On the eve of my wedding, I was drugged at my own bachelorette party and dragged into a dark alley.
By the time I finally got rescued, my limbs were broken and my abdomen had been slashed open.
My father, the chairman, mobilized every resource of the Sherman Family to uncover the truth and send those responsible to prison. Meanwhile, my CEO brother urgently summoned the world’s top doctors to my hospital room.
“Give my daughter the best anesthetic! She’s most afraid of pain,” my father said with a look of heartache on his face.
My eyes widened in disbelief as I stared at him.
The next second, the cold anesthetic was injected into my veins. It forced me to close my eyes, but my mind remained clear. That man seemed to have forgotten that anesthetics didn’t work on me.
Aidan’s hesitant voice sounded in my ear. “Dad, aren’t we going too far by making Susan suffer so much just to get Sally to marry her fiancé?”
My father shot me a complex look before gritting his teeth. “Susan grows more selfish by the day. She’s already the Shermans’ heiress, but she remains insatiable. She constantly schemes against Sally. Even after Sally was expelled from the Sherman Family, Susan still isn’t satisfied. She keeps sending people to harass Sally. Sally has only us to rely on now. I must find her a suitable husband.”
“Besides, Sally and Connor truly love each other. It was Susan who stole the love meant for them.”
My father gently stroked my hair, yet his words were as cold as ice. “As for Susan, though she suffered greatly this time, her reputation ruined and no one will ever marry her, she remains my daughter. No one will ever truly understand her. After the wedding, I will make it up to her.”
I couldn’t hold back my tears, letting them soaked the pillow. It turned out the people who destroyed everything for me were the family I loved the most!
They had all once promised that they would always stand by me, or they would lose everything they cherished and come to a bad end.
Now, they had broken their promise. It was time for me to make them pay.
***
My father became anxious when he saw my tears. “Didn’t I tell you to give her an anesthetic? Why is my Susan still crying? Double the dose right now!”
Aidan’s gaze turned hostile toward the doctor when he saw the tears on my face.
The doctor hesitated before speaking. “Miss Susan’s wound is likely causing severe pain. Even with anesthesia, she’s experiencing phantom pain. The best option is to operate immediately.”
His words trailed off as he glanced at my father. “If we operate now, we might still preserve Miss Susan’s fertility.”
My father’s eyes turned red with heartache. The next second, his phone rang and he answered it without hesitation. “Sally, my most beautiful bride, why are you calling me instead of trying on your wedding dress?”
The room was quiet, so I could clearly hear Sally’s voice on the other end of the phone.
“Dad, I’m always worried something will go wrong tomorrow. Can I really marry Connor? After all, he’s my sister’s fiancé. If Susan finds out, she will definitely be angry with you. Maybe we should forget about it.”
My father’s voice softened with heartache when he heard that. “Don’t worry, Dad will handle everything. My Sally just needs to wait to be the most beautiful bride.”
After he hung up the phone, the expression on his face became resolute. “We are not doing the surgery!” he ordered.
Seeing my pained expression, Aidan hesitated. “Dad, Susan looks truly miserable. Haven’t her injuries been punishment enough? Besides, we still have the video.”
“No! She must lose her fertility. Only if she loses that will Connor’s family give up on her. Then Sally’s life in the Ladner Family will be comfortable. As for Susan, I’m her father and I will support her for the rest of her life.”
He wiped the tears from my face with an expensive silk handkerchief, but his voice was full of pity for Sally. “Sally finally found happiness with Connor. I can’t let Susan stand in her way.”
After a moment’s pause, Aidan only sighed. “Give my sister the strongest painkillers immediately. She mustn’t feel a single twinge of pain. No surgery.”
I trembled with rage, as despair and agony relentlessly assaulted my heart. Every pain I had suffered came from the two family members I loved most and all of it was for an illegitimate daughter.
Sally was the daughter born from a scheme that trapped my father. When she first returned home, she was timid and hesitant; my father and brother utterly despised her. They considered Sally to be a stain on the Sherman Family.
I, however, believed none of this was her fault. That was why I helped her gradually integrate into the family. Alas, I never imagined that once Sally came of age, she would rush headlong into an affair with my fiancé, Connor Ladner.
When we caught them in the act, my father nearly used family punishment to beat Sally to death. Aidan also beat Connor until he was covered in blood. Even my marriage was almost canceled.
I had no intention of marrying Connor again. Still, he knelt outside the Shermans’ residence for three days and nights straight, begging for our engagement to continue.
I thought they hated Sally to the bone, but I didn’t expect that everything was just an act for me.
The pain of a broken heart swept over my entire body. Sadly, Aidan didn’t notice it and called his assistant instead.
“Remember to deliver all ninety-nine pieces of jewelry I got for the highest price at auction to Sally’s wedding tomorrow. They’re my gift to her. Also, don’t forget to prepare the transfer documents for the manor I originally built for Susan and give it to Sally as well.”
Hearing this, I clenched my teeth until they ached.
My brother had been bidding extravagantly at auctions for the past few months and everyone thought he was preparing a birthday gift for me. It turned out that none of those treasures were mine. Even the mansion that had been under construction since I was eighteen, Aidan planned to give it to Sally.
The sound of the hospital door opening and closing reached my ears. I waited until the footsteps faded into the distance before finally opening my eyes. The torrent of tears blurred my vision, yet my heart had never felt so calm.
My hands trembled as I pulled out my phone and dialed my childhood friend, Jack Carter.
“Hey! Missy, got time to call me? Aren’t you supposed to be preparing to marry that scumbag tomorrow?” Jack’s carefree voice crackled through the line.
I suppressed the pain in my heart and asked each word carefully, “Jack, do the promises you made me still stand? I’m willing to marry you, but I need you to help me take down the Sherman Corporation. I want to destroy that company and every last member of the Shermans!”
Silence hung heavy on the line, before Jack finally speaking.
“I don’t know why you want that, but I’ll go along with it to the end. Give me seven days and I’ll bring you to my side.”
I replied in a hoarse voice, “Okay, see you in seven days.”
After hanging up the phone, I couldn’t bear the pain anymore and fell onto the bed. The vase on the bedside table crashed to the floor and the door was thrown open with a bang, revealing my father and brother with livid faces.
Aidan and my father looked at me with unreadable expressions.
“Susan, who are you meeting in seven days?”
From the look on their faces, I realized they hadn’t heard everything clearly. As their earlier words echoed in my mind, the pain I’d been struggling to suppress now swept through my entire body.
Noticing my pained expression, Aidan abandoned his earlier questioning and hurriedly helped me sit up. “Did the pain from your wounds wake you? Don’t worry, I’ve been right here with you. It’s all our fault for not saving you sooner.”
His eyes reddened as he shouted toward the door, “Why aren’t you in here yet? Didn’t I tell you to prepare painkillers? Why aren’t they working?”
My father, heartbroken, sat by my bedside, holding my hand as tears streamed down uncontrollably. His expression darkened as he gritted his teeth. “Susan, rest assured. I won’t let those who hurt you get away with it! Even if it means going to prison, I’ll make sure they suffer!”
After that, he gently stroked my head, his eyes brimming with love. Then, he spoke again. “Susan, your brother has already arranged for the world’s best doctors to come. They’ll arrive tomorrow morning. These quacks at the hospital aren’t fit to treat you!”
“Don’t worry, even if it means sacrificing the entire Sherman Family, I will cure you and ensure you live a carefree life.”
I stared numbly at the pain etched on my father’s and brother’s faces. If they truly loved me, how could they have done those things to me? The doctor clearly said my fertility could be preserved, but they insisted on delaying.
The thought made me laugh bitterly as I stared straight at my father. “Dad, will I really get better? Why won’t you let the doctors here operate on me first?”
“Susan, you will definitely get better. How could these quacks possibly treat you? I feared they’d only worsen your injuries by touching your wounds.”
He lowered his eyes, hiding the expression in them. Of course, he knew that if my wounds weren’t treated until tomorrow, not even the best doctors in the world would be able to save me.
To ensure his illegitimate daughter could marry my fiancé, my father—who had once stayed by my side as I grew up and promised to love me forever—had betrayed me. And my own brother, whom I had grown up with, had also abandoned me for that same illegitimate daughter.
Realizing this, I looked at the two people in front of me with bitter sorrow and said nothing more. When my expression cut into their hearts like blades, they unable to restrain themselves and reached out to me as if to soothe my scars.
Unfortunately, their hands stopped as the phone rang.
“Dad, I’ve tried on several wedding dresses and still can’t decide. Can you and Aidan come help me choose?” Sally’s coquettish voice rang out from the other end.
Even though my father covered the phone in time, I could still hear it clearly because of the distance.
Those men exchanged glances, studying my expression. When they saw I remained utterly calm, they breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, the doctor came to treat my wounds and said with pity, “Miss Susan, please bear with it, this might sting.”
A moment later, searing pain from the wound surged through my body. The anesthesia did not affect me whatsoever; I could feel every bit of the pain with excruciating clarity. And all of it had been inflicted by the very people closest to me.
I gritted my teeth and dug my nails into my palms until they bled.
Aidan’s eyes reddened as he watched what was happening. My father, pretending he couldn’t bear it, turned and left with the phone in his hand. Soon after, my brother also turned his head away and walked out of the room.
Their expressions of heartbreak were so convincing, but I knew what they were really doing.
Sure enough, ten minutes later, Sally sent me a video. In it, my father beamed as he helped her into her wedding gown, completely disregarding his role as an elder. Meanwhile, Aidan was fastening a dark green necklace around her neck.
My eyes widened in disbelief. That necklace was my mother’s keepsake!
I wanted to rush over right then and snatch my mother’s necklace back, but what followed in the video only deepened my hatred.
“Dad, Susan is so badly injured. She has surgery tomorrow. Why don’t you stay with her? As for my wedding, it’s fine if you can’t make it. I can manage alone. I just wonder if the Ladner Family will accept me.”
Sally, dressed in her wedding gown, looked desolate as she spoke. Of course, Aidan and my father immediately began to comfort her.
“Don’t worry, Susan can manage alone. We’d just be waiting outside during her surgery anyway. It’s better to attend your wedding,” my brother stammered nervously.
My father’s face darkened as he solemnly promised, “Be at ease, I’ll be there tomorrow to support you. This is your most important day. Even if Susan finds out, she’ll understand.”
A flicker of secret delight crossed Sally’s eyes at their assurances. Then, they began discussing every detail of the upcoming wedding. Those ceremonies, those gifts, those surprises, all things they had once promised to me.
Yet here I was, lying alone in agony on the hospital bed, while they gave everything meant for me to Sally. I clenched my fists and began to pick apart my feelings for my family, piece by piece.
After Sally went in to change into her wedding gown, my brother hesitated before speaking, “Dad, Susan’s condition is so critical now. Should we still release those videos from the scene tomorrow? I fear she might not be able to handle it.”
My father paused for a moment, his gaze shifting toward Sally in the dressing room. At that time, his resolve suddenly hardened. “Release them! Not just online, show them at Sally’s wedding ceremony. Only then can I completely crush the Ladners’ ambitions.”
With that, he pulled out his phone again. “I’ll ensure the doctors treat Susan properly. You must keep this news hidden, at least for the next few days. She mustn’t know, nor must she disrupt Sally’s wedding.”
Aidan nodded with unwavering resolve at his order.
I replayed the video ten times over, then lay back on the bed in a daze.
The kindness that my father and brother had shown me before was genuine. Now, they were truly giving all of that kindness to Sally, while I had become the enemy standing in the way of her happiness.
The next day, I was wheeled into the operating room.
After enduring the agonizing surgery, I dragged my exhausted body to the wedding venue. I had to stop them from releasing the video.
When I arrived at the wedding hall, I looked at everything before me with a pale face.
Lavender swayed in the wind, the dreamlike ceremony hall and the gorgeous bride being escorted by her father and brother. Everything here was exactly as I had once described to my family.
My father held Sally’s hand, his heart aching as he placed it into the groom’s. “Connor, I entrust my daughter to you. If you ever treat her poorly, I will make you repay it a hundredfold. The Shermans will always be Sally’s strongest support.”
A blissful smile spread across Sally’s face as my father and brother stood beside her like guardians.
I couldn’t take it anymore and rushed forward, desperate to stop them. But a heartbeat later, the giant LED screen lit up with the video from that day, when they had drugged me and dragged me into an alley. They even edited the footage to make it look like I went willingly.
Everyone presents showed expressions of disgust. Connor, in particular, roared with loathing in his eyes. “Change it back immediately! My wedding doesn’t need this tramp to show up!”
My family watched as everything unfolded and when they saw me in the video, a hint of disgust appeared on their faces as well. Ironically, they were the ones who had done all of this to me.
The revelation struck me like lightning. I stumbled back uncontrollably, knocking over a flower stand behind me, which crashed to the floor with a loud noise. Every gaze quickly snapped to me.
“Isn’t that Miss Susan from the LED screen? How dare she show up here? Did she release that video herself? How shameless!”
The whispers slithered into my ears like venomous snakes. I clutched my head tightly, desperate to flee.
But the next second, a group of reporters appeared out of nowhere and surrounded me. The expressions on their faces were completely manic.
“Miss Susan, I heard you willingly engaged in promiscuous relations with multiple partners just to break off the engagement with Connor Ladner. Are you dissatisfied with his family?”
“Miss Susan, by showing up at the wedding now and releasing these videos, are you trying to provoke the Ladners and your sister?”
Hearing this, I finally erupted in fury. “I have no sister!”
The reporters paid no heed to my words, shoving microphones right in my face.
“Miss Susan, I hear you were hospitalized yesterday due to your promiscuity and will never be able to have children. Is that true?”
As they spoke, they started to pull at my clothes. When they found the wounds underneath, they became even more excited.
I struggled desperately, but having just undergone surgery, I was no match for them. They tore my clothes away piece by piece, made me wish I could die right there.
“My God, these wounds are real! Those videos must be real, too! Who would’ve thought the high-and-mighty Susan Sherman secretly indulges in promiscuity!”
“Hurry! Get all of this evidence! We’re going to help Miss Susan make a name for herself and become infamous forever!”
Their mocking laughter echoed endlessly in my ears.
I crouched down, clutching my body tightly, my cheeks wet with relentless tears.
“Miss Susan, don’t crouch! You posted that video here to become famous, didn’t you? You’re such a natural slut.”
They ripped at my limbs while they talked, as if they wanted to devour every bit of my flesh.
Finally, I heard my father and brother roar from distance. “What are you doing? Stop immediately!”
They began to run toward me after that. The bodyguards, seeing the situation, also began to charge.
The next second, Sally, who had been behind my father, suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground, letting out a sharp cry of pain.
At once, Aidan and my father’s steps came to an abrupt halt.
“Dad, Aidan, I’m fine. Go check on Susan first,” Sally spoke with strength, rising to her feet only to stumble and fall again.
Pain flickered across their faces before they finally gritted their teeth and turned to me.
“Susan, the bodyguards are coming to help you. Hang on a little longer.”
With those words, they abandoned me and helped Sally toward the backstage.
The bodyguards began shooing away the reporters and I was pushed to the ground by the surging crowd. The countless feet instantly trampled over me without restraint.
In the final second before losing consciousness, all I saw were the malicious stares of everyone present.
In a daze, I felt myself carried on someone’s back, heart-wrenching sobs choking beside me.
“Susan, you have to hang on. Dad and I can’t lose you.”
Aidan was so heartbroken that he was nearly suffocating. “Susan, you said you’d always be with me. You can’t leave me behind.”
I stopped struggling, letting myself sink into the darkness.
When I woke again, my entire body was swathed in bandages.
My brother was watching over me and as soon as he saw I was awake, his eyes turned red.
“Susan, you’re finally awake! Are you still in pain? Are you hungry? Do you want some water?” As he spoke, he carefully brought a cup of water to my lips.
I said nothing, silently drinking it all.
Everything I endured was their doing. Why were they now putting on this false show?
My brother chattered on beside me, his eyes brimming with guilt.
When my father saw I was awake, he embraced me so tightly his tears soaked my hair. “Susan, my darling, you’re finally awake. I knew you’d never abandon me and your brother.”
Their grief in that moment was real, but even so, when danger came before, they had chosen Sally without hesitation.
With this thought in mind, I pulled the corners of my mouth into a slight smile and said in a raspy voice, “I want to be discharged.”
Aidan’s expression stiffened instantly when he heard me. “Susan, you’re not well right now. How about you get discharged in a few days? I will find the best doctors in the world to help you recover.”
He spoke carefully and leaned his head closer to my hand, just like he did when we were little. I didn’t move and continued to say expressionlessly, “I want to be discharged.”
My father’s face also showed a look of reluctance.
For the next three days, they took great care of me. I spoke no words to them except to say I wanted to be discharged. Yet my family didn’t seem to mind at all.
One was the chairman of the Sherman Corporation and the other was the CEO, yet now they served me like servants—bringing tea and water.
Whatever I craved, they’d procure it within seconds. Anything I desired, they’d provide. Still, I knew it was all an illusion.
They would never show up in front of me at the same time, because when my father was with me, my brother would be with Sally. Their kindness to me was all leftover, something Sally didn’t want.
Thinking of this, I gave a wry smile.
My father stroked my head with a pained expression and sighed, “Susan, if you’re so eager to leave the hospital, then go. I’ll arrange for people to care for you at the villa.”
After he finished speaking, he had someone send me back to the villa. Meanwhile, he himself hurried away.
Minutes later, my phone received another video call from Sally.
“Susan, our family’s having dinner. Why aren’t you joining us? Or is it that you’re crippled now and can’t come? How pitiful, being ruined like this by your own father and brother. You’re both stubborn and worthless, sis. Even this couldn’t kill you. Oh, and that villa you designed earlier? It’s really nice. I’m living very comfortably there.”
She sent the message with a mocking emoji attached. The video showed my father, brother, Sally and Connor enjoying a harmonious meal. I quickly recognized the location as the villa I had designed.
When it ended, I turned off my phone expressionlessly. Ever since that wedding incident, nothing my father or brother did could move me anymore.
I began cleaning out the villa. After living here for 20 years, it was filled with my family’s traces: the toys my father gave me since I was just a year old, the birthday presents from him and Aidan, the thousand paper cranes Aidan once folded by hand and the lucky charms my father brought me year after year.
I took them all down. After I ran my fingers lightly over these items, I realized that at some point, they had become covered in dust. Just like the love between my father, my brother and me.
After carefully wiping them clean, I tossed them all into the fireplace without hesitation. The roaring flames instantly consumed everything.
I didn’t watch as they burned. Instead, I turned and entered my father’s study.
I logged into my father’s computer using Sally’s birthday, staring at the wallpaper showing the three of them smiling brightly. I opened their chat history and scrolled through the endless messages that stretched before me, reading them bit by bit.
When I reached the year 2023 and saw that contract, my eyes widened in disbelief.
Back in 2023, when the Sherman Corporation faced a major crisis, I had secretly sold thirty patents I held without telling my family. To ensure safety, I sought help from Jack, who ultimately secured this contract and saved the company.
Yet in their chat history, they credited Sally alone for it.
“Back when the Sherman Corporation faced a crisis, it was Sally who knelt and begged those people to step in at all costs, saving the company. Her health suffered because of it. I will take full responsibility for Sally and find her the best possible future.”
Soon, messages began flashing across the computer screen. I mechanically clicked through them.
[Mr. Sherman, the contract you requested is ready. In three days, once you sign it, 15% of Sherman Corporation shares will transfer to Miss Sally. But weren’t these shares originally intended for Miss Susan?]
The next second, my father’s reply popped up.
[Forget about Susan. I’ll take care of her for the rest of her life. She’s crippled now; she doesn’t need shares. Sally, on the other hand, requires some shares to protect herself while she’s with the Ladners.]
I stared at the messages, snapping photos of each one.
Later, I went back to my room, lay on the bed and laughed until tears streamed down my face. So it had all been so simple—Sally had stolen my credit, while my family remained blind and heartless.
Tears drenched the pillow without my knowing. After a long moment, I finally calmed down and took out my phone to text Jack.
[About our plan, we need to change the location. In 3 days, my dad and brother will host Sally’s birthday party at the company and transfer shares. I’ll send you more evidence. On her birthday, you must reclaim all the patents I gave the Shermans and cancel all their contracts. I want them to lose everything that day!]
Over the next three days, my father and brother rarely appeared before me.
Before they did that, they explained to me with guilty faces, “The company is too busy. Once everything settles down, we’ll celebrate your birthday properly.”
After they left, Sally would send me more photos and videos.
They were preparing even more extravagant jewelry for her birthday party, along with a dress worth billion. Everything was even more precious than what she had for her wedding.
[Susan, do you know why Dad and Aidan are doing this? It’s because they feel that the video released that day, along with you being trampled at the wedding, ruined my big day. So, they’re making it up to me with something even better. This time, you won’t have a chance to show up in front of me. The Shermans will soon be mine. Lol.]
I screenshotted the message and forwarded it to Jack.
Soon, Sally’s birthday arrived. Actually, this day was not only her birthday but also mine and everything she orchestrated was solely to crush me completely at this moment.
Aidan brought me a simple birthday cake. After lighting the candles, he stammered, “Susan, the incident you were involved in caused too much commotion. Public opinion hasn’t settled yet and your health hasn’t fully recovered either, so … ”
I quickly interrupted him with a blank expression. “It’s fine, I’ve already prepared the best gift for myself.”
Hearing this, my father looked relieved. “Susan, you’ve matured so much after this incident.”
Aidan then patted my hand reassuringly. “It’s okay. Next year, Dad and I will throw you an even better birthday party. We’ll make it huge! I’ll make you the happiest person in the world!”
“There won’t be a next time,” I murmured to myself.
Luckily, they didn’t catch what I said.
In the past, whenever my brother said something like that, I’d always leap up excitedly. But now, I just stared expressionlessly at the cake before me.
They all instantly sensed something was off.
My father reached out to grab me, as if he still wanted to promise me something. I didn’t have time to resist as my brother’s phone suddenly rang. After glancing at the caller’s name, Aidan shot our father a meaningful look.
Both of them hurriedly reassured me, “Susan, there’s an urgent matter at the company. We need to handle it. Stay home and be good. I’ll have someone watch over you.”
I nodded calmly, watching them leave.
Ten minutes later, Sally sent me another video.
It showed my father affectionately dabbed a bit of cream on her cheek, while my brother laughed happily. Everyone was gathered around them, making Sally look like a little princess.
[Susan, why aren’t you joining us? Oh, right, I forgot it’s also your birthday today. What a shame, Dad and Aidan both came to celebrate my birthday with me. They even promised they would absolutely not let you show up. Sally, if I were you, living like this, I’d rather die. Your reputation, your innocence, your family, your wealth—you’ve lost it all. How can you have the nerve to keep living?]
After watching the cheerful video and reading Sally’s message, I closed my eyes and blocked that number permanently.
However, my counterattack was coming. I took out a lighter and set the curtains ablaze before me. Soon, raging flames started to devour everything.
At Sally’s birthday party, my father was about to sign the share transfer agreement when the girl beside him could barely contain the greed in her eyes.
Just then, the secretary rushed in to interrupt him. “Mr. Sherman! It’s bad! The video of the people you hired attacking Miss Susan has been posted online!”
My father’s face instantly changed. Before he could say anything, his phone rang. “Sir! Miss Susan’s room is on fire! By the time we found out, the fire had already engulfed the entire villa!”
The call made his phone fall to the floor straightaway.
The originally lively banquet instantly fell silent. All eyes turned to my father and brother, awaiting their reaction.
My father stood frozen in place while the secretary was still waiting for him to respond. Yet at this moment, he couldn’t remember anything.
Next to him, Aidan abruptly picked up the phone from the ground and yelled into it, “What nonsense are you spouting? How could Susan’s room possibly catch fire? Who permitted you to curse her? Billy, have you lost your mind? Are you tired of living?”
Billy, the butler, on the other end instantly grew trembling with fear, his voice laced with terror.
“Sir, how could I dare deceive you and your father? Miss Susan’s room truly caught fire. Because you and your father instructed us to guard the door, by the time we discovered the flames, it was already too late. We’ve called the firefighters, but they said the blaze was so intense that it completely gutted Miss Susan’s room. If she hadn’t escaped at the start, I’m afraid … ”
Then, as if worried my father and brother might fly into a rage, Billy hastily added. “Sir, you and your father can rest assured. Miss Susan is blessed by heaven and will surely be fine. Even if something happened, it would only serve your and your father’s wishes. Haven’t you both long considered her a stain on the family?”
Billy’s fawning voice rang out on the other end of the line and Aidan’s expression instantly turned furious.
“What the hell are you talking about? Are you crazy? Do you think you have any right to interfere in my sister’s and my father’s affairs? I think you’re truly mad!”
As if to cover up the panic rising inside him, my brother suddenly smashed the phone onto the floor. He stared at the phone, his mind buzzing, his blood freezing.
How could Billy’s words possibly be true?
How could I be dead? I should be quietly recuperating at home, waiting for them to return. How could I, his beloved sister, be burned to death in the villa?
But Billy’s reaction and his words somehow felt undeniably real.
Aidan’s chest ached more and more. Meanwhile, my father, witnessing everything that was happening, simply couldn’t believe that in just a few short hours, he would lose his own daughter.
How absurd this news was.
Those around them began whispering among themselves. They were still at the scene and with such a big incident at the Sherman Family, they hadn’t paid any attention to the online news. Their impression of me naturally remained frozen in time from just days prior.
“Isn’t Susan’s death a blessing for the Sherman Corporation? Someone like her only tarnishes the Shermans’ name while alive, right?”
“Exactly. I don’t get why Mr. Sherman is so upset. If it were me, I’d be overjoyed. Imagine having a slut like that in the family, who actually played those videos at her own sister’s wedding! If those videos hadn’t surfaced, or if she hadn’t taken things so far that night, I remember the groom was actually supposed to marry Susan, wasn’t he?”
Aidan and my father heard every word the bystanders exchanged and a bitter taste instantly rose in both their hearts.
Still, Aidan wasn’t as composed as our father. He shouted furiously at the crowd, “What happens in my family is none of your business! How dare you speak about my sister like that?”
“All of you, get out now! My family does not welcome you!”
As he spoke, he ordered the bodyguards forward to drive out those who had just spoken.
Though the guests attending Sally’s birthday party might not individually match the Shermans’ influence, their combined clout was certainly formidable.
Now, with Aidan acting like a madman, trying to throw them out over that so-called Sherman Family slut who’d just become famous a few days ago, they suddenly felt they couldn’t stand it anymore.
Anger clouded their judgment and words they’d never have uttered before poured out now.
“What are you pretending? Don’t think we’re all like Susan, clueless about everything. Now you’re suddenly putting on this act of caring for her? Doesn’t that seem utterly hypocritical? Let’s be honest, her becoming a slut probably has something to do with you, doesn’t it?”
The guests’ eyes turned to my father and brother, filled with scorn.
“One treats his illegitimate daughter better than his own flesh and blood. The other, despite having a full-blooded sister, shows her no affection and instead sides with the illegitimate child. Do you think no one knows what you’ve done? You gave shares to the illegitimate daughter and you, her own brother, didn’t even try to stop it. Your own full-blooded sister got nothing. Now that she’s dead, you pretend to be outraged. It’s disgusting!”
As they spoke, the guests’ gazes toward my father and brother grew even more scornful.
My father and brother swiftly froze in place. The pain spreading in their hearts became increasingly hard to ignore. All they wanted now was to see me.
Just then, Connor stepped forward. Accompanied by bodyguards, he escorted everyone out of the venue, smiling as he apologized to each guest individually.
“My deepest apologies. My father-in-law and the others reacted this way upon receiving unfortunate news. I ask for your understanding. In a few days, once things settle, I will personally host another gathering for everyone to celebrate properly.”
Later, Connor promptly ushered everyone out without hesitation. Now, the guests’ gazes toward him carried a hint of admiration.
After everyone had left, Connor gave Sally a meaningful glance. Of course, that girl immediately understood.
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