My sister had never been treated like that growing up, and under Linda’s stream of filthy insults, she finally burst into tears. Her small body trembled violently in my arms.

My heart twisted painfully at the sight. I didn’t have the patience to argue with Linda anymore. All I wanted was to take my sister away as quickly as possible and calm her down.

Holding her tightly, I tried to walk past Linda from the side, but Linda stuck to us like glue. She blocked the path and even deliberately stretched out her foot to trip me.

“I’ll say this one more time. Move,” I said through clenched teeth.

“What? Feeling guilty now, are you? Too scared to talk back? I’m not moving. If you’ve got the guts, you can–”

Before she could finish her sentence, she saw that I was really about to leave. Suddenly, she reached out from behind and shoved me hard.

I was completely unprepared. Still holding my sister, I staggered forward and fell, my knees slamming hard against the marble floor. As a dull thud echoed through the mall, pain exploded through my body, and my vision went black for a moment.

The sudden fall frightened my sister even more. She screamed as she slipped from my arms, her small arm scraping across the ground. It immediately turned red and swollen.

“Wah… Joni!”

She lay on the ground, stunned for two seconds before bursting into heartbreaking sobs. My heart felt like it was being crushed in someone’s grip. Ignoring the sharp pain in my knees, I scrambled over and pulled her into my arms, frantically checking her over. A thin bead of blood had already formed on her delicate skin.

Meanwhile, Linda stood nearby with her arms crossed, not the slightest bit of guilt on her face. Instead, she sneered.

“Stop playing the victim? It’s just a fall. Are you trying to stage this and scam me for compensation? Has your whole family been living off this trick for generations?”

The crowd around us immediately erupted into murmurs.

Someone couldn’t stand it anymore and shouted, “What’s wrong with you? She was carrying a child!”

“Exactly! You’re the one who pushed her!”

Embarrassed and furious, Linda pointed angrily and snapped back at them, “What’s it to do with you? You’re a bunch of broke nobodies! What do you people know? Get out of here! This is Harbor City. You don’t get a say here!”

She became more arrogant as she spoke. Then, she even lifted her foot and kicked my lower back.

“Now, apologize to me. Otherwise, I’ll have security drag you out and throw you to the wilderness!”

I shielded my sister beneath me and looked up at her. There was no warmth left in my eyes. The dull ache in my knees and the burning pain in my chest were nothing compared to the rage I felt seeing my sister’s tear-streaked face.

“Linda, right? And Henry?”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and opened my contacts.

“Call whoever you want, it won’t help!” she shrieked like a wild cat whose tail had been stepped on. “In Harbor City, no one refuses me! And no one dares to challenge the Jennings family!”

With a sudden swing of her arm, she slapped the phone right out of my hand. The phone hit the floor, and the screen instantly shattered into a spiderweb of cracks.

“Who are you pretending to call, huh? Let me guess, you’re trying to summon that fat sugar daddy of yours? Well, forget it. Our mall doesn’t welcome people like you.”

She stepped on the broken phone with her high heel and twisted it. The screen crumbled beneath her shoe.

“Fine. I’m feeling generous today. Next week is my big day with Henry. Since you ruined my mood today, I’ll still be merciful and let you go.”

My sister shrank deeper into my arms, trembling. I stood up while holding her, a piercing pain shooting through my knees.

“Take your foot off,” I said, staring at Linda’s heel.

“And what if I don’t?” she sneered, stomping on my phone again. “So what if I smashed your cheap phone? Talk back again, and I’ll make sure both of you have to crawl out of this mall.”

People around us started to get angry on our behalf.

“How can you do that? Just because you’re rich and powerful doesn’t mean you can treat people like that!”

“Even if that woman really were a mistress, you can’t hit someone…”

Just then, a sudden commotion rippled through the crowd.

Someone gasped, “Mr. Jennings is here!”

I looked up to see a man in a tailored suit walking over, surrounded by people. He stood tall, his sharp eyes carrying a kind of deliberately practiced authority.

So that was him.

Linda’s eyes lit up, and the arrogant attitude she had just moments ago vanished instantly. In its place, she put on a tearful expression, as if she might cry at any second. Swaying her hips, she hurried over in small steps.

“Henry! You’re finally here! These two bullied me!” As she spoke, she pointed at the coffee on her clothes while pretending to sob. “Look! They ran into me and spilled the special coffee the jewelry boutique had prepared for me all over me. It was so hot! I tried to reason with them, but they even got physical.”

Linda rolled up her sleeve and showed him her arm.

“See? She twisted my arm until it turned red! And with this little girl crying, anyone who didn’t see what happened would think I was the one bullying them!”

Hearing that, I gasped. Most of the coffee had splashed onto me; only a few drops had landed on her, and she had the nerve to twist the story like that.

Henry frowned as he helped to steady her. When his gaze swept over my sister and me, there was not a hint of familiarity in his eyes. His brow furrowed even deeper as his gaze landed on my stained skirt and my sister’s tear-streaked face.

He said with contempt, “So it was you two who bullied Linda?”

“Mr. Jennings,” I cut in, “you can check the surveillance cameras and see exactly what happened.”

I forced down the anger rising in my chest.

The last time I saw Henry was years ago, the year he managed to study his way out of that remote mountain village. Back then, he had stood outside the gates of our family manor with a heavy sack of sweet potatoes slung over his shoulder. He had rubbed the corner of his shirt nervously, his face red as he tried to thank my grandfather. At that time, there had still been a kind of rustic innocence in his features. His eyes were filled with hope for the future, nothing like the slick opportunism he carried now.

Grandpa had always cared deeply about the village where he was born and raised. That was why he had been funding the education of that village’s students for years.

Thinking of Grandpa, I slowly unclenched my fists. Fine. For Grandpa’s sake, I would give him one more chance. Whether he seized it or not would depend entirely on him.

Henry gave me a cold stare, his gaze fixed on the large dark coffee stain across my chest. His expression was flippant, and his tone was thick with disgust.

“Surveillance? Why would I need to check that? I trust my girlfriend’s word. An adult who can’t even walk properly? I’d say you did it on purpose.”

Linda immediately cried even harder and shrank into his arms. Her fingertip brushed across the barely visible coffee speck on the hem of her dress.

“Henry, it’s not that I care about the coffee. I’m just worried they might have gotten burned. After all, if something happened in our own mall, it wouldn’t sound good. But they pushed me. Look at this dress, it’s the one you gave me.”

Henry’s brows knitted tightly together as if he had just heard something unforgivable.

“This dress was custom-made for Linda by an Italian designer. It’s the only one in the world, and it’s worth a million. Now that you’ve dirtied it with coffee, even repairs won’t restore it to its original state.”

My grip around my sister’s arm tightened, disbelief washing over me. I had seen that dress in a fashion magazine just last week. It was an entry-level luxury brand piece, listed on the official website for only three thousand dollars.

How was it worth a million now?

“Mr. Jennings, are you sure you weren’t scammed? A million for that dress?”

I suppressed the bitter taste in my mouth. Even my voice trembled slightly.

Back then, Grandpa had pulled them out of the mud by funding his education, paving the way for his future, and even bringing him into Jennings Group to work. And now, for the sake of a compulsive liar, he was humiliating the granddaughter whom Grandpa cherished the most.

“What did you say?” Henry snapped, as if someone had stepped on a sore spot. “How would a country bumpkin like you know? Who are you to comment on Linda’s clothes? I think you’re just trying to dodge responsibility! Apologize to Linda right now and compensate us one million dollars. Or I’ll call the police immediately and have you arrested!”

I took a deep breath. Then, deciding to give him one final chance, I said, “Henry Jennings, my name is Joni Jennings.”

A flicker of confusion appeared on Henry’s face. He muttered my name under his breath, repeating it slowly.

“You said your name is Joni Jennings? Do you even know who Joni Jennings is? She’s the eldest daughter of the Jennings family! Who are you to impersonate the Jennings family’s young heiress?”

Seeing his reaction, Linda covered her mouth and laughed. “So she’s not some country bumpkin; she’s just crazy, running around pretending to be some rich young lady. Everyone knows the real Miss Joni has been living in Milan for the past few years. Henry, if you ask me, this woman’s probably done this before. Who knows how many times she’s pretended to be Miss Joni to scam people out of their money?”

Henry let out a cold laugh. “Linda’s right. For the sake of the Jennings family’s reputation, we can’t let her walk away today. Otherwise, it would be a disgrace to the Old Mr. Jennings after all the care he’s shown me.”

Holding my sister in my arms, I stepped forward, and my gaze drifted to the watch on his wrist. It was a gift from Grandpa.

“Henry,” I said, “the watch you’re wearing is one I bought in Milan. Grandpa said you had just secured a major project for the Jennings family in the Southeast Region, so he wanted to give it to you as a reward. You haven’t forgotten that, have you?”

Henry’s expression shifted. For a moment, he hesitated. Perhaps, deep down, he didn’t want to believe that he might have offended the real daughter of the Jennings family.

After steadying himself, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

“Sonny, has Miss Joni returned yet?”

My heart skipped a beat. I hadn’t told anyone about my return home yet.

I was just about to call out to Sonny, but before I could speak, Linda suddenly covered my mouth from behind. With my sister still in my arms, I couldn’t break free.

All I could do was watch as Henry’s face darkened while he hung up the phone. When he looked at me again, his gaze was the same one he’d give a lunatic.

“Hah. I must be too kind to believe the nonsense from a lowlife like you. Miss Joni is currently in Milan attending an exhibition. It looks like you just got lucky with your guess. What magazine did you read that interview in—the one where Grandpa mentioned giving me this watch? And you thought you could use that to pretend to be the young heiress?”

I stared at Henry’s arrogant face. The last bit of hesitation in my heart, held back only because of Grandpa, vanished. Instead, disappointment washed over me.

Just as I was about to signal for the mall staff and have them contact Jennings Group’s legal department, the sister in my arms suddenly began coughing violently. Her little face turned bright red, and her breathing grew rapid and shallow.

“Susie?”

All the blood in my body seemed to freeze. Those were the signs of her asthma attack!