"What are you talking about? You''ve always been vicious!" Nathan shot back, clinging to his lie. “I smelled a strange fragrance when I went in. I was framed! You''re always trying to hurt Joanna, so of course I would suspect you."


    "You people plot against me time and time again, and then you have the audacity to me me," Natalie said, her voice dangerously low. "Perhaps I should show everyone the video of Joanna trying to seduce men. We could have a little screening right here at Mr. Wilson''s birthday party."


    "Natalie, why are you always targeting me?" Joanna cried, tears welling in her eyes.


    Natalie rolled her eyes in disgust. "This is the Wilson estate, at Mr. Wilson''s g. What are you crying for? Are you trying to bring bad luck? Weren''t you the one just screaming that I set you up? Now that the evidence is out, suddenly I''m the one targeting you?"


    "So many people are watching. Do you ever think before you speak? And another thing, Mr. Wilson is seventy years old today. A man only gets one seventieth birthday. Couldn''t you have checked your facts before making wild usations? All because of some petty grudge, you had to ruin his celebration. Mr. Wilson clearly adores you. Do you and your father feel no shame for repaying his kindness this way?"


    If they wanted to use power to crush her, she would turn that power right back on them.


    Joanna was a master maniptor, but she was no match for Natalie in a direct confrontation. The old Natalie had been a quiet doormat who never fought back. It seemed that being framed one too many times had finally taught her how to bite back.


    "Natalie, we only suspected you because you were missing. We never said it was definitely you. You''re just trying to drive a wedge between me and Mr. Wilson..."


    "Do I need to? You''re treating everyone here like an idiot. It''s a miracle, really. When God was handing out brains, you must have been holding an umbre. Even a stranger could see through your pathetic scheme, let alone a seasoned businessman like Mr. Wilson."


    Only a fool would fail to see through Joanna''s cheap tricks.


    "Mr. Wilson, I didn''t..."


    "Enough!" Mr. Wilson''s voice was like thunder. don''t want to hear another word. All of you, leave. Now, He red at Joanna, his filled that just with anger, but with profound disappointment,


    Joanna watched him walk away, her body trembling with rage.


    The other guests began to disperse, leaving only a few of them behind.


    Nathan was seething. "You wretched girl! You''re so malicious, ruining the rtionship between Joanna and Mr. Wilson."


    Natalie felt a wave of exhaustion. How could this man be her biological father?


    Her eyes filled with a deep-seated


    hatred. "I curse the day I was born with your blood in my veins. I would rather have never existed than be rted to someone as foul as you. And how did I ruin anything? Wasn''t it your own doing?"


    Nathan and Joanna stood in stunned silence, their faces tight with fury.


    Natalie''s gaze was sharp enough to cut ss. She looked directly at Joanna. "Remember what I said the night I left? I will not let you bully me anymore. For everything you''ve done to me, I will repay you in kind tenfold."