Chapter 1

After failing to find me, Nicholas Jennings said grimly, "Astrid Rhode, I don't have time to play games with you. You haven't answered your phone or contacted me in four years. How long do you still want to hide? Maddie has just won the Best Actress award and cannot allow such groundless rumors to ruin her reputation. The window of opportunity for managing this PR crisis is closing fast. You must come out immediately to clarify that it's you in the video!"

My soul floated on the roof, watching him get so anxious because of Madison Rhode that his shirt was soaked with sweat. I put on a self-mocking smile.

Whether it was four years ago or now, he still thought those sex tapes were edited. He firmly believed that the innocent and naive Maddie would never do such a thing. He did not want the fake videos to ruin Madison's reputation, so he wanted to sully my reputation to protect her.

After all, when Madison returned to the Rhode family with the paternity test report, I became a sinner who used the same face to usurp 18 years of her life.

In any case, who would care about the reputation of a fake heiress?

"Still not coming out? Are you trying to extort more money?"

Outside the door, the landlord spat in disgust. "How can a dead person come out?"

Nicholas turned his head around, and the landlord continued, "That girl caused such a filthy mess and even died in my house. Now the house can't be sold. It's all her fault. It looks like you're her relative. Perfect! Pay me two million dollars in compensation. Not a penny less!"

I landed on the ground, clearly seeing a fleeting look of surprise in Nicholas's eyes when he heard the word "died."

However, he soon laughed dismissively. "Astrid taught you to say that, didn't she? Two million dollars? She's really asking for the moon. Does she think that faking her death can atone for her sins against Maddie?"

The landlord grew more annoyed. He glanced over a pile of old newspapers on the floor. "Why would I lie to you? Four years ago, this girl was involved with over a dozen men, and they made a sex tape. She was shameless, even releasing the video claiming it was her. By the way, the video was pretty explicit; everyone in the neighborhood has seen it. Later, a guy came over and tried to have some fun with her, but she resisted, and he hacked her to death. Look, she died right there. If you don't believe me, flip those over and see for yourself; the blood hasn't even been wiped away."

Nicholas's eyes flickered slightly as he looked over.

I suddenly felt a surge of curiosity.