Vanessa forced out a fake, eager smile, but her voice was as sharp as a blade. "Lila, I know you're not that kind of girl! Someone must have forced you, right? Just tell us!"
Her tone was full of "concern," but the malice underneath was razor-sharp. Vanessa knew Lila all too well—back in their previous life, this foolish little sister always broke down in hysterics when wronged. The more she denied it, the more guilty she looked. As long as Lila lost control in front of the crowd, half of Vanessa's plan would be complete!
But this time, to her surprise, Lila didn't explode. Instead, she slowly raised her head, her red lips curving into a playful smirk. There was a glint of mockery in her eyes.
"Of course you know, dear sister."
Vanessa froze. Her smile stiffened. "I… know what?"
"You know it wasn't me." Lila's voice was icy, each word slicing through the air like a knife.
Vanessa tried to stay composed, putting on a pitiful expression. "I want to believe you're innocent, I really do! But the video is irrefutable! What do you want me to do, Lila? No one's going to believe you now!"
Whispers exploded through the crowd. Guests were pointing and sneering:
"Tsk, still denying it? Shameless!"
"Cheated on Young Master Lu? What a disgrace!"
"She's trying to lie her way out of it with that face? Please!"
But Lila looked utterly unbothered. Her voice was as soft as if she were coaxing a child. "Sister, someone is clearly framing me. And since you and I are so 'close,' you must know the truth from beginning to end. You're my best witness, aren't you?"
The entire room fell silent. Every head turned toward Vanessa at once.
Wait—Vanessa knew what happened? Or worse… was she involved?
Joan's face darkened. He barked coldly, "Vanessa, what's going on here? Explain!"
Vanessa's heart skipped a beat, a flicker of panic flashing across her face. What the hell does Lila mean? Did she find something out? No way! She was panicking like a headless chicken just minutes ago! She must be bluffing!
She forced a smile. "Lila, we're sisters, yes, but I'm not your shadow! I'm not with you 24/7. If you really did something like this, how would I know?"
"Lila! Your reputation is already in ruins, and now you're trying to drag my daughter down with you?" Susan suddenly jumped in. Her well-maintained face twisted like a vengeful witch as she shrieked, "Joan, look at this adopted daughter of yours! She's shameless and destroying the Jo family's name!"
Joan frowned, glaring at Lila. "You'd better give me a damn good explanation."
Lu Zhe stood silently to the side, his face a mask of ice. His deep, abyss-like eyes scanned Lila with unhidden contempt.
This woman dares cause a scandal at their engagement party? If she couldn't come up with a convincing defense, he had no problem letting her experience the wrath of the Lu family firsthand.
But Lila didn't flinch. She blinked innocently, like a harmless deer. "Since big sister just said we're so close, she must know about the birthmark on my body, right?"
"Birthmark?" Vanessa echoed blankly, blurting out without thinking, "You don't have one! Your skin's clean, no birthmark at all!"
Lila turned to Susan. "Dear foster mother, what about you? Do you remember if I have a birthmark?"
Susan's face darkened. A sense of foreboding crept in, but she stubbornly shook her head. "No! Don't try to play innocent now!"
"Oh?" Lila chuckled lightly, slowly toying with the tassels on her gown like she was watching a comedy show.
The room was dead silent, so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard. Everyone looked back and forth between the big screen and Lila.
Suddenly, a child pointed at the screen and yelled, "That woman on the screen has a black birthmark on her neck!"
Everyone stared. Sure enough, the woman in the video had a very distinct black birthmark on her neck! And upon closer inspection, her body shape was slightly fuller than Lila's, and her features didn't perfectly match.
"There must be some mistake!" the emcee cried out nervously, wiping sweat from his brow. If this fiasco angered the Lu family, his career would be over.
Lu Zhe's expression remained cold, but a glint of intrigue flickered in his eyes. He looked at Lila again—the disgust seemed to have faded slightly.
This woman… maybe she's not as brainless as he thought.
Some guests started to murmur:
"She really doesn't look like the girl in the video…"
"Come to think of it, Lila may be temperamental, but I've never heard of her messing around with men."
"It's a misunderstanding! Must be!"
Susan panicked and screamed, "Misunderstanding?! That face—how could it be fake?!"
Vanessa jumped in, voice desperate. "Exactly! The face is identical! Lila doing something like this—it shames me as her sister! Dad, we can't keep someone like her in the family! Kick her out of the Jo household!"
She shot Susan a meaningful look, and Susan quickly chimed in, "Joan, Vanessa's right! Lila's just a disgraceful adopted girl! Keeping her around will only ruin Vanessa's future! Do you want your real daughter to never get married? Kick her out and protect our family's reputation!"
Joan's expression shifted. He glanced at Lu Zhe.
The Lu family had immense power, and he couldn't afford to offend them. But Lu Zhe's indifferent face didn't seem to care much about Lila's innocence. That made Joan lean toward believing Lila was just trouble.
But at that moment, Lila's clear voice rang out, laced with a sharp mockery.
"Foster mother, dear sister… your ability to lie with your eyes wide open is truly admirable. I've been framed, yet you're racing to convict me? Using such cheap tricks in public—isn't that a little embarrassing?"
Joan frowned, suddenly snapping his gaze toward Vanessa and Susan. "That's right! You both said just now that Lila has no birthmark! But the woman in the video does! That's clearly not her!"
Vanessa and Susan exchanged a horrified glance. Their faces turned ghostly pale.
Joan's words were practically a public announcement that Lila was innocent—and that the fake video… was made by them!
Vanessa panicked, scrambling for an excuse. "Dad, maybe… maybe it's a temporary tattoo! Lila used to love putting those stickers on! They looked exactly like real birthmarks! Maybe she forgot to remove it!"
Her mind spun frantically. She couldn't believe they'd spent so much money on a forged video that had such an obvious flaw. Desperate, this was the only lie she could think of to patch the hole.
Joan's eyes grew complicated, clearly wavering. Lila's reputation had always been bad, so this kind of behavior didn't seem too far-fetched…