Chapter 100
"One more thing — this house in the background."
Charlotte's voice was completely flat. "I remember it clearly. In the summer of my second year there — when I was eleven — there was a long stretch of heavy rain, and this house collapsed one night during a storm."
"And just now, Mr. Reed said we were lovers who had made solemn vows to each other."
"So I'd like to know — I was ten years old back then. Are you really saying that by eleven, I was already sneaking off to make a lifetime commitment to someone like you?"
As her words landed, Charlotte turned her gaze to Finnian, who was shaking like a leaf. Her eyes were full of contempt.
Charlotte's argument was clear, logical, and precise — and it turned the so-called iron-clad evidence into a complete joke in an instant.
The people who had been pointing fingers at Charlotte moments ago were now looking at Finnian with doubt and disgust.
Chloe panicked. She never imagined that Charlotte could find a flaw in a plan she thought was airtight.
Her mind racing, she frantically signaled Finnian with her eyes and tried to shift the focus.
"But... what if Finnian had someone edit the photo afterward? Whoever did it might not have noticed that detail."
"Besides, you can't use that alone to prove your relationship with Finnian was fake."
Then Chloe raised her voice, putting on the look of someone deeply disappointed.
"Maybe you really have moved on from Finnian now, but that doesn't make it right to go back on your word."
"Do you want Mr. Harris to think you're the kind of person who just throws away the past and pretends it never happened?"
Chloe grew more and more confident as she spoke, sounding so convincing it was as if she had actually witnessed everything herself — and she even managed to slip in a jab aimed at driving a wedge between Charlotte and Alexander.
Hearing her words, Finnian grabbed onto them like a lifeline and started yelling, his chin jutted out.
"That's right! So what if the proof is fake — the feelings were real!"
"Charlotte, have you forgotten what happened between us in that grove behind the hill..."
He stopped mid-sentence. He had caught the cold, threatening look in Alexander's eyes, and didn't dare go on.
He stepped back a few paces, swallowed the rest of his words, and stole a nervous glance at the man.
Watching their clumsy performance, Charlotte let out a cold laugh. She tossed the photo aside and looked at the two of them with calm amusement.
"Since you both keep insisting there was this earth-shattering, deeply moving love between us, let's talk about it."
"Finnian, you say we were so close. Then tell me — what do I love most? What do I hate most?"
The man froze. He stumbled over his words, his eyes darting around. He had no answer.
Charlotte rolled her eyes and kept going.
"Can't answer that? Fine. Let me ask something else."
"You're saying we were engaged, right?"
"As I recall, in our village, an engagement required a witness, and there had to be a token exchanged."
"So tell me — who was the witness, and what was the token?"
"The witness was our neighbor Isla! And the token... the token was a pair of bracelets that had been in my family for generations!"
Sweat was pouring down Finnian's forehead. Under Chloe's frantic stare, he started making things up on the spot.
"Isla?"
Charlotte raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement in her voice. "You mean the Isla who was in her sixties and never once left the village her whole life?"
"Yes! That's her!" Finnian thought he'd gotten it right and nodded eagerly.
"Good." Charlotte smiled with satisfaction, then turned to the confused crowd around them. "Isla had already been dead for three years before I ever arrived there. And yet she supposedly helped arrange our engagement. I have to say, Mr. Reed has quite a talent."
The crowd burst out laughing.
"Wait, seriously? That's absolutely ridiculous."
"So this whole thing was a setup? These two stood here and spun this whole story, and it was all just a lie?"
"What kind of sister does this? Framing her own sister in front of everyone — what could she possibly be getting out of this?"
In an instant, both of their faces fell. Finnian's knees buckled, and he nearly crumpled to the ground.
But Charlotte wasn't done.
"Finnian, if I remember correctly, your father was a gambler. Your family has been poor farmers for three generations — you never had a cent to spare. Where exactly would a pair of family heirloom bracelets come from?"
"And I seem to recall that when you were fifteen, you stole some things from the next village over — including a pair of bracelets. People chased you down and beat you for it. You hid outside for over half a month before you dared go home."
"So yes, you really do have a gift for talking out of thin air."
With every word she said, the color drained further from Finnian's face, until he was white as a sheet.
Chloe, standing beside him, looked like she was about to fall apart, her eyes wide with panic and fear.
Charlotte glanced at her and let out a scornful laugh.
"As for you, Chloe — you keep saying I'm your sister, that you know my past."
"So tell me: I was shipped off to the countryside at ten years old, treated like a burden, and left there for years. In all that time, did any of you visit me once? Did anyone send me so much as a dollar?"
"I'd bet you didn't even know the name of the village I lived in, or where it was."
"After all, you'd finally gotten rid of me — that thorn in your side. Of course you were thrilled."
"So I'd really like to know — where exactly did you hear about these so-called 'scandals' of mine?"
"I... I..." Chloe was completely flustered, but couldn't get a single word out. Her flawless makeup, streaked with half-dried tears, made her look utterly ridiculous.
By now, the crowd had caught on, and they looked at her with open scorn.
"That's so calculated. Framing your own sister in front of all these people — what's she after?"
"Isn't it obvious? Rich family drama. If her sister's out of the picture, everything goes to her."
"How does the Johnson family have a daughter like this? What a disgrace."
The blunt, cutting words from the crowd hit Chloe hard. She stumbled back a few steps, overwhelmed by the pressure of so many people against her, and instinctively looked around for her ally Nora — hoping she would step in and say something.
But when Nora saw what was happening, she turned without a moment's hesitation and slipped quickly into the crowd, vanishing without a trace.
Her last hope was gone. Chloe fell apart.
The carefully planned attack on Charlotte's reputation had, in a twist of irony, turned into the very stage that exposed Chloe and Finnian for who they really were.
Alexander had had enough. He turned to the head of security, who had been standing by, and said, "Take these two to the police station."
"And get the contact information for every media outlet that filmed anything tonight. My lawyers will be in touch."