Chapter 180
Paulina felt her world crumbling around her as the truth dawned on her – it was her own daughter, Leila, who had taken the photo that smeared Merry’s reputation. The polite, obedient girl she thought she knew had changed, and Paulina couldn’t come to terms with this harsh new reality
In her desperation to understand why her daughter had changed so drastically, Paulina had believed Leila’s accusation against Latham. She needed a reason to explain her change, so she believed without question that Latham had acted inappropriately towards Leila.
Now, faced with undeniable proof of her daughter’s deceit, Paulina was forced to confront a bitter truth: her daughter was not the victim she’d portrayed herself to be, but the architect of her own sister’s downfall.
Cain was equally stunned. When he first heard Leila’s claims of being harassed and blackmailed into hurting Merry, he felt a sense of relief. His mind refused to accept that his daughter could be capable of such cruelty As a businessman, he was no fool, yet his paternal instincts led him to defend his daughter unconditionally. He even called in the press, hoping to blow the issue up and clear his daughter’s name, not realizing that his actions would backfire spectacularly.
The click of cameras and the relentless flashes from the reporters‘ equipment captured Leila’s downfall, and Cain regretted his earlier decision profoundly.
After being confronted by Paulina, Leila stood up, dropping her facade of meekness. With a chilling calm, she revealed her true colors, “Why did I do it? Because if Mr. Latham hadn’t called Dad, he wouldn’t have doubted. me! Because I was hit in the head by a football from Daniel, and Dad defended him instead of me!”
She pointed an accusing finger at Cain and Paulina, “Look at how kind you are to me now that I’m the ‘victim.’ By slandering Mr. Latham, I regained my place as your beloved daughter, right?”
“Why did everything have to go wrong this year? Why did you stop loving me? Why did I have to have a stepsister? She took away your love from me! If she were gone, I’d be the only one!”
Paulina and Cain were speechless.
“Having another fam
member means there’s more love to go around,” Paulina said, her voice trembling with emotion. “Yes, we shared our love with Merry, but when we grow old, you’ll still have a sibling in this world. That’s what siblings are for! How can you be so selfish?”
Leila’s laughter was cold and harsh, “This is who I am. I’m just like you; I’m the bad seed, and so are you.” “You’re insane!” Paulina exclaimed, aghast.
Leila turned to Latham, her lips curling into a sneer as she said, “I nearly won. I was not lucky enough.” That’s when Cordelia stepped in, saying icily, “It has nothing to do with luck.”
Leila froze as Cordelia pointed to a monitor and continued, “The security camera was broken.”
Outside, a camera that had been toppled by the wind lay disconnected on the ground. The footage everyone thought would incriminate Latham didn’t exist; his office, which also served as his private room, wasn’t under surveillance.
Leila was lost for words.
Merry broke the silence with a smirk, “Did you think I went to find the security camera?”
Two hours had passed since the incident. After telling Daniel about the setup, Merry had snuck into the
adjacent office with Skyler to create a fake video. The man in the video, dressed like Latham and with his back to the window, was actually Skyler. The girl, supposedly Leila, was Merry in disguise
1/2
Chapter 180
Cordelia had masterminded the entire plan. Once Skyler arrived, she instructed the duo to shoot the video, which Skyler then edited to make it look convincing. Meanwhile, Merry returned to the classroom, giving the impression that she’d been busy there the whole time.
Leila realized she had been set up and turned on Merry with venom, “You framed me!”
Merry sighed. “I learned from the best.”
The truth was that Merry had always taken the fall for her sister’s misdeeds. Time after time, she’d been punished for things she hadn’t done – all because of Leila’s manipulations.
Now, Merry had turned the tables, giving Leila a taste of her own medicine. But it was too late – Leila had already confessed.
Seething with rage, Leila lunged at Merry, only to be effortlessly subdued by Cordelia.
Leila’s tirade continued even as she lay on the floor. “So what if the truth’s out? I’m a minor; I won’t go to jail. I’ll just go back to being unloved and ostracized. After graduation, I’ll leave this town, and what can you do about it?”
Her words, full of spite and arrogance, echoed through the room, captured by the reporters‘ cameras. The principal frowned deeply. “You’re expelled from our school.”
Expelled? Leila didn’t care. “So what? My parents will send me abroad. I’ll come back after studying overseas for a couple of years!”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Love or Die CEO’s Daily Dose of Swoon (Cordelia and Sanderson)