Jerome lowered his head, tears streaming down his face. He couldn''t say a word. The deception had been so obvious, yet he had never seen it. Joanna had manipted Natalie, the sister who had been brought back from the countryside. Proud and raised in wealth, he had seen his sister as an embarrassment, a stain on their family. But what had Natalie ever done wrong? She was the victim of a mistake. If she hadn''t been switched at birth, she would have been just as outstanding. No, she was outstanding; they had just refused to see it. They had all been caught in Joanna and Nathan''s web, deliberately spoiled and ruined, raised to be arrogant and superficial.


    Zenobia''s words echoed in his mind: "Jerome, you are aplete and utter idiot. I will never love a worthless idiot like you again."


    He thought Natalie was the embarrassment, but now he saw that he was the one who was a disgrace.


    Joanna had framed Natalie time and time again, and with each incident, their judgment had be more skewed. Disgust was contagious. When everyone around you dislikes someone, you assume it''s because that person is genuinely terrible. Only now did he understand how much it hurt when the knife was turned on him.


    He remembered the lonely, helpless look in his sister''s eyes when she was framed. He''d always thought she was just ying for sympathy. But now he knew her pain was real. Her own mother didn''t believe her, and her brothers bullied her. He didn''t deserve to be her brother. No wonder she hadn''t mentioned her medical skills to him, even though she could heal someone with worse injuries than his.


    Wendy watched her son weep in silence. "Without the shares I gave you," she continued, "if I were to fall one day, what would you do? You know nothing but racing."


    "Mom," Jerome asked, his voice choked with disbelief, "I don''t understand why Dad would do this to me."


    "I can''t tell you the truth," Wendy said. "You''ve always been a fool, and I''m afraid you''ll ruin my ns. Just pretend you know nothing. Find a clinic, hide yourself away, and I will handle everything."


    "Mom, I see things clearly now. I won''t get in your way. Please, just tell me. The baby Yvonne is carrying isn''t mine. She wants me to be the fall guy but won''t let her. I''m your son- tiam. e with backor


    vant side


    that woman Joanna anymore."


    Jerome wanted to share her burden.


    Wendy studied him for a long moment. "Then get your own revenge. As long as you''re not a fool, I won''t abandon you." If her son was willing to change, she would help him.


    Jerome gave a bitterugh. "I''m not a fool anymore, Mom. Three days before the race, Natalie''s design suddenly ended up with Verna. The only person who could have


    essed


    my phone was apanpa.


    She''s the only one who knew my passcode. I see it now. She wanted to turn me and Nataliepletely against each other, so she could frame Natalie for my ident. It''s a good thing Natalie found out ahead of time and foiled her n."


    Wendy''s heart ached. "Natalie cared about us so much. That''s why she never exposed Joanna. She loved this family, so she endured it all just


    to keep the peace


    But the fast time,


    when Joanna staged her own kidnapping to frame her, we all


    turned on her and disowned her. We


    utterly destroyed her love for us. We were so blind."