The photo tricks

As he drove, Ethan's mind couldn’t help but wander to Lola and the man from earlier. Despite being the one who asked for the breakup, the sight of Lola already getting cozy with another man stung him with humiliation.

After all, they had been together for three years, and as a member of the most prestigious family in the city, Ethan expected Lola to feel the pain of their breakup for at least a few weeks, if not months.

But what if Calista was right? What if Lola had already been seeing this man even while they were still dating, and had simply been waiting for Ethan to initiate the breakup so she wouldn’t have to play the villain in the end?

In the central tower of the Livingstone Army, Agnes, the person in charge of all the Nightfang family affairs, frowned. Her eyes were not as sharp as they used to be, and hence she could not make out the outline of the picture.

Without hesitation, she turned to Taylor, who was sitting with the Queen and sipping tea. Taylor was Ragnar’s cousin.

“Miss Taylor, can you see what this is?” Agnes asked.

Agnes’s phone was strictly for Nightfang family business, and outsiders rarely knew the number. Taylor took a look at the screen and instantly recognized Calista, with a bandage on her forehead.

Despite the low-quality image, she gasped. “Goodness, that’s Calista. Why on Earth is she with a man? And why is she hurt?” Taylor blurted out, surprised and concerned.

“A man?”

The Queen put down the newspaper and took the phone. Although she was wearing glasses, she couldn’t see the picture very clearly. After looking at it for a while, she stared at Taylor and asked, “Is it really her?”

“Yes,” Taylor answered hesitantly.

“How outrageous! Send someone to bring her back to me right away!”

The Queen slammed the table in anger, sending shivers down the spine of both Agnes and Taylor. The Queen’s eyes suddenly turned blood-red, a terrifying and oppressive aura erupting from her, making everyone around her tremble uncontrollably.

That was exactly the reason Taylor had been hesitant to tell the Queen the truth a while ago. She knew that the Queen would definitely become enraged.

At that very moment, both she and Agnes couldn’t help but inhale sharply. They knew that was the aura of an Alpha Luna.

---

In the Silverfang family mansion, Calista thrust a picture of Lola and the man into Jamie’s face. Jamie was expressionless as she brandished the picture.

“Dad, look at this! You see what I mean? Your precious daughter, Lola, is nothing but a slut, just like her mother—a cheap tramp who goes around seducing men!”

“Enough!” Jamie gave her a sideways glance.

“Dad, why are you angry with me? I’m just showing you the truth!” Calista sat next to him. “I can’t believe how you have been feeling guilty for her all these days, afraid that she would die in the Nightfang family. Look at how well she’s living now! She just got married, but she has the audacity to run out and steal a man.”

“That’s right,” Larissa sneered. “Don’t let Lola’s fake innocence deceive you. She is a born actress, and guess what? The Nightfang family came to us in a fit of rage just now, demanding answers on how we raised our daughter. I was so humiliated that I didn’t know what to say, except to promise to bring Lola back and have her punished properly. Thanks to her, the reputation of our family is now ruined.”

Jamie took a deep breath, trying to keep his cool.

“What does the Nightfang family want?”

“They just gave us an earful, but they didn’t say how we can make amends. So I promised them to bring Lola back and teach her some manners.”

“Fine. Have her come back tomorrow.”

Jamie suddenly rose from his seat and headed upstairs. Both Larissa and Calista in the living room exchanged a smug, triumphant grin.

Calista’s words jolted me back to reality. I realized that I had been so caught up in my anger that I had completely forgotten about my mother and brother, who were still under the thumb of the Silverfang family.

I could spill the beans to the Queen and get that cheating pair punished so they could never be together again. But if I was dead, then what about my mother and brother? I didn’t even know where they were now.

“Lola, I’ve completed your request. You can leave now.”

A frigid voice rang out beside my ear. Returning to my senses, I gazed at the attractive man before me, who now looked at me with a pair of frosty eyes. He had just saved me, and I didn’t know what the most appropriate thing to say was.

I simply gave him a small nod. “Thank you for your help. May I know your name?”

“Why? Do you really want to date me?”

“No, no…” My face turned red, and I couldn’t bear to look straight into his mesmerizing eyes. “I’m just trying to be polite.”

“Well, it’s okay if you don’t feel like telling me your name. I’ll leave now. Thank you again.”

I had a hard time getting up before I took slow steps toward the exit.

“Hey, wait a second.”

He spoke up. I turned around and gave him a look. He turned his head and asked, “Who is she to you?”

I was taken aback. Was he asking about Calista? I supposed she was my younger sister. I answered expressionlessly.

Calista had taken over my identity, and I could only continue to pretend to be her.

Half an hour later, I returned to the Livingstone Army. I was on edge during the entire trip back from the hospital. I didn’t know the full story, but I had a feeling it had to do with what happened earlier—and that the Silverfangs were probably behind it.

It was crazy to think that a simple return to my home could turn my world upside down like this. With my head wrapped in gauze and bloodstains on my clothes, I must have looked like a complete wreck.

As soon as the Queen saw me, her expression turned to one of fury.

She swung her cane at me and bellowed, “Kneel down!”

It sounded more like a wolf’s howl, in fact, and the great force in her voice made my knees give way at once.

“Listen here, Calista,” Queen Mila’s voice boomed with icy rage. “I have warned you previously—while you may not be fit to ascend to the throne as Queen Luna, you are still the wife, the mate of my son, Ragnar, who is the future King Alpha. You must never forget your place and the weight that comes with your identity. You should never bring any negative impacts to the Livingstone Army and the King Alpha.”

My body couldn’t help but tremble. Zoe was too intimidated by the Queen’s aura. She must have an extremely powerful wolf within her.

“Your Majesty, I don’t understand. I didn’t know what happened,” I tried to speak up for myself.

Agnes handed me her phone. “Madam Calista, is this woman you?”

I glanced at the photo on the phone screen, stunned.

Where did they get hold of such a photo? A while ago in the hospital, I leaned toward that stranger man for protection, with my face pressed against his abdomen while sitting on the hospital bed.

It was such a simple gesture, but somehow the Queen saw it in another way. It was easy for me to know that Calista was the one who had done this. But I didn’t expect that she would play such a dirty trick.

Now that the photo was in the Queen’s hands, I felt so helpless and speechless. It seemed that I had nothing I could say to defend myself.

“Your Majesty, it’s not like that—”

“If the ring wasn’t still on your hand, I would have already thrown you out. Now, get out!”

The Queen was so irritated that she swung her cane at me again, and I cried out in pain.