Carly froze in panic. "I..."


    Her eyes darted to Lucy in desperation.


    Without missing a beat, Lucy stepped forward. "It wasn''t Carly! It was me! I was the one who contacted Scarface and nned the whole kidnapping!"


    Celine watched Lucy carefully. She was really willing to take the fall for Carly.


    Celine sneered, finding it ironic how Lucy was willing to protect Carly like a devoted mother.


    She was Lucy''s biological daughter, yet Lucy had always treated Carly like her own while casting her aside. What had she done to deserve this?


    No matter how cold she tried to be, the betrayal still stung.


    Gasps spread through the crowd.


    "Mrs. Tate, was it really you?" Hailey questioned. "Mrs. Tate, Celine is your own daughter! You actually hired criminals to kidnap her? Were you trying to have her killed?"


    Lucy hadn''t expected the truth toe out like this, but she couldn''t let Carly take the me. If she did, her reputation would be ruined, and Adam would never forgive her.


    So, she took it all on herself.


    Lucy turned to Celine. "Celine, I''m sorry. I never meant for this to happen."


    Celine let out a coldugh. "Sorry? If I remember correctly, you and Mrs. Tate Senior cut ties with me a long time ago. If I had stayed in your family, I probably wouldn''t have even known how I died."


    Hailey scoffed. "Celine saw you as family, and you repaid her by trying to get rid of her. Do you even have a conscience?"


    The crowd erupted in murmurs.


    "What kind of mother abandons her own child while doting on someone else''s?"


    "She''spletely consumed by her obsession. It''s unsettling."


    Lucy''s face burned with humiliation, but with so many people watching, she forced herself to stayposed.


    This time, both she and Carly had lost everything.


    Celine turned to Carly. "Carly, do you really think the USB drive in your hand holds any evidence?"


    Carly stiffened, gripping the drive. "What are you talking about, Celine?"


    Perry chuckled. "Carly, Mrs. Tate, you''ve been yed. That USB drive is empty."


    Carly and Lucy''s faces went pale.


    Perry turned to Adam. "Scarface was taken in by Mr. Alvarez, who''s already gone through


    everything-and found nothing. But when mentioned the USB earker, Mr. Alvarez didn''t correct me have to thank him for ying along."


    Carly turned to Adam in shock. "Adam, is that true? You knew the USB was fake


    all along?"


    Adam met her gaze. "Yes, I knew," he said coldly.


    He had already done a full investigation when Scarface was taken care of, including tracking the money.


    He knew it was a bluff from the very moment Perry imed the USB held transaction records.


    Perry had yed them wlessly, using a fake USB to lure Carly and Lucy into revealing themselves.


    They had covered their tracks well, but they were no match for Perry and Adam. With just one move, everything fell apart.


    Carly felt like her world was


    crumbling. She turned to Adam and


    asked, "Adam, whose side are you on? Why would you betray me like this?" .


    Celine smirked. "Betray you? Didn''t you just


    im you had nothing t


    with this? Why are you


    Tate acted alone?"


    if