Lynn clutched her head and screamed hysterically. "No! No, this can't be happening!"
Why?
Why had everything gone wrong?
The people in that video were supposed to be Elena and Max — not Felix, not Sophia, and definitely not Julia!
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
They had planned everything perfectly with Mrs. Cheng — to destroy Elena's reputation, to make Felix and Sophia's marriage official. Each of them had their motives: Mrs. Cheng wanted to secure Felix's inheritance, and Sophia wanted to climb higher by marrying into the Cheng family.
Elena had been their only obstacle.
All they had to do was get rid of her. The plan had been foolproof — meticulous, flawless.
So why had everything flipped upside down?
How had it turned into this — Felix, Sophia, and Julia caught in the most disgraceful video imaginable?
Mrs. Cheng went wild. She lunged toward the projector, trying to cut off the video feed. But no matter what she did, the screen wouldn't turn off.
It was as if the system had been hacked.
She kicked the base of the giant screen, grabbed a chair, and smashed it — but nothing worked.
The obscene footage kept playing, the sounds echoing through the grand hall, raw and humiliating.
Guests began to murmur, their eyes filled with disgust and disbelief.
"A disgrace! This is what happens when parents don't raise their children properly."
"Both the Chengs and the Sungs — no sense of family honor at all. How shameful."
"Shut up!" Mrs. Cheng shrieked, flipping over a chair, completely losing control.
"My son would never do such a thing! Felix is a decent man — this has to be a setup!"
"It's the Sung family!" she howled. "They must have drugged him! That scheming woman and her daughters seduced him just to get ahead!"
"What did you just say?" Lynn snapped, spinning around, equally hysterical. "You're blaming us? Don't twist this — it was your idea from the start!"
The two women's shouting filled the ballroom.
"You said you'd drug Elena," Lynn yelled, pointing at her. "Then have Max lure her, and Sophia record the video! Once that leaked, Elena would be ruined and Sophia could marry Felix! That was your plan!"
Mrs. Cheng's face contorted. "You—"
"Now that it's backfired, you're turning on us? You think you can just push the blame—"
SLAP!
Lynn gasped. "Ah!"
Mrs. Cheng had slapped her across the face. "Shut your filthy mouth, you wretch!"
Lynn's eyes burned with fury. "You crazy old witch! How dare you—"
She slapped her back.
And then chaos erupted.
Hair-pulling, screaming, kicking — the two women were rolling on the floor, clawing at each other's faces like wild animals.
The guests watched, horrified yet fascinated — the most scandalous scene of the year unfolding before them.
From their shouting alone, everyone pieced together what had really happened.
So this was the grand plan behind Elena's supposed "scandal."
A setup gone wrong.
A perfect trap that had caught its own masterminds.
"Serves them right."
"When snakes bite each other, both die."
At the head of the room, Mr. Cheng was trembling with fury. His face had gone pale. He snatched the microphone from a nearby staff member and bellowed,
"ENOUGH!"
The sound echoed like thunder.
The two women froze mid-fight. Disheveled, bruised, and panting, they released each other and stumbled to their feet, hair tangled, dresses torn — humiliated before the city's elite.
The hall fell silent.
Mr. Cheng, supported by his butler, walked slowly to the center of the stage. He glanced at the enormous screen — the indecent video still flickering faintly — and then turned back to the crowd with visible pain in his eyes.
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said hoarsely, "thank you for taking the time to attend tonight's banquet. I apologize deeply that my unworthy grandson and daughter-in-law have brought such disgrace upon our family."
He paused, drawing a heavy breath before continuing,
"Since everyone is here, I will take this moment to make two announcements."
The guests leaned forward.
"First," Mr. Cheng said solemnly, "after careful consideration, I have decided that the inheritance of the Cheng family will pass not to Felix, but to my younger grandson, Eden."
The room erupted into gasps.
Eden — the quiet, mild-mannered second grandson — looked stunned, as did the entire second branch of the family.
But Mrs. Cheng screamed.
Her voice cut through the air like a knife. "Father, have you gone senile?!"
"How can you hand over the Cheng legacy so easily? That position belongs to Felix! Eden's just a bookworm — he can't handle a company!"
The crowd whispered.
"So rude — that's how she talks to her father-in-law?"
"No wonder her son turned out like that. Terrible example."
Mr. Cheng's fury reached its limit. "Are you questioning my judgment? Or are you saying I no longer have authority in my own house?"
Realizing she had crossed a line, Mrs. Cheng collapsed to her knees, clutching his legs and sobbing. "Father, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Please, please don't do this. Give Felix another chance. You've seen how hard he's worked for the company!"
But Mr. Cheng's expression didn't soften. He turned his gaze away and spoke coldly into the microphone.
"My second announcement is this — from this day forward, Felix and his mother are expelled from the Cheng family."
Gasps swept through the crowd.
"I will not tolerate immoral behavior under my roof. Their names will be stricken from the Cheng family registry!"
Mrs. Cheng wailed. "Father—! You can't do this to us!"
She clung to his legs, sobbing uncontrollably. "We've worked ourselves to the bone for this family! You can't just throw us away like trash!"
Mr. Cheng closed his eyes. "Security — remove her."
At once, several guards stepped forward.
Mrs. Cheng fought like a madwoman, her face twisted in rage. "Let me go! You blind idiots! Don't you dare touch me!"
She lunged at Mr. Cheng, claws outstretched. "You old bastard! If I go down, I'm taking you with me!"
The guards intercepted her just in time, restraining her as she screamed and kicked.
"Let go of me! You'll all regret this!" she shrieked as they dragged her away, her laughter sharp and hysterical. "Rot in hell, you old man! You'll die alone, do you hear me?!"
Mr. Cheng's chest heaved violently — the butler rushed to steady him.
The banquet was in ruins.
The Cheng family's name was in tatters.
Felix's future was destroyed.
And with the scandal blazing across every screen in Southville, the Sung family was finished too.
Lynn's vision swam. She swayed once — and fainted dead away.
Her last thought before losing consciousness was one of pure confusion.
How had this happened?
How had Elena escaped?
Where was Max?
And how had Felix and Sophia ended up as the ones in the video?
She didn't know.
All she knew was—
They were finished.
Before dawn, every paper, every feed, and every whisper in Southville would carry the same message:
The Chengs and Sungs had fallen.
The Cheng family's grand banquet descended into chaos.
The air was thick with humiliation and disbelief.
After the scandalous video played before the guests, Mr. Cheng's voice thundered through the microphone. He stripped Felix and his mother of their family rights and declared the second branch of the family as unworthy of inheritance. Lynn fainted on the spot, and Derek, his face dark with shame, carried her away like a rat fleeing a sinking ship.
Their downfall was complete — a fitting punishment for their greed and cruelty.
They would never again enjoy the wealth and prestige they once flaunted. In Southville's high society, their names would be poison.
Elena watched it all unfold without a hint of pity.
She was no saint.
Everything that happened to them was what they had brought upon themselves.
They had schemed, slandered, and tried to destroy her over and over again — pushing her toward ruin each time.
Now, karma had finally come for them.
The wicked destroy themselves.
The only person she felt sorry for was Mr. Cheng.
In less than half an hour, the old man seemed to have aged ten years. His back was bent, his steps unsteady as he was helped down the stage.
Her phone vibrated. It was a message from Vivian.
"Elena, did you see the news? Doesn't it feel satisfying?"
Elena smiled faintly and replied,
"Not just satisfying — liberating."
Vivian sent a laughing emoji.
"That's called karma, babe."
But Elena knew it wasn't just karma — this was Lucian's doing.
Last night, when the drug's effect had hit her and her thoughts were hazy, she vaguely remembered Lucian on the phone, giving cold, decisive orders.
This — the entire exposure — had to be his hand at work.
Lucian…
She silently repeated his name in her heart.
Whatever his motives were, he had saved her again.
For that, she was grateful.
But when she thought about how she'd thrown herself at him last night — desperate, half-drugged, humiliating — and how he had pushed her away in disgust, Elena wanted to crawl into a hole and die. She hugged her pillow and rolled across the bed in frustrated embarrassment.
A soft click came from the door.
Crystal stepped in with a polished lunch box and a bright smile.
"Madam, you're awake?"
She set the meal down on the table.
"Please, come eat something while it's still warm."
Elena quickly got out of bed. "Thank you, I'll wash up first."
In the bathroom, the moment she saw the bathtub, memories flooded back — her clinging to Lucian, begging him to help her wash… dragging him into the water to kiss him.
Her cheeks burned.
She wanted to smash her head against the wall.
Five minutes later, she came out looking utterly defeated and sat down at the table.
Crystal frowned. "Madam, are you not feeling well?"
Elena shook her head and began to eat quietly.
The food was delicious, but she could barely taste it.
After forcing down a few bites, she asked, "Did Mr. Sterling ask you to bring this over?"
"Of course," Crystal said with a smile.
"And last night… was it you who took care of me?"
Elena remembered being tied up and falling asleep in the bathtub, yet waking up clean, dressed, and tucked into bed. Someone had to have helped her — but who?
"Last night it was Mr. Sterling—"
Elena's eyes widened with a spark of hope.
But Crystal suddenly remembered his warning:
"Don't let her know I was the one who helped."
Her heart jumped, and she quickly changed her words.
"I mean, Mr. Sterling sent the driver to bring me over to take care of you."
Her palms were sweaty. That was close.
Mr. Sterling, what are you thinking?
You're the one who looked after her — why won't you let her know?
Elena nodded slowly. "Then… were you the one who changed my clothes too?"
Crystal forced a smile. "Yes, Madam."
"Oh…" Elena lowered her gaze, disappointment flickering in her eyes.
She continued eating, though every bite felt heavier than the last.
Halfway through, Elena hesitated and asked to borrow Crystal's phone.
Crystal blinked. "Why not use your own?"
Elena flushed. She couldn't admit that Lucian had blocked her number — and even Sean's — so she mumbled, "My phone's dead."
"Oh, I see."
Crystal handed it over.
Elena typed slowly:
"Are you coming home tonight?"
She frowned, deleted it, then rewrote:
"Will you come home tonight? I want to talk to you. I'll be waiting…"
Just as her thumb hovered over send, a memory stabbed her chest — Lucas's cold voice delivering Lucian's words:
"Mr. Sterling says Miss Sung shouldn't flatter herself. The only reason he helped was because she's Mrs. Sterling.
If she gets humiliated, it's his face that's tarnished.
And tell her to stop bothering him. He finds her disgusting."
Her hand froze.
Those same cold, contemptuous eyes from last night flashed in her mind — filled with disgust, rejection, loathing.
Her thumb trembled, then withdrew.
She deleted the message and handed the phone back.
Crystal asked softly, "Did you finish texting Mr. Sterling?"
Elena smiled faintly. "No. I remembered he's probably busy. I don't want to disturb him."
Crystal chuckled. "Maybe he'd want you to disturb him, Madam."
Elena gave a weak smile.
Not a chance.
Lucian could barely stand the sight of her.
That afternoon, she went to visit Sean at the hospital.
After some hesitation, she returned to the villa that evening.
Lucian still hadn't come home.
She ate dinner alone.
When she finished, it wasn't even seven yet. Crystal, worried she'd feel bored, suggested watching a movie in the private theater.
Elena hesitated. "Forget it…"
Crystal grinned slyly. "I saw the uncut version of Fifty Shades of Grey in there. You sure you don't want to take a peek?"
Elena perked up instantly. "Watch!"
The theater was spacious and luxurious.
Instead of the couch, she sat cross-legged on the soft carpet with a pillow in her arms, eyes glued to the giant screen.
The sound and resolution were stunning — she couldn't tear her gaze away.
When the steamy scenes began, she was completely entranced.
Someone sat down beside her.
Thinking it was Crystal, Elena grabbed the person's sleeve, eyes still on the screen. "Oh my God—how do they even do that?"
A deep, cold voice brushed her ear.
"What do you think?"
Her body stiffened.
She turned, and in the dim light saw those narrow, sharp eyes glinting like blades —
Lucian's gaze, dark and unreadable, with that faint beauty mark at the corner of his eye that could steal a soul.