I repeated Mom's words in an icy tone.

The smiles on my parents' faces vanished instantly.

Mom reacted faster. She stepped forward and reached for my hand, but I turned aside and avoided her. "Chris, why are you here?" she asked.

Her voice trembled. "Come here, let me introduce you. This is—"

I cut her off, fixing my gaze squarely on Benjamin. "This is Benjamin Smith, your sweetheart, right?"

The smile faded from Benjamin's face as well. He looked at me, visibly at a loss. A flicker of sympathy passed through his eyes before he turned to my parents for help.

"Who is this?" a guest asked.

Dad's face darkened completely. He lowered his voice and snapped, "Christopher Blake! Stop causing trouble here and go home!"

"Causing trouble?"

I laughed coldly. "Dad, did you forget what day it is? Today is also your own son's birthday—mine."

I spoke every word clearly.

Gasps and murmurs spread through the crowd. Everyone's eyes shifted back and forth between my parents and me, filled with curiosity and gossip.

"So he's the real son… Then—"

"Unbelievable. How can they ignore their own son's birthday and throw such a massive party for an outsider?"

"What's Mr. Blake thinking? I honestly don't understand it."

As the murmurs reached my parents, their expressions darkened. Mom's lips trembled.

Dad's eyes went from panicked to furious. "That's enough!"

Dad slammed his hand on the table. "Did you really have to ruin everything today?"

"Ruin everything?"

I raised my phone and clicked on a video. "Mom, who's really ruining everything? Who's the one who's preparing a surprise for me while putting a crown on someone else and giving him a watch?"

On the screen, the footage clearly showed Mom gently placing the crown on Benjamin's head.

"Ben, today you're our most precious little prince," she said.

Those words echoed through the silent banquet hall from the phone's speaker. All the color drained from Mom's face.

I switched to the group photo. "And this—how did the son of your so-called important client become your sweetheart?"

I turned the screen toward the crowd so everyone could see the photo and the comments beneath it. The guests' faces contorted with surprise, judgment, and disbelief.

Dad trembled with rage. He jabbed a finger at me wordlessly. "Christopher Blake, y-you—"

"What?" I asked.

I met his gaze. My eyes were welling up, but my voice stayed cold. "I just want to ask you this in person. Does having a new son feel so much better than having me? What did I do to deserve being humiliated and cast aside like this?"

My voice grew louder, echoing the ten years of anguish I suffered.

Benjamin's face turned pale. He tugged at Mom's sleeve and whispered, "Mrs. Blake, this—"

Mom yanked her hand away from him. She looked at me with eyes full of regret. "Chris, it's not what you think. It's really not what you think!"

"Then, what is it?" I demanded. "Come on, say it!"

At that moment, the doors of the banquet hall were pushed open.

Suzy rushed in. When she saw the tense standoff, her face went pale. She ran up to me and gripped my arm tightly. Her voice was shaking. "Christopher, listen to my explanation!"

"Enough! I don't want to hear any more explanations from you!" I shouted.

I struggled to break free from her. I had already achieved my purpose today. I wanted everyone to see the true faces of my so-called model parents, letting the carefully crafted image they had spent years building fall apart today.

I raised my phone high, ready to project the group chat screenshots onto the big screen. "Mom, Dad, this show is over!"

Just as I was about to press the projection button, Suzy snatched my phone and clutched it tightly to her chest. "Christopher! Please! Just wait five more minutes!"

Her eyes were red, and her voice was filled with desperation.