In the study of the Vale Estate, the TV was on the hottest entertainment news channel. The anchor blared, “Next up, a scandal straight out of Mingdale. The Vale family’s adopted daughter seduced her sister’s fiancé. It was topping Twitter today. Netizens are calling her shameless…” Leonard Vale took a deep breath, shut off the screen via remote, and turned to the girl across from him. She was his adopted daughter, Seraphina Vale, the very “shameless”mentioned in the news. “Whether it’s true or not, rumors like this can’t be ignored. You can’t stay in this house anymore. Your biological parents have been just found anyway, and they’ll be here to take you soon.” His voice was uncharacteristically firm and final. Half a year ago, Seraphina had painted a piece titled Spring Banquet in Autumn’s Twilight on a whim. It ended up going viral among the elite circles of Mingdale, with everyone raving about her extraordinary talent. None of them knew her full name, only that she was the Vale heiress. The matriarch of the old-money Roth family from Valedawn, even came to Mingdale to pay a visit. She wanted to meet the young genius artist and hoped to introduce her son—maybe they’d be a good match and could meet to see how things went. Seeing an opportunity, Miranda Vale made a calculated move. She had her biological daughter, Lyanna Vale, pose as the artist, publicly claiming Spring Banquet in Autumn’s Twilight was Lyanna’s work. That way, the match with Damian Roth, heir to the Roth family, could proceed smoothly. Afterward, Miranda warned Seraphina to stay quiet, calling it her way of repaying the Vales for raising her. Leonard, who had long admired Seraphina’s talent, had always treated her well. But when it came to securing the family’s future—especially helping his real daughter marry into power—he agreed to Miranda’s plan. He even started quietly searching for Seraphina’s biological family. Several people had come to the house for DNA testing, but nothing had panned out. Feeling guilty, Miranda arranged for a pair of fake parents to take Seraphina away, eager to get rid of her as quickly as possible. Leonard placed a wad of cash on the table in front of her. “This is ten thousand. Take it. Consider it our last gesture of goodwill.” According to Miranda, the fake parents were from a remote village on the outskirts—dirt roads, isolated, mostly elderly folks left behind. It would take over a full day of bumpy bus rides to reach. Once there, Seraphina would be stuck doing endless farmwork, suffering and struggling. Ten grand was, in their minds, more than generous. Seraphina lifted her eyes. Her delicate features and crescent-shaped eyes gave her a rare, striking beauty. As she glanced at the cash, her lips curved slightly. Ten thousand? She could easily earn hundreds of thousands just by selling a few pills. This amount? She didn’t even care to look at it. With a lazy flick of her gaze, she looked at Leonard. Her indifference made it seem like she wasn’t the one being kicked out. “No need. If that’s all, I’ll be going.” She turned and walked out with calm elegance, taking nothing, begging for nothing. Miranda scowled. “I can’t stand that smug attitude! She really thinks she’s some kind of heiress. She’ll suffer once she leaves this house!” “Calm down, Mom,” Lyanna said gently. “Seraphina’s always been gifted. Maybe she’s just used to being proud. Let’s try to be understanding.” In truth, Lyanna was overjoyed. The video scandal was her doing. After years of living under the same roof, she’d always been overshadowed. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t match Seraphina, who never even had to lift a finger to succeed. Compared to her, Lyanna felt like a useless nobody. So she’d made it her mission to drive Seraphina out—to make her life miserable. And now, she’d succeeded. Time to rub it in. “I’m going to check on her,” she said sweetly, standing up. “You two keep talking.” Once she was gone, Leonard sighed and muttered to his wife, “She did call you ‘Mom’ for years. Was it really necessary to find such terrible fake parents?” Miranda scoffed. “Blood still matters, no matter how much you invest. Believe me, she’ll turn on you in the end. Being nice to her is just a waste of time.” Seraphina always acted cold and distant, unlike sweet, soft-spoken Lyanna. “I did this for the good of the family. If Lyanna marries into the Roths and becomes a proper Valedawn socialite, we’ll finally earn real status. You, Leonard, will be able to walk around Valedawn like a king.” His eyes lit up briefly before falling into thoughtful silence. That silence meant agreement. Seraphina had just reached the front hall and was heading out the door when Lyanna caught up with her, jogging to close the distance. “Seraphina, Damian just proposed to me! I’m sorry for taking your place, but I am the only one real daughter of this family. I’m not trying to show off—I just wanted to apologize.” Her words were saccharine, carefully measured. She was basically saying, “So what if you painted Spring Banquet in Autumn’s Twilight? I have the life you don’t.” “Damian said he doesn’t care who painted the piece. He will only loves me forever. Don’t you think that’s true love?” Seraphina’s smile was cool. “If that’s true love, then whoever paired you two up really knows how to sort trash.” “What?” Lyanna blinked, not following. “Trash and trash bins are made for each other. You two are just gonna stink it out together.” Lyanna froze, stunned by the words. Miranda happened to walk out and overheard that. She rushed forward in a fury. “How dare you speak like that? You little brat, so nasty, so mean. No wonder your parents ditched you! Nobody wants you!” “Oh, but you were the ones who kept me here. So you’re saying you’re a nobody yourself??” Seraphina said casually. “You—” Miranda raised her hand. Just as she was about to swing her hand to slap her, Lyanna quickly stepped in, reaching out to block Miranda’s hand. “Don’t do that, Mom. It’s not her fault. It’s me. Maybe I’m just so unbearable she’s hated me all along.” Miranda got even angrier, shouting, “How dare she hate you!” She lunged for Seraphina, but Lyanna jumped in to stop her again. Before long, all three of them were tangled together, shoving and struggling. Lyanna was only pretending to be kind. She didn’t actually put much effort into holding her mom back. She had another trick up her sleeve. Suddenly, a loud flutter—the photos spilled onto the floor. They were Lyanna’s boudoir photos. Not very explicit, but undeniably seductive. A folded paper was mixed in. Everyone froze mid-motion. Lyanna was the first to react. She bent down to pick up the paper while feigning curiosity. After reading it, her eyes went wide. “Seraphina, why would you do this?” The paper showed that Seraphina was trying to sell those photos to gossip blogs for a huge sum. Lyanna was playing her part perfectly, thinking to herself, How could this be? Could my sister really be trying to hurt me? She looked sad, innocent, disappointed, and scared. Seraphina looked at her coolly. Girl, can‘t you at least come up with a more original setup? Miranda snatched the paper, scanned it, and instantly lost it. “Seraphina! You’re such a piece of crap! You’re gonna ruin Lyanna’s reputation? No wonder you didn’t take the money earlier… You already had your plan in motion!” Lyanna rushed to gather the photos, pretending to be the kind peacemaker. “Mom, maybe we misunderstood her…” “Misunderstood? She seduced Damian, and now that her scheme failed, she wants revenge. Selling those photos is her backup plan! “You really suck, Seraphina!” Lyanna kept shaking her head, her expression soft and pure. “I don’t believe it. That’s not who she is. If she really did this, it must be because she’s afraid of how hard life will be in the countryside. It’s my fault—I should’ve given her more jewelry and money to take with her.” The staff around them were all visibly moved. What a kind young lady—gentle, generous, forgiving. She was like an angel. And Seraphina? With her sharp tongue and cold eyes—clearly a snake. Side by side, the difference was stark: one was pure light, the other pure venom. “If there’s anything you need, just tell me. I’ll make sure you have it,” Lyanna said, still playing her role perfectly. Miranda wiped her eyes. “You’re too soft, sweetie. She tried to take your fiancé and ruin your name. You’re going to get hurt one day, being so kind.”