Some traps are built with force.
Some with lies.
And some are built so quietly that the victim walks in smiling—
never knowing she was the one holding the power all along.
Elina was never weak.
She was just waiting for the right moment to rise.
The government lawyer looked at David angrily and asked,"If you loved Sharlin, then why did you marry Elina?
From everything I've heard from you, it seems like you and Sharlin together deceived Elina.
So did you both already know Elina before all this?"David smiled faintly and replied,
"I knew her… but I didn't know her completely.""One day," David continued,
"when my father suddenly fell seriously ill, my mother called me and asked me to come back home.
She said, 'We are very happy knowing that you are managing your overseas business so well.
But son, along with your own business, you now have to handle the family business too.
Your father's health has suddenly deteriorated.'On top of that, the family business was suffering huge losses.
I don't know why, but many new projects were getting canceled.
We were in talks for a new project with the biggest foreign company, The First Impressions.
But because of my father's illness, the deal couldn't be finalized.You have to return home now.
From now on, you'll have to manage both businesses—yours and the family's."After saying this, my mother hung up the phone.From that moment, the entire responsibility of the family business fell on my shoulders.
To fulfill that responsibility, I returned home.
And to merge my own business with the family business, I needed Elina's land.David said he had sent his employer many times to buy Elina's land.
But Elina's answer was always no.David didn't know much about Elina.
All he knew was that she had come there for some personal reason,
and that she wanted to open a new orphanage on her mother's land.
That was all David knew about her.Later, David and Sharlin found out about the love relationship between John and Elina.
Two days after that, when David had gone to court for business purposes,
he saw Elina there and overheard everything she said to John over the phone.David then called Sharlin and told her everything.
And slowly, Elina got trapped in the carefully planned game created by David and Sharlin.That day, David deliberately said loudly,
"I need a piece of land at any cost.
For that land, I can do anything."Hearing this, Elina put her mother's land on the table
and signed a contract marriage with David.That day, at the restaurant, Elina heard the entire truth about David and Sharlin with her own ears.But Elina was not someone who would completely break down.
Instead, after knowing the truth, Elina changed completely.No one in David's family ever liked Elina, except David's grandmother.
Elina also spoke only with the grandmother.
The rest of the family ignored Elina,
but now, Elina was the one ignoring all of them.The next morning, Elina came down the stairs wearing formal office clothes and walked into the drawing hall.
Everyone looked at her and asked,
"Where are you going so early in the morning?"Everyone assumed Elina was leaving the house.
A shine of happiness appeared on their faces.David stepped forward and stood in front of Elina.
Folding his hands, he apologized for his behavior
and even thanked her for leaving the house.Suddenly, Elina burst into loud laughter."What happened?
Have you gone mad?
Why are you laughing like this?" someone asked.Laughing, Elina replied,
"Sit up, all of you.
I am not leaving this house.
This is my home.
I am the daughter-in-law of this house.
And yes, I have decided that from today,
I will handle not only this household,
but also this house's business."Hearing this, every family member was shocked.David said,
"What? You?
You will handle the business?
Do you even know what office work and business are?
We don't even know whether you studied till the tenth grade.
And you want to manage the business?
Go to your room and rest.
You've lost your mind."Saying this, David sat down on the sofa.Elina picked up some files in her hands and walked toward the door.
Just then, Sharlin came and stood in front of her and said,"Don't you feel even a little ashamed?
No one in this house likes you.
Knowing that, you're still staying here?
If I were in your place, I would have drowned myself in a river.
Shameless girl."Before Sharlin could finish her sentence,
Elina slapped her hard across the face.
The sound of the slap echoed throughout the drawing hall.The family members were shocked by Elina's action.
But a faint smile appeared on Grandma's lips.David walked up to Elina angrily and said,
"Elina, how dare you raise your hand on Sharlin?
Why don't you leave my life?"Elina replied,
"You were the one who brought me into this house.
Back then, you claimed to love me so much.
You said I would never be betrayed by you.
Where did all that love go today?
Listen carefully, all of you.
From today onward, I will go to the office every day.
We have a share in this house.
We have the right to interfere in the office work.
Do you understand?"David grabbed Elina's hand and stopped her.
"Today is the meeting to finalize the deal with the world-famous company The First Impressions.
You won't be able to handle all this.
Father's business is already in loss.
If this deal gets canceled, the company will suffer huge losses.
This is not a joke.
Go back to your room."Saying this, David pushed Elina away.Seeing the smile on Sharlin's lips, Elina laughed and said,
"There are things I know that you people don't.
Goodbye."And she left for the office.David followed her.Special arrangements had been made in the office for the owner of The First Impressions.
Everyone was waiting.Then a smart man entered David's office with five bodyguards.
He looked around sixty-five years old,
but even at that age, his style was impressive.David welcomed him warmly.The meeting to finalize the deal started in the boardroom.
David was nervous every moment,
afraid that Elina might say something wrong and ruin the deal.But even after talking with David,
Mr. L.T. did not agree to the deal.
Despite many attempts to convince him, the deal was not finalized.They were about to cancel the deal and leave the boardroom
when Elina called out to them from behind and said,"I just want to discuss something briefly.
Please listen to me once, and then decide whether you want to finalize or cancel the deal.
Please give me just one chance."Hearing Elina, they returned and sat at the table again.Elina took out a file and explained in detail,
in her own way, how the project would generate profit.David and everyone else in the office were shocked listening to her.After Elina finished speaking,
Mr. L.T. finalized the deal and signed all the papers.Everyone congratulated David and said,
"You are very lucky to have such an intelligent wife."Elina left the office and went to a big restaurant to wait for someone.
Soon, a large car arrived, and Mr. L.T. stepped out.
Elina walked up to him and hugged him.Mr. L.T. said,
"What happened, my child?
Why didn't you let me say in front of everyone
that you are the owner of The First Impressions company—Elina Thomas?"
Elina slowly stepped back after the embrace.For a few seconds, neither she nor Mr. L.T. spoke a single word.
The air between them felt heavy—loaded with truths that had been hidden for far too long.Elina's eyes unconsciously drifted toward the glass walls of the restaurant.
Outside, the city moved on as usual—cars passing, people laughing, lives continuing—
as if nothing extraordinary had happened.But inside her, everything had changed.The timid girl who once believed love alone could protect her marriage no longer existed.
In her place stood a woman who had finally understood the true price of trust.She remembered the humiliation.
The cold stares.
The mocking smiles.
The way David's family had looked through her, as if she were invisible.And worst of all—
the moment she had realized that her pain was not an accident,
but a carefully planned choice.Mr. L.T. looked at her quietly, his eyes filled with both pride and concern.
"You handled everything beautifully today," he said gently.
"But are you sure you are ready for the consequences of revealing the truth?"
Will Elina be able to punish David and Sharlin for what they did?
Will David learn Elina's true identity?To find the answers to these questions,
keep reading the story "Beneath the Truth", only on Webnovel.