Venessa’s gaze pinned down on Valerie as the latter crouched on the ground, groaning with a scrunched up expression.

Pulling her brows, she couldn't help but wonder how Valerie had missed her steps and fallen against the large vase at the side.

The lady didn't recollect touching her sister but refused to believe Valerie would purposely injure herself just to get back at her.

Soon, the sound of hurried footsteps came across the hallway, with two familiar figures rushing towards Valerie, who was lying vulnerably on the tiled floor.

‘’ Venessa, what have you done to your sister?!’’

‘’ I knew it was a bad thing calling you to this banquet! Can you ever stop being heartless and treat your sister any better?!’’

The crease between Venessa’s eyebrows deepened, listening to her parents while they judged her without knowing what had truly transpired. Her eyes never left her parents as they helped Valerie up, the corner of her lips drawing into a sneer. She decisively refused to give a response.

‘’ Mum, Dad, don't blame sister. I caused it. My sister was only mad at me for what I did.’’ Valerie sniffled and rubbed her nose gently. She adjusted her bubble gown and faced her parents, explaining with misty eyes, ‘’ Sister wouldn’t push me intentionally, I am just too weak....’’

‘’ Valerie, don't say that!’’ Their father, Elijah Swayer, cut her off with a loud voice dripping with anger and marched towards Venessa. Of course, the anger was directed towards Venessa.

‘’ I don’t care what Valerie said. I clearly saw it with my own eyes. You don't care for your sister, and the reason why she is so weak is because of you! What more trouble do you want to cause?!’’

Awe transformed on Venessa upon hearing Valerie’s claim. It then dawned on her that some people were just too perfect at being the victim and twisting the whole story that she felt even impressed.

In fact, she wanted to raise her hands and give Valerie a clap, knowing she would never be as skilled as that.

At the same time, she turned to her father, Elijah Swayer, clad in a blue suit that seemed to be a perfect fit for him, and watched as he approached her angrily.

‘’ My fault?’’ She scoffed, her eyes casting an inscrutable expression. ‘’ I know I will never win against her, and that's why I will stop proving myself. If you think I am here to cause trouble, so be it.’’

Initially, she had wanted to respect her grandfather’s special day, but with her so called family ganging up against her, she might as well put them in their place.

‘’ You..........’’ Elijah’s face became purple with anger, almost close to exploding like a bomb!

Sophie, their mother, couldn’t take it and cursed at Venessa, shaking her head with so much disappointment.

‘’ How could you be like this, Venessa? You aren’t even ashamed of the stain on you! Have you forgotten you are a slut who is here to spread bad luck to the family? What makes you think you can be better than Valerie? Informing you about your grandfather’s birthday was a deep mistake!’’

She clutched the sides of her peplum dress, irritated by Venessa’s boldness.

By this time, Elijah had closed in on Venessa and landed a fierce slap on her cheek, which disrupted her hairdo!

Pah!

For a few seconds, Venessa staggered backward, struggling to maintain balance, with a ringing sound filling her ears.

Due to her gladiator heels, she almost lost her footing but managed to grip onto a large painting on the wall to stabilize herself. With her jade eyes shifting back to her parents, realization finally washed over her like a flood.

It immediately dawned on her that she meant nothing to her parents and had always been an inconvenience.

For as long as she could recall, her parents had chosen Valerie regardless. It was she who had to stand by the side and watch her parents spoil Valerie like a princess.

Many times, Venessa had tried all ways to impress them: behave well, excel in grades, and let Valerie have her things with the hope that they would treat her well.

However, this only led Valerie to become bolder and more envious of her. Additionally, their twin sister would constantly demand that their parents switch their grades and make her pay for the consequences of Valerie’s bad behavior.

One time, they got into a fight where Valerie pushed her against the stairs, resulting in a serious injury to her leg. Despite this, she was blamed and locked in the attic, while Valerie received praise.

They never spared her a second glance, ostracizing her like she was a plague.

To this day, it was always Valerie who was in the spotlight, making her occasionally question whether she was truly a Swayer.

However, the resemblance was enough evidence to confirm her identity.

Perhaps, everything was now clear.

‘’ Valerie, I have always been pure, but the accusation from yesterday made me assume it was your doing, right?’’ Venesssa straightened herself, appearing graceful despite her frail look, and turning her attention away from her parents.

‘’ What? How could you say something like that, sis?’’ Valerie’s pupils dilated, disagreeing vehemently. With her stance, it was impossible to detect anything, but Venessa had long seen through her sister's facade.

‘’ I am not one of those you can easily fool. To think you could be so desperate to frame me like that.’’

This was something Venessa had been brooding over since yesterday, but she could already guess the culprit.

The rage that had been swirling in her rose to its peak, making it uncontrollable!

And just like that, it erupted like a volcano, turning her face into a deep crimson color!

Valerie didn’t get enough chance to defend herself as Venessa came bouncing on her like a beast seeking vengeance!

Elijah and Sophie quickly moved to pull away from Venessa, but she kicked them backward, roaring, ‘’ Get lost! This is between sisters!’’

A shriek escaped from Valerie, feeling a deep sting on her face. She was unable to stop Venessa from scratching her face and dragging her hair violently!

‘’ Arhhhh!’’

It was at this moment that Logan, Lorenzo, and Grandpa Jack appeared. All except Lorenzo were stunned to see the scene of Venessa going wild on her sister.

Without thinking, Logan propelled towards Valerie, instantly shielding her from Venessa’s attacks. Afterwards, he caught hold of Venessa’s arms and pushed her away harshly!

‘’ I never thought you would be this unreasonable, Venessa!’’ He barked, disdain dripping from his voice. ‘’ Valerie isn't the reason for your misfortune. You are simply not worthy. It seems the event of yesterday is still stuck in your head, you'd better get over it!’’

Startled by the sudden interruption, Venessa failed to react in time and missed her steps again.

Although this time she glared at the intruder, as if wanting to pierce him with her eyes that narrowed into deathly slits!

It was one thing to frame her, but reminding her of yesterday’s nightmare was unbearable!

That was a relationship she had built for years! There was no way she could accept the situation without a fight to the main cause!

Just as Venessa was about to lose her balance, a strong arm encircled her waist, pulling her closer to a sturdy chest. In the process, a pleasant and familiar male cologne snuck into her nostrils!

Swiftly, a face appeared in her memory, causing her to lift her chin. With that, her pair of jade eyes struck against a soulless, deep black eyes like a bottomless abyss.............