"So, you''ve been using me as a stepping stone for Joanna from the very


    beginning?" Natalie roared, her voice trembling with fury. She already knew the answer, but asking the question still sent a fresh wave of pain through her heart.


    Before her stood her own brother, a man who wouldn''t even acknowledge that she was his sister. She despised him for it, yet the ache in her chest was undeniable.


    Jared''s voice wasced with a cruel amusement as he delivered the final blow.


    "That''s right. Joanna is the princess of the Scott family, and you''re just the adopted girl. Remember your ce. Now that you''re no longer useful, you can either get the hell out of Yaro on your own, or I can arrange for someone to escort you."


    He smirked, a wicked, calcting glint in his eyes that was both casual and chilling.


    In that moment, Natalie finally understood. They had all inherited Nathan''s venom; they were heartless. Their preference for Joanna wasn''t just favoritism-it was because Natalie offered them no benefit, no value.


    "I''m not leaving, Jared," she said, her gaze firm and cold. "Try whatever you want. I have evidence of every single time you''ve framed me. If you want to y this game, I''ll dly show everyone what you''ve done."


    The winner is the one who''sughing at the end.


    "Please," Jared scoffed. "Natalie, do you really think anyone will believe a lonely orphan like you over people with power and influence? Being Joanna''s stepping stone is an honor for you." Natalie just smiled, a strange, unsettling curve of her lips.


    This idiot. She didn''t even need to provoke him; he was spilling everything all on his own.


    A deep-seated hatred burned within her. Why should she be the only one to suffer all the pain and humiliation? The people who bullied her deserved to be scorned by the world, just as she had been in her past life.


    Jared and Joanna were cut from the same cloth, always using public opinion and the power of the inte to drive people to their deaths. Jared had done the same to her before, with unimaginable cruelty.


    "What are you smiling about?" Jared asked, unnerved. "I''m telling you, no matter what you do, I will never ept you as my sister Joanna is my only sister, and you will always be at her beck and call."


    The live chat exploded.


    [Who the hell is this scumbag? Does he have fangs in that mouth of his?]


    [The second son of the Scott Group is this disgusting? This vicious? So they adopted a daughter just to be a pawn for their precious daughter.]


    [He looks decent enough on the outside, but how can he talk such refined bullshit?]


    [Isn''t Joanna the first love of


    Sebastian, Yaro''s Crown Prince? He just invested in a movie for her a few days ago. She wants to be an actress? Climbing to the top of her adopted sister''s back? What a shameless clown.]


    The screen was flooded with insults. Sebastian, watching the live stream, narrowed his eyes. Was Jared really this stupid? He''d outsmarted himself and single-handedly torpedoed Joanna''s acting career. The movie hadn''t even started filming, and her reputation was already inshambles. Frantically, Joanna tried to call Jared, but his line was busy... Forgetting all about Sebastian, she raced downstairs and sped toward Jared''s office.


    "Bang!" Jared''s office door was thrown open by his assistant just as Natalie ended


    the live stream, leaving the rest to everyone''s imagination.


    "Mr. Scott," the assistant said, his voice tight with panic. "Your entire conversation was just broadcast live."


    Jared''s brow furrowed in annoyance. "What live broadcast?"