Chapter 99
One clean, sharp move made everyone at the scene gasp in shock.
Nobody had expected Charlotte, who always seemed cold and delicate on the surface, to be so ruthless and decisive when she actually made her move. It was completely beyond what any of them had imagined.
Alexander's pupils shrank sharply. But when he saw that Charlotte had the situation under control, he held back the urge to rush forward, his eyes going cold and frightening.
Finnian, now restrained by Charlotte, immediately panicked.
He thrashed wildly and screamed at the top of his lungs, hurling filthy words at her.
"Let go of me! You btch, Charlotte! Stop acting so high and mighty!"
"Who was it that crawled into my bed in the middle of the night, saying she was lonely?!"
"Now that you've married into money, you just forget about everyone, huh?!"
"You forgot how you begged me back then? Said you'd marry me once I made enough money..."
The guests around them erupted in an uproar.
The looks they gave Charlotte grew more complicated, filled with contempt.
Camera flashes kept going off nearby, as if trying to capture every detail of the scene before it was over.
Charlotte's expression darkened instantly. She gave a slight lift to the hand gripping his arm, and Finnian let out a bloodcurdling scream.
But even that couldn't shut him up.
"Security! Get this lunatic out of here!"
Alexander couldn't hold back any longer. He gave the order, his voice burning with fury.
The security guards snapped to attention and rushed over.
But just then, a tearful female voice rang out nearby. A figure pushed through the crowd, sobbing, her face streaked with tears as she ran toward them.
"Charlotte! Stop it! Let Finnian go!"
She rushed to Charlotte's side and tried to grab her hand, her face full of panic and distress.
"Charlotte, I know you blame him for not being able to give you a better life back then, but... but he truly loved you! How could you do this to him?"
"And on top of that, he was your first! How can you be so heartless?!"
Those words hit like a bomb, sending another shockwave through the already buzzing crowd.
If Finnian's words could still be taken with a grain of salt, then Chloe, Charlotte's own younger sister, rushing out to say this was as good as a verdict.
"Oh my God, even her sister confirmed it! I never thought she was that kind of person!"
"Right? You really can't judge a book by its cover!"
"Dumping her ex and hitting someone in public — her character is seriously questionable!"
The whispers came flooding in like a tide, the judgment in them completely undisguised.
Chloe felt a surge of satisfaction inside, but made her expression look even more heartbroken.
"Please, can you all not spread this around?... This is a family matter."
"And Charlotte, she just got back to the city. She's still adjusting. She didn't mean it..."
"Finnian, please get up. Let's talk this through calmly. No need to make things ugly..."
On the surface, Chloe seemed to be defending her family. But every single word she said was quietly painting Charlotte as someone who abandoned the poor for the rich, cold and without a shred of loyalty.
The reporters knew this was explosive material. Like sharks that had caught the scent of blood, they pointed their microphones straight at Chloe.
"Miss Chloe, were your sister and Mr. Reed really in a relationship before? What's the story between them?"
"Miss Charlotte was adopted by the Harris family, and you two are sisters — do you know everything about her past? Could you share a detail or two?"
"Did Miss Charlotte really choose to abandon her ex just to marry into a wealthy family?"
Questions came pouring in from every direction. The reporters looked at Chloe with eager eyes, as if they wouldn't rest until they'd dug up every last piece of information.
Chloe didn't answer. Instead, she looked at everyone with a pained, conflicted expression, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to.
Sometimes, staying silent is the most powerful answer of all.
Seeing her expression, the crowd became even more convinced by what she had implied.
Alexander watched the chaos unfold, his expression growing darker by the second.
He walked quickly to Charlotte's side and put his arm around her shoulder, offering silent support. But his cold gaze landed on Chloe, who was busy "performing" in the crowd, and the chill in his eyes was bone-deep.
Charlotte looked at the scene playing out in front of her, narrowed her eyes slightly, and slowly released her grip on Finnian.
The man scrambled away immediately, and Chloe rushed over to "tenderly" help him up.
Every eye in the room was now on Charlotte, waiting for her response.
Charlotte didn't look flustered at all. She let out a cold laugh, a hint of mockery flickering in her eyes.
"I have to say, tonight's little performance was quite something. Chloe, you really went all out."
Chloe's body stiffened.
But she quickly told herself that Charlotte couldn't possibly have a comeback ready this fast, so she put on her most pitiful look and let her eyes go red.
"What are you talking about? I don't really understand..."
"Whatever I did, it was only because I couldn't stand watching you and Finnian make a scene like this. After all..."
"You don't understand?"
Charlotte smiled lightly, her eyes growing colder.
She stopped paying attention to Chloe's act and bent down to pick up the photos Finnian had been treating like treasure.
The reporters' cameras followed her every move, not wanting to miss a thing.
Charlotte picked them up, glanced at them casually, and a mocking smile curved her lips.
She slowly held them up and turned toward where most of the cameras were pointed.
"Friends from the press, please get a close-up. You won't be able to see clearly without one."
That pointed remark drained all the color from Chloe's face, and her body began to tremble slightly.
But Charlotte paid her no attention and went straight to the point.
"The top photo — Finnian just claimed this is me and him..."
"I have to admit, whoever edited this has pretty decent skills. They knew to keep the skin tone consistent between the face and the body."
"Too bad they didn't quite finish the job."
As she spoke, Charlotte pressed her finger to the girl's face in the photo.
"Based on the angle of the shot and the background, the light source should be coming from the upper right. That means the left side of the face should be in shadow. That's basic photography."
"Now look at Finnian — his shadow falls on the right side of his face. Isn't that a little strange?"
"I'd love to know — when this photo was taken, did the sun split itself in two? One side for each of them?"
A few stifled laughs rippled through the crowd. Clearly, some people had already picked up on the problem.