Chapter 76

Kaia stiffened under the sharp stares of Bobby and Slater, a shiver crawling up her spine.

Her lips quivered as she forced herself to defend."When Verena first came to the city, she didn't care much about appearances, and she wasn't as attractive as she is now. When people in the group chat asked me about her, I just said she was alright.I never called her ugly. Those rumors were made up by others.How can you pin that on me?"

She tried to sound reasonable, as though she were the victim of false blame, but panic pressed at her chest.

Bobby caught every crack in her story and gave a slow, mocking grin. "Do you think I'm that easy to fool? If it were my sister, I'd never stand by while outsiders insulted her. And you expect me to believe Verena could ever be described as just 'alright'?Even without effort, she outshines most. If the gossip

didn't come from you, then why didn't you step in to stop it? Tell me, Kaia, are you really acting like a sister here, or were you quietly pushing this along?"

His relentless questioning tore through the fragile wall she'd tried to build.

Kaia's throat tightened, and she squeezed her fists to stop her nerves from showing.

"Mr. Bennett, you're being unfair. Verena is my sister,and I would never scheme against her. The reason l stayed quiet was..."

Kaia's words faltered, and she scrambled to justify herself. "Because explaining would only spark more fighting, and that fighting would spread even further.I didn't want all of this trivial gossip reaching Verena and upsetting her."

"So you think it's nothing serious?" Bobby's tone cut like a blade as his eyes narrowed. "Accusations of falsifying her degree, being selfish, arrogant, and unrefined-are those trivial to you?"

His voice dropped lower, leaving no room to escape.

"Kaia, stop pretending. You dragged me to this bar tonight because you wanted me to see Verena with another man and stir up trouble. You wanted her branded as unfaithful so her reputation would crumble. After that, you expected me to bring the story back to lsaac or my mother. And while lsaac might keep calm, you know my mother's nature. If she believed what she heard or saw, she'd make Verena's life miserable the moment she married into our family. You'd just stand there and watch it unfold,pleased with the chaos. Isn't that the truth?"

Kaia's lips parted, but not a single defense came out.Every accusation matched the thoughts she'd buried inside. Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead,her legs turned to jelly, and the color drained from her face. The carefully polished image she had fought so hard to maintain in high society was the last thing she wanted to see crumble.

Bobby shot her a frigid look and spoke with unwavering firmness. "I don't care if it's jealousy or something else driving you, but this ends here. From now on, watch yourself and stop creating problems. If you insult my future sister-in-law again, you'll regret it."

The exchange left Slater stunned. The idea that someone could despise her own sister to this degree was beyond him.

Disgust flickered across his face as he glared at Kaia."Back at the Willis Villa, when I mentioned Verena,your outburst suddenly makes sense. You can't handle seeing her shine. And if memory serves me right, you even bragged that a few random supplements you tossed together healed my grandfather's leg. The more I think about it, the funnier it sounds."

Heat rushed to Kaia's cheeks, and she sank her teeth into her lip, furious that he had stripped her bare so mercilessly.

A sharp laugh escaped Slater as he moved closer,towering over her. "Let me clear things up for you.The one who healed my grandfather was indeed from the Willis family, but it sure wasn't you. It was Verena.Your sister. Shocking, isn't it?" Kaia had long wondered if Verena was responsible for Barrie's recovery. As long as no one confirmed it,though, she clung to the fantasy that she might guess wrong.

That fantasy shattered the instant Slater spelled it out. The truth gutted her. Why Verena of all people?She had no prestigious training, only the rough skills of a countryside healer. Kaia, on the other hand,studied medicine at a renowned university. How could Verena possibly have better medical skills than her? The thought was unbearable.

Color drained from her face, and her legs buckled as she stumbled backward.

Earlier, she had barely kept her lies afloat. Now, with Slater's brutal words cutting deeper than ever,her last defenses collapsed. Broken and humiliated,she spun on her heel and rushed out of the bar in near hysteria.

The Willis Villa still blazed with light, though the night had slipped wvell past midnight.

In the living room, Laura sat curled on a sofa,clutching her phone. She had dialed Verena again and again, each call met with silence, yet she refused to give up.

Since the club incident, Alec had buried himself in work at the company and rarely came home.

Whenever he did stop by to grab something, Laura tried reaching out. Sometimes she got nothing more than a cold stare. Other times, his foul mood exploded, and he berated her as an unfit mother who couldn't even get her own daughter to answer the phone.

The bitterness she carried threatened to spill over,but she swallowed it back. If the family was going to have any future, then she had no choice but to bow to Verena.

Isaac dropped Verena off at the hotel, and then instructed the staff to prepare something to clear the alcohol from her system. He didn't leave until she had finished it.

Sleep tugged at her eyelids, and she made no effort to ask him to stay.

The stench of liquor clung stubbornly to her, so she dragged herself into the bathroom, craving the relief of a hot shower.

As her clothes came off, the mirror betrayed her with a glimpse of several crimson marks scattered along her collarbone and neck. Isaac used to leave those when they were together in bed...

The memory seared her cheeks red. She slapped them lightly, desperate to stop her mind from straying down that path.

A sudden vibration rattled against the countertop,pulling her attention to her phone.

Laura's name flashed on the screen, and without hesitation, Verena hit decline.

When the call cut off, the display lit up with more than twenty missed calls-all from Laura.

The reason behind Laura's relentless attempts had been clear for days now.Verena decided she had no energy to deal with it.She either silenced the phone or flatly rejected the calls.

With the phone tossed aside, she stepped beneath the running water.

Meanwhile, Laura heard nothing but the busy tone and exclaimed through clenched teeth, "Ungrateful brat!"

Her temper nearly drove her to hurl the phone across the room.

Days of unanswered calls had left her feeling insulted and powerless.

Across town, Kaia stumbled out of the bar and into a taxi. Life felt as though it had slipped out of her control, and her empty eyes reflected the chaos as she numbly pushed open the front door upon arriving home.

The sound reached Laura, who turned toward the entrance. The moment she saw Kaia step inside, her face lit up with sudden hope, as though salvation had walked in.

"Kaia, you're finally home." She rushed over,consumed by her own worries, oblivious to Kaia's ashen face and hollow expression. "I need you to do something for me."