Chapter 4

At the cemetery, countless camera flashes were aimed at me, instantly dragging me back to that moment of utter humiliation.

I curled into a ball, not daring to look at my parents' headstones, and bit the inside of my cheek until it bled.

Like a walking corpse, I read from the , "I willingly posed for those intimate photos. I planned to use my body to create buzz for the competition, but it backfired, and I ended up getting my own parents killed..."

Scott stood off to the side, his furrowed brow still not relaxing.

Kelsey, meanwhile, showed off the medal around her neck, unable to hide the smug gleam in her eyes.

The moment I finished reading the whole , the onlookers swarmed me in a frenzy.

"She's the slut, and she still tried to pin it on someone else. Shameless!"

"Those photos of hers are already all over the internet. She got what she wanted. Now she can go viral!"

"You'd never guess it. The dignified Mrs. Brophy is that loose in private. I saw the photos. She's a D cup at least!"

...

They stuck those photos onto my parents' headstones, spewing insults nonstop.

I tried to rush over and stop them, but the bodyguards held me down firmly.

Scott hesitated for a moment, but he still held back the urge to step forward. "It's just a few videos for the reporters. Once they're done filming, we'll clean everything up.

"I've already compromised this much. As Mrs. Brophy, you need to keep up appearances from now on."

With that, he stepped aside to take a phone call.

The moment he walked away, Kelsey showed her true colors. She leaned in and lowered her voice, "I've seen every single one of your photos. Sometimes Scott and I even use them to get in the mood.

"Too bad your parents didn't see it that way. When they were driving over to watch your competition, I was kind enough to send them those photos to enjoy. Who knew they'd get such a fright that they'd crash straight into a truck?"

Kelsey's twisted face loomed larger and larger before my eyes.

I couldn't take it anymore. I raised my hand, about to slap her.

The next second, Scott shoved me aside.

"Jennifer, how dare you hit her?! Kelsey has backed down again and again and never held anything against you. You've gone completely insane!"

I was almost out of strength. "She's the reason my parents got into that car accident!"

Scott froze, and Kelsey suddenly cried out in pain. "Mrs. Brophy hit me. It hurts so much..."

Without a moment's hesitation, he scooped her up and left.

The instant their car pulled away, the burly men started smashing up the graves like madmen. In just a few swings, the headstones were shattered to pieces.

I lost control and threw myself at them, taking a shovel blow squarely across my back. "Please, stop! Don't smash them anymore!"

One of them kicked me away hard, and it felt like my insides had been crushed.

But the more I struggled, the harder they pinned me to the ground.

I could only watch helplessly as the two headstones turned to rubble. I had no idea where their memorial portraits had even flown off to.

Today was supposed to be the anniversary of my parents' deaths...

They dug my parents' urns out of the graves, scooped out the ashes, and shoved them into my mouth. "Ms. Rowe's orders. You're going to eat all of this, and you're not leaving until it's gone!"

Ashes scattered everywhere, clogging my mouth and nose.

I thrashed desperately, crying so hard my eyes burned. "Mmph... Let go of me! Leave me their ashes!"

Then, out of nowhere, a rock came smashing down on my head.

Something cold trickled down my neck, and my world went completely dark.

When Scott found out Kelsey wasn't actually hurt, he couldn't help feeling irritated.

"But it really did hurt just now..." she whined.

Ignoring her coy act, he grabbed his keys and rushed back to the cemetery as fast as he could.

But the moment he stepped through the cemetery gates, the sight before him drained all the color from his face.