned whether she might have mistaken them.

"I’ve worked in this industry for over ten years. There’s no way I got it wrong! She didn’t dare register him. Obviously, she’s afraid her husband will find out she’s cheating! I’m going to go listen outside their door later and livestream how loud she gets!"

I froze. It couldn’t be that much of a coincidence, right?

Until I opened the photo she had secretly taken. My blood turned to ice.

That was me.

Wait.

The "random guy" she was talking about… Did she mean the one lying on the floor?

But he really was my biological younger brother.

I was shaking all over with anger, gripping my phone so tightly it felt like it might crack in my hand.

The post was still gaining traction, and the comment section was filled with filth—vile, disgusting words that were hard to even read.

"Girls these days really know how to play. Valentine’s Day with no protection, just chasing thrills."

"She looks so innocent. Didn’t expect her to be this wild, roleplaying the whole ‘sister-brother’ thing."

"Her husband’s probably getting cheated on so badly it’s a joke."

"OP is doing God’s work. Give us updates!"

My temples throbbed violently, rage surging straight from my chest to my head.

The glow of the phone screen reflected on my face as my whole body trembled with anger.

"Shiloh, what are you looking at? Why do you look so pale?"

Mason Cases was woken by the noise I was making. He rubbed his eyes and sat up.

I handed him my phone. He only glanced at it once before his face turned instantly ashen.

The next second, he shot up from the floor mattress, grabbed a wooden stool from the room, and charged toward the door, his eyes bloodshot. "Screw this! I’m going to smash that damn front desk to pieces today!"

"Stop!" I grabbed his arm with all my strength, my voice shaking.

"Shy! You’re still stopping me? She’s slandering you like this!"

I held onto his trembling shoulders, forcing myself to stay calm. "If you rush down there now, won’t that just make it look like we’re guilty and lashing out because we got caught?"

"Then what are we supposed to do? Just let that crazy woman smear you like this?" His veins bulged at his temples. "I can’t swallow this!"

And neither could I.

However, logic told me that going head-on would only drag us deeper into this mess.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. Then I opened the comment section and quickly typed out a line.

"I’m the person in the photo. The one lying on the floor is my biological younger brother. Please delete the post immediately, or I will call the police."

The moment I posted it, the original poster, Riley Rowe, replied instantly.

"Oh? The star of the show is here! Calling the police? That’s hilarious. Why so defensive? You feeling guilty? Everyone, come look! She’s panicking! Must be scared her husband will find out!"

She even pinned her reply to the top.

The internet exploded.

"Exactly. If he’s really your brother, what are you afraid of? Show us proof!"

"Who knows if the proof is fake? These days, you can forge anything."

"She’s obviously selling herself and still pretending to be innocent."

Even worse, Riley started stirring things up in the thread. "Girls, her profile isn’t locked. Go check her out and see what kind of person she is, acting all arrogant like this."

In an instant, my social media accounts were exposed.

Countless strangers flooded into my profile, picking apart my photos, commenting on my life.

Some even started fantasizing about me outright.

"Nice body. Name your price. I’ll come find you tonight."

"Those legs? I could have fun with those for a year."

"She looks way hotter than my wife."

My vision went dark with rage, my entire body turning cold.

I immediately sent a direct message to Riley.

"Delete the post immediately, or we’ll call the police. You’ll be responsible for the consequences."

The message showed as read, but there was no reply for a long time. I sent another one.

This time, the moment it went through, a red exclamation mark popped up. She had blocked me.

I was just about to call the police when Mason suddenly shoved his phone in front of me.

"Shy, look!"

It was Riley’s latest post.

"Update! I’m about to go listen outside their door! I’ll livestream this Valentine’s sibling incest for you all. If you want to watch, tell me!"

The comments instantly flooded with excitement.

"Hurry up! Can’t wait!"

"Take me with you, OP. I want to listen too!"

"I want to hear the sister. I bet she sounds incredible."

Mason and I froze where we stood, as if we had fallen into an ice pit.

This was no longer just online harassment…

At that moment, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a shifting shadow beneath the gap of the hotel room door. She was actually here.

Mason’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the shadow outside the door, his voice filled with fury. "She actually dared to come!"

He clenched his fists and lunged toward the door.

"What are you doing?!" I grabbed him with all my strength.

"I’m going to rip that disgusting mouth of hers apart!" His eyes were bloodshot, muscles taut.

"If you go out there now and start a scene, and she records it and posts it online, what does that make us?" My voice trembled, but I forced myself to stay steady.

"Wouldn’t that just confirm we’re lashing out because we got caught? At that point, we won’t be able to clear our names no matter what we say."

Public opinion had already been stirred. Any extreme reaction from us would only become fresh ammunition for her.

It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over Mason. He calmed slightly, but the fire in his eyes only burned hotter.

He slammed his fist against the wall, gritting his teeth. "Then what do we do, Shy?! Just let her stand out there, and livestream lies about us?!"

I stared at the shadow moving beneath the door. My heart pounded wildly, but my mind had never been clearer.

I pulled out my phone and quickly tapped three numbers.

The moment the call connected, my voice was unnaturally calm. "Hello, 911? I’d like to report something.

"I’m staying in Room 808 at Silverpine Ridge Resort. I suspect this hotel is involved in organized prostitution. Please come immediately."

I didn’t mention the secret photos or defamation. After all, at this hour, to a night-duty officer, those things would seem trivial. If it were labeled as an online dispute, it would most likely end in a warning at best.

However, the moment I said "organized prostitution", everything changed.

Mason stared at me in shock, his mouth hanging open.

Less than ten minutes later, a rush of hurried, chaotic footsteps echoed through the hallway, followed by a thunderous shout that shook the corridor.

"Police! Nobody move! What’s going on here?!"

A woman’s terrified scream rang out from outside, along with the sound of something hitting the floor.

The moment had come. I yanked the door open.

Riley was pinned in place by two tall officers, each gripping one of her arms. The phone she had been using to livestream lay smashed on the floor, its screen still lit.

I hurried forward and spoke coldly, "Officers, I’m the one who called. I strongly suspect this hotel is involved in illegal prostitution."

When Riley saw me, it was like she had seen a ghost. She struggled wildly, screaming at the top of her lungs, "I didn’t do anything! You’re making things up! I didn’t do anything!"

I curled my lips into a cold smile. "Is that so? Then why were you lurking outside my door in the middle of the night instead of doing your job at the front desk?"

Her face turned deathly pale. She stammered, unable to say a single word.

One of the officers picked up the phone from the floor. After a single glance, his expression darkened instantly.

He turned the screen toward her and barked, "‘Valentine’s sibling incest’ livestream? The comment section is obscene. This is already crossing into explicit content. You’re coming with us to the station!"

At the mention of going to the police station, she completely panicked, shouting incoherently, "I didn’t do anything! I was just curious! There’s definitely something wrong with those two!"

She pointed at Mason and me, like she had just grabbed onto her last lifeline.

"They didn’t dare use their IDs to register! That means they’re hiding something! This woman is way older than that guy. There’s no way they’re in a normal relationship! She’s obviously keeping a younger guy on the side behind her husband’s back!"

I let out a cold laugh and met her gaze head-on. "So that’s your justification for knowingly breaking the law—livestreaming and spying on hotel guests’ privacy?"

The moment my words fell, Riley froze for only a few seconds before exploding. "I invaded your privacy? Don’t you know what the hell you two were doing yourselves?!"

She jutted her chin out and pointed right at my face, turning to complain to the police instead.

"Officers, don’t be fooled by her! She’s selling herself! Bringing a man to a hotel behind her husband’s back on Valentine’s Day! Check her phone! Check that guy’s phone too. There’s definitely money transfers between them!"

One of the officers, Officer Levi Goodman, frowned, his gaze shifting toward me with a trace of scrutiny.

On the livestream, her phone was still unlocked, and the comments were scrolling wildly.

"Yeah, didn’t she say she’s innocent? Let’s see her phone!"

"Exactly, if you’ve done nothing wrong, what are you afraid of?"

"I bet there’s definitely transaction records."

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a suit, looking polished on the surface, hurried over.

"Officers, what’s going on here? What happened?" He was Ryan Todd, the hotel manager.

I had thought help had arrived and that he would at least care about the hotel’s reputation and give me a fair explanation.

Suddenly, I caught a subtle movement. When Riley saw him, she instinctively reached out, as if to grab his arm, then stopped herself because the police were there.

That tiny gesture made my heart sink.

Ryan first greeted the officers with a broad smile, then turned to us, his expression shifting into one of concern laced with reproach.

"You two guests caused quite a disturbance in your room. Our front desk was concerned for your safety, so she came to check on you."

I let out a cold scoff. In a single sentence, he had twisted her voyeuristic livestream into something entirely different. No wonder he was the manager.

The next second, his tone shifted, turning stern. "However, our hotel is a legitimate establishment, not a place for you to cause trouble. Filing a false police report carries legal consequences."

I never expected him to bite back like this.

"Your actions have already seriously affected our hotel’s reputation and disturbed other guests’ rest. You need to leave immediately."

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. "You’re kicking us out?"

I glanced out the window. At some point, the wind and snow had picked up.

It was Valentine’s Day, and the ski resort hotels were already fully booked. If we left now, we wouldn’t even have a place to stay.

With Ryan backing her up, Riley instantly grew bolder. Her face was filled with undisguised smugness and mockery.

"You heard him. Get out. It’s snowing outside. I’d love to see where you two end up."

Ryan remained expressionless as he spoke into his radio, "Security, send two people to Room 808 to remove the guests’ belongings."

Riley grew even more excited, raising her phone toward the livestream.

"Guys! Here comes the best part! Let’s take a look inside their room and see just how wild things really are!"

As she spoke, she started charging into my room.

"Wait." My voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough to make everyone present stop in their tracks.

I looked at the two of them coldly and curved my lips into a faint smile. "Are you sure you want to go in?"

Riley froze for a second, then burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, what? Are you scared? The more you try to stop me, the more I want to see. I’m going to show everyone exactly how disgusting you really are, and what you’re really like behind the scenes!"

I smiled along with her, locking eyes with her. "Go ahead. Just don’t regret it."

She let out a dismissive snort and shoved the door open.

The next second, she froze in place, like she had turned to stone.