Heavy impacts rolled down the staircase in rapid succession.

Cathy's scream tore through the house as she crashed from step to step, all the way to the lower floor, finally coming to a twisted stop in a broken sprawl. For several seconds, she didn't even move.

The color drained from Jason's face in an instant. "Cathy!" He bolted down the stairs without hesitation.

Downstairs, the entire house broke into commotion.

The servants stood rooted in place, none of them daring to step forward, not even willing to draw a full breath.

No one had imagined that the family's long-lost daughter—only recently brought back—could be capable of something like this, let alone carry it out with such cold severity.

Above it all, Gracie remained at the top of the stairs, one hand resting lightly on the railing as she looked down.

Her expression didn't shift. Calm lingered on her face, but beneath it was something harder—sharper, almost dangerous.

Once before, right in this exact place, she had been brought to her knees—crying, swearing through broken breaths that she hadn't done anything, only to be ignored completely.

This time around, she didn't even feel the urge to explain.

If they were already set on condemning her, she saw no reason to fight the story they wanted to believe.

"Cathy, are you alright?" Jason rushed in and hauled her up, his voice tight, edged with alarm.

Cathy was hurting so badly she could barely draw a full breath. Tears kept spilling down her face—this time, they weren't an act at all.

"Jason… it hurts…" she choked out, her voice shaking as she struggled through the pain. "I guess… Gracie really doesn't want me here… Maybe… maybe I should just go…"

"No!" Jason snapped, fury pushing past his unease. "The one who needs to leave is her—not you!"

His chin snapped upward as his glare locked onto Gracie, pure rage burning in his eyes.

"Gracie, get the hell down here—right now!"

She didn't move an inch, didn't even blink, just stood there watching him as though his fury meant absolutely nothing.

She let a beat hang in the air before speaking at last, tone steady and unnervingly composed. "Sorry about that. I did push her. But Cathy's always been so kind and forgiving… she'll let it go, won't she?"

The entire living room seemed to lock up.

Jason froze, his body going stiff, while Cathy's eyes flew wide in utter shock.

Even the surrounding staff looked stunned into silence, as if they couldn't process what they'd just heard.

Gracie had admitted to it so plainly—pushing Cathy down the stairs—only to follow it with a casual apology, like it was nothing more than a minor misunderstanding, and then turn around and expect forgiveness.

Before anyone could recover, Gracie tilted her head slightly and carried on. "What? No one's got anything to say?"

"You!" Jason's anger choked off his words before they could fully form.

He looked like he wanted to swear, to storm straight upstairs and rip her down himself—but even that impulse stalled, as if he couldn't decide where to begin.

Up by the railing, Gracie rested lightly against it, eyes carrying a clear, cutting amusement.

"I said I pushed Cathy. I said sorry too," she continued, unbothered. "Isn't that exactly what you all wanted? So why the long faces?"

Cathy's whole body ached, but the moment those words landed, heat surged through her chest. Her fingers trembled violently, nails digging into her palms, yet she forced herself to stay composed.

There was no way she could afford to lose her temper yet.

"Gracie…" Her voice came out tight, strained through her teeth. "I don't blame you." Each word felt like it had to be dragged out. "If it makes you feel better… I can live with it…"

"Cathy!" Jason looked like he couldn't stand what he was hearing. His expression twisted in panic and fury all at once as he spun toward the staircase and barked upward, "Gracie, you've crossed the line!"

"Have I?" Gracie's voice drifted down, calm and almost detached as she glanced over him. "Then tell me—what exactly are you planning to do about it? Throw me out of this house? Or run straight to Mom and Dad so they can handle me for you?"

A subtle curve touched her lips, but it carried no trace of warmth.

"Tell me, Jason… do you even have that kind of authority over me?"

Jason felt the words land like a punch, knocking the breath out of him.

His expression locked in place.

Step by step, Gracie descended the staircase without any hurry, each footfall landing into a hush so thick it only sharpened the pressure in the room below.

"Need I spell out why I was brought back here in the first place?"

Reaching the bottom step, she stopped and held Jason in a steady, deliberate stare, every word carefully measured.

"Carter Group is tearing itself apart from the inside. The board is restless. The media's circling like vultures. What you're really after is a convenient narrative—your long-lost daughter returning after twenty years, something clean, something polished, something that makes the Carter family look stable, respectable, unified. In other words, I'm just your public image fix. And as long as this little show is still running, none of you can actually afford to kick me out."

Silence swallowed the room whole.

Jason stood there, stunned into silence—anger and disbelief tightening his face—but nothing came out.

Because Gracie had hit the mark.

The Carter family hadn't gone through the effort of tracking her down and pulling her back into their world out of some long-buried affection. They needed her. That was all.

Back in her previous life, Gracie hadn't seen it for what it was until everything had already collapsed around her.

This time, she had no intention of being that naive again.

"If you don't have the power to get rid of me, then stop pretending you get to decide anything about me." Her eyes slid past Jason and landed on Cathy. "And that room—"

A light, almost careless curve touched her lips.

"Didn't you just say you were going to hand it back to me, Cathy?"

Cathy barely managed to hold herself together.

She didn't want to let go of it. Not at all.

That bedroom—the finest in the entire Carter estate—had been personally arranged by Richard and Elaine for her. It wasn't just a space. It was proof of her place, her standing, everything she had held onto inside this family.

But the words were already out.

Backing down now would only make everything she'd done earlier look staged.

"If you really want it, Gracie…" She drew in a breath and forced a fragile smile. "I'll pack up and leave."

"Cathy!" Jason's voice snapped up instantly, edged with panic.

"Jason." She stopped him before he could continue, turning toward him with tear-bright eyes while steadying her tone as best she could. "She spent so many years outside this family. Giving her the room… it's the least I can do."

Gracie didn't react. Not a flicker of emotion crossed her face as she observed her.

Of course she'd go that far. Cathy would bend herself into anything if it meant keeping the performance intact.

That was just how Cathy was.

Gracie shifted her gaze to Jason and remarked flatly, "You heard her. Your dear Cathy was the one who offered it. Or are you planning to take her word back for her?"