Wendy smiled tightly. "I raised you for over twenty years, Joanna. Is this really how you repay me?"

The realization that she had been utterly played pushed Joanna over the edge. "How else am I supposed to repay you?!" she shrieked. "You stole my mother's place! You're the reason she had to be the other woman! She suffered in the shadows for over twenty years. I did it for her. I just wanted my parents to be together legitimately, so the four of us could live as a real family. What is wrong with that?!"

"You have more money than you could ever spend. Would it kill you to hand the company over to my mom? She's the one who took care of my dad behind your back all those years. She put in the work!"

"How can you be so shameless? The woman who isn't loved is the real homewrecker. Don't you get it? My dad never loved you. He only loved your bank accounts. Out of all his kids, I'm the only one he actually cares about."

Wendy just laughed. Looking at Joanna's twisted, malicious expression, she realized she didn't even have to bait her. Joanna was digging her own grave on live television.

Wendy's smile turned bitter. Staring into the girl's arrogant face, she forced an expression of pure, unadulterated heartbreak. "Joanna... you and your father played me so thoroughly. You manipulated me into abandoning my own flesh and blood. I treated you like a princess, only to find out you were his mistress's bastard child all along."

"For you, I lied to the world and claimed my real daughter, Natalie, was adopted. And you constantly framed her. You plotted against her at every turn. You're not human, Joanna. You're a monster."

"You brainwashed your oldest brother into attacking Natalie, and manipulated your other brother into helping you steal my company."

"Even a stray dog would wag its tail at the person who feeds it. I gave you everything, and you repay me by torturing my biological child. You engineered every situation to make us kick her out of her own home. You've done so many horrific things—you even killed your own unborn baby! Does your conscience not bleed at all?"

Joanna froze, staring intensely at Wendy. Something about her phrasing felt incredibly off.

Why was she repeating all these specific details out loud?

It felt painfully scripted.

Joanna quickly scanned the walls and ceiling, but she couldn't spot a single camera.

Still, Wendy's behavior was wildly out of character.

Wendy caught the paranoid darting of Joanna's eyes but didn't flinch, merely offering a cold, steady smile.

There was no doubt the live stream chat was currently exploding.

Joanna wanted her new movie to make millions? She was dreaming!

Inside the live stream, the comments were moving at warp speed.

[I can't believe this! The little princess Mrs. Scott spoiled rotten is the fake, and Natalie was the biological daughter this whole time?! Joanna wanted to steal everything from the woman who raised her! Not being grateful is one thing, but this is pure evil!]

[What's even crazier is that she's the product of an affair! Her own dad swapped the babies so his

mistress's kid could live in luxury! This is some literal soap opera. madness!]

ev

[This is repulsive. I literally just bought tickets for her movie tonight. She was treated like gold and still tried to bankrupt her adoptive mom and run the real daughter's life just to keep the spotlight! If that's not a sociopath, I don't know what is.]

[She is absolutely vile. This is a hidden livestream, there's no way this is scripted. Does someone who stabs her own family in the back deserve a platform?]

[Ugh! Refunding my tickets right now. I actually looked up to her, but she's spent her whole life plotting to destroy Natalie. I'm boycotting anything with her face on it!]