That evening, Ste received a call from Skyler.


    On the other end of the line, Skyler insisted the rumors hadn''te from him-he imed he had no idea how things had gotten out of hand. He promised that, at the uing family reunion, he''d clear everything up in person.


    Ste listened, unruffled. Her heart was still as ake at dawn.


    Once rumors start, no amount of denial can erase them; in the eyes of outsiders, Skyler''s rifications would only make him look guiltier, as if he were trying a little too hard to cover things up.


    For all she knew, Skyler might even see the gossip as a stroke of luck.


    The whispers about Ste being an illegitimate child had barely died down when a new, even more explosive scandal rocked both society''s inner circles and the public atrge.


    "Shocking! The real illegitimate daughter isn''t Ste—it''s Aurora!"


    "Aurora''s goddess persona shattered-turns out she''s the daughter of the other woman!"


    "The tangled drama: Skyler, the Fisherwoman, and Nora-love, betrayal, and everything in between!"


    Unlike the unsubstantiated spection surrounding Ste, the rumors about Aurora came with hard evidence-pages and pages of it. Even Skyler''s mysterious disappearance and memory loss as a young man were dragged into the light. The dossier was dozens of pages long, packed with revtions that left readers stunned.


    The media frenzy over Ste was nothingpared to the wildfire surrounding Aurora.


    For years, Aurora had been the gold standard of high society''s debutantes— elegant, poised, a paragon of virtue with not the slightest blemish on her record. Every gesture she made drew attention, admiration, envy, and awe from her peers. She was untouchable-the queen bee, the one every other heiress secretly wished to outshine but never could.


    Now, that wless idol had been toppled. The revtion that Aurora was the child of a mistress was simply unthinkable.


    Fans outside the social elite were in disbelief. Even the old-money circles were shaken to their core.


    The truth was


    Aurora''s grace and


    aplishments could have easily overshadowed her parentage-if only she hadn''t been painted as society''s untouchable darling. Those who''d long harbored resentment, who''d spent years looking for any dirt on her and alwayse up empty, finally had their opening. There was no way they''d let this opportunity slip by.


    The inte exploded. Wild spections and usations flew from every corner.


    "Wait, you''re telling me Aurora, the golden girl, is actually illegitimate? So Ste''s the real heiress?"


    "Hold on, why did Aurora grow up in the Williams family, while Ste was only brought backter?"


    "Didn''t you read the whole story? Apparently, Aurora''s mother-the mistress— forced Ste''s mom, Nora, out."


    "Oh, so it''s a ssic case of stealing someone else''s home?"


    "But wasn''t Mrs. Williams supposed to have died in childbirth?"


    "That''s just what they told everyone. You really believe that?"


    "Am I the only one floored that Ste''s mom is Nora-and Nora is Mrs. Williams?"


    "This is news to me too. Skyler


    always talked about his wife, but nobody ever saw her. All her photos and personal info were wiped from the inte. No name, nothing. used to think Skyler was just being protective of histe wife''s memory. Now it seems... well, turns out he was just putting on a show."


    After Nora fled the Williams estate, Skyler had people searching for her for years, But Nora had gone deep underground. Pregnant and then raising a child, she stayed out of sight and off the grid for those first few years, never once stepping into the working world.