Chapter 4

I foolishly assumed my words would finally quiet their mockery, but another wave of cruel laughter echoed through the hall instead. Narrowing my eyes, I anchored myself with a single, desperate promise: the moment I proved my identity, every last one of them would bow. For now, all I could do was endure the humiliation and wait for Scarlet’s return to the venue.

​"Just leave, Lora," Carson growled, his voice heavy with irritation.

​"I am not going anywhere," I replied, holding his gaze to force the weight of my sincerity upon him. "I belong at this auction. I was chosen and personally invited, Carson."

​He closed his eyes briefly, exhaling in sharp disbelief. "How?! Stop trying to force us into believing your lies, Lora. No one has ever seen the face of La Lora's CEO. It is impossible for it to be you! You might share the same name, but you are certainly not the executive invited tonight," he said.

"Crazy!" ​Samantha’s voice cut through the air, sharp and dripping with malice. "Do not forget that galas like this are reserved exclusively for the elite, Lora Vance. A disgraced nobody who wallows in the mud does not belong here, nor will you ever be welcome. So, leave!"

​"I will not leave!" I shouted back, standing my ground. "I repeat, I am not leaving! And every single one of you will regret what you are doing tonight!"

​"You still refuse to move?!" Samantha sneered. "Then it will be my absolute pleasure to drag you out of this hall myself!"

​Stepping forward with calculated wrath, Samantha seized my arm in a brutal grip and yanked me toward the center of the crowd. Her forceful pulling crumpled the velvet red carpet beneath my stumbling feet. Rather than intervening, the surrounding elite watched with sadistic delight, cheering on her barbaric display.

​"Go on, Samantha! Show her where she truly belongs!"

​"Teach that delusional woman a lesson, Sam!"

​"Get your hands off me, Sam! You will regret this!" I screamed, wrestling against her hold.

​The moment we reached the edge of the carpet, she shoved me down with all her might. I hit the polished floor hard, surrounded by a wall of whispering spectators. Off to the right stood Carson, his expression completely blank, devoid of even a flicker of pity as he watched me sprawling at their feet.

​"Tell me, Lora Vance, do you finally understand what happens to trash like you who try to invade spaces where they do not belong?" Samantha taunted, towering over me.

​"Your wickedness truly knows no bounds, Samantha," I spat back, glaring up at her. "But the second I prove that I am indeed the CEO of La Lora, I will ensure you get on your knees and beg for my forgiveness!"

​"Dream on, Lora! Keep flaunting those pathetic delusions until you lose your mind completely! You are a fraud and a lunatic!"

​"You are the real fraud!" I snapped, the bitterness boiling over. "You made me believe you were just Carson's friend, while you were clinging to him like a leech behind closed doors!"

​Samantha burst into a cold laugh. "Move on, poor little Lora! You are the fake here! Did you really have to steal the identity of La Lora's CEO just to manipulate everyone in this room?! Or, I better say, to try to seduce Carson?"

​"I am not faking anything, Samantha Hayes! And I have no plan to take back that man!"

​"You still refuse to stop lying?!"

​Spurred by rage, Samantha turned on her heel and snatched a glass of red wine straight from the hands of an elderly nobleman. She marched back toward me, her face twisted in malice as she raised the crystal glass high above my head.

​"Maybe a splash of alcohol will finally wake you up from your pathetic fantasy!"

Before the wine could even splash against my skin, the thunderous echo of heavy footsteps commanded the absolute silence of the room.

​Scarlet sprinted toward me, her eyes burning with an unyielding fury as they locked onto Samantha.

​"And what in the hell do you think you are doing, Miss Hayes?!"

​"W—Why?!" Samantha rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with spite. "Am I wrong, Nerd?! Didn't you see what this woman just did? She was trying to steal your boss's name and whole identity! If the CEO of La Lora finds out that you defended a fraud like her, you will be the one out of a job."

​Unchecked and consumed by malice, Samantha lunged to throw the glass of wine at my face once more. Scarlet hurled her body into the crossfire without hesitation, taking the drenched impact straight to her face. Dark crimson liquid trickled down her skin, and in that agonizing second, my silent rage for Samantha doubled into absolute vengeance.

​"So you are really trying to defend that con artist?!"

​"She is not a con artist, Miss Hayes!"

​Shock rippled through the onlookers as disbelief echoed through the crowd.

​"Don't tell me she was telling the truth?!"

​"Oh my God! If she is telling the truth, we just ruin ourselves by humiliating her!"

​"Holy shit! This cannot be happening!"

​I drew a long, deliberate breath and reclaimed my absolute composure. Rising to my full height as though the chaos around me were beneath my notice, I smoothed the folds of my gown and stepped steadily toward Samantha.

​"This is impossible," Samantha hissed under her breath, her teeth clenched in desperation.

​Scarlet turned toward the hall, sweeping the room with a gaze cold enough to freeze their blood.

​"Listen to me, every single one of you. The woman you stripped of respect, the woman you dared to call insane and a con artist, is my boss!" Scarlet paused, letting the weight of her words crush the room. "Lora Vance is the CEO of La Lora!"

​A collective gasp shattered the crowd. They squirted and squirmed like salted shrimp, helpless beneath the agonizing weight of the exposed truth. I closed my eyes, letting the satisfaction settle deep within my chest.

​"She was telling the truth all along!"

​I fixed my eyes on Samantha. Her jaw hung open in paralyzed shock until her fingers lost all strength, letting the wine glass slip from her grip to shatter violently against the marble floor.

​"And with that, ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of the show," the host announced, his voice echoing across the silent hall. "The Golden Heart of Paradise, sold for one billion, belongs to Miss Lora Vance, the CEO of La Lora!"

​Thunderous applause erupted from every corner of the grand room.

​"N—No!"

​Samantha broke into a desperate panic, scrambling toward Carson.

​"Carson, you promised me! You swore you would win that necklace for me and fasten it around my neck right here!"

​I slowly shook my head, watching Samantha throw her pathetic, child-like tantrum. Beside her, Carson stood paralyzed, his jaw clenched tight and his eyes burning with a toxic mix of shock, regret, and humiliating defeat.

​"Scarlet, I will be waiting in the car. Wait until they secure the necklace in its case, and ensure that no one in this hall ever gets to touch or even lay eyes on it again, especially Samantha Hayes and Carson Hemswood."

​"Yes, Miss Lora."

​A slow, lethal half-smile spread across my lips, breaking into a low laugh that sent a wave of pure venom crashing over everyone present. In that single, haunting moment, they all felt it. The gates of hell had just opened by my own hands, and I was going to drag them into the flames to burn for the rest of their lives.