4

My sister's phone shows that the last person she was in contact with was Joanne. Based on the timeline, I roughly could tell that Joanne must have invited my sister out, claiming she wanted to meet in a corner to give her a surprise. But instead of a surprise, what awaited her was something more terrifying than a shock—a nightmare and death.

Further confirming my suspicion was my thorough investigation into Joanne. This person who played the "unfortunate family" and "little sunshine" roles in front of my sister was actually a rebellious girl who smoked, drank, and enjoyed fighting in. Among her shady friends was someone named Liam Chester, who recently received a large sum of money in his bank account. The amount exactly matches the money my sister had given to Joanne.

Once I compare the fluids extracted from him and my sister, I could ensure that both he and Joanne would end up behind bars together. With this thought in mind, I tightened my grip on Joanne's hand a bit more.

"Riley, you're hurting me. Don't you know I get hurt easily?" She pulled her hand away from mine, angrily accusing me.

"If it hurts, then get lost. Stop hanging around my house every day." Unlike my sister, who was always tolerant and considerate, I would explode at even the slightest annoyance.

"How dare you speak to me like that? Riley, did the raping mess up your brain too?" Realizing she had spoken out of turn, she immediately covered her mouth and looked at me nervously.

I pressed closer to her. "What do you mean? Do you know something? Or are you hoping for me to be bullied? OMG, you are such an evil person! Stop talking nonsense. I could sue you."

Before she could stammer out a response, I had the butler throw her out. ‘My sister might have indulged you, but I won't. I'm going to make sure you suffer, Joanne.’

5

Joanne abandoned her usual arrogance and repeatedly sent me apologetic messages on WhatsApp.

"Riley, today was my fault. Those words were just nonsense. Don't take them to heart."

"I didn't do anything. I'm your best friend. How could I bear to bully you?"

I didn't reply to any of her messages. I was waiting for her to slip up in her desperation.

What I didn't expect was that her hidden actions would be so devastating. She had someone post photos of my sister. The princess crown on her head had fallen to the ground, her dress was torn to shreds. The photos showed humiliating tears, desperate eyes, and futile struggles.

The photos of my sister being bullied were posted online. In anguish, I smashed my computer, tears streaming uncontrollably. My poor sister, why did she have to endure such humiliation even after she was gone?

Fingers flying over the keyboard, I quickly traced the IP address of the poster. I expected it to be from Joanne's place, but it wasn't. The IP was traced to my own home. And it was less than 200 meters away from me!

My heart sank. I put on my slippers and knocked on the door of my dad’s bedroom.

The person who answered the door was the mistress who caused the breakup of my mom and dad, Linda.

“Lin... Linda, where’s my dad?”

In order to not give anything away, I had no choice but to call her by her name.

The door was only opened a little. My stepmom’s eyes seemed very alarmed.

”Your dad’s not home. Leave and don’t disturb me.”

6

I pushed the door open with such force that Linda stumbled and was nearly knocked over.

"Riley, what the hell are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?"

I hooked my lips.

"Nothing, just verifying my guess."

I raised my eyes to look at the laptop on the bed with its back to me, the white light reflected on the screen said it all.

Following my gaze, she didn't care about her sprained waist, and took a step over to cover the computer.

"What do you want to verify? What's there to see here?"

I playfully met her sheepish eyes and said, "No, I just want to know if you're still messing around when my dad isn't around. After all, a dog can't change its ways."

"What do you mean, you little bitch? You want to say that I'm cheating, right? Don’t you even know what kind of filth you are?"

Originally, I was going to turn around and leave after I scolded her, but now she had gone over the line.

"Riley? Filthy thing? Is that how you casually define the gentlest and kindest person in the world? Who do you think you are, bitch? Who can be more filthy than a coquettish slag like you?

Before my sister's accident, I rarely used foul language.

Because my sister once told me. "It's other people's business to be evil, we can't be like them."

So, my sister was always tolerant and was bullied.

So much that she ended up suffering such a great injustice.

‘But Riley, do you see? I’m taking revenge for you.’

There were some things that couldn’t be solved by tolerating alone.

Sometimes the fist would be needed in order to make some people back off.

7

I deleted all the pictures about my sister on the internet.

But it was found out by my own father who was a busy man.

I knew it was a move by the sympathetic Joanne and Linda.

Not only to make my father ashamed of me, but also to make the Lawson family withdraw from the marriage.

My sister was engaged to James Lawson, the son of the Lawson family, a long time ago.

The two of us were destined to be sacrificed for our dad’s business alliances.

This was why my mom insisted on claiming that I had died.

It was to keep my dad from knowing about my existence.

But now, those photos were being passed around in the upper class circles of Oceanwood.

How could an affluent family like the Lawson family tolerate their daughter-in-law to have such a history before getting married?

"Do you know that I spent all these years training you so that you could marry into the Lawson family? But now you've lost your virginity and your reputation has been ruined. James won't dare marry you."

I was silent.

Because the corners of Linda's mouth couldn't grin any wider.

In the end, I sank my face and said, "First of all, to turn your daughter into a marriage tool, have you asked me if I'm willing or not? Secondly, Mr. Jackson, we’re not in medieval times anymore, so don't try to use the old ways with me. A woman’s loyalty isn’t determined by her virginity. I’m the victim. You have time to accuse me, don't you have time to catch the person who victimized me?"

"Enough, Riley!" He interrupted me angrily. "When did you become so articulate. You still want to catch the rapist, do you think it's not a big enough deal? Why can’t you think of what you’ve done wrong?"

This was it felt like to have a suffocating father.

He then put me in solitary confinement.

I stayed in the room where my sister used to live for a full month.

In the drawer of the dressing table, I accidentally found my sister's diary.

In the young girl's beautiful handwriting, she not only recounted the joy of secretly chatting with me and the memories of spending time with Joanne.

There was also a name that was hard to ignore, James Lawson.

It turned out that my sister liked him.

Even if it was a business marriage, there would have been no feelings at all.

But my sister had developed feelings for him early on.

A glimpse at the cocktail party and a few simple sentences of conversation were enough to keep her calm for a long time.

But now, my sister was gone.

But now that my sister was gone, how could I live with myself if I meet James? What would I do?

8

My dad still chose to have me meet with James.

It wasn't to salvage the marriage, but to plead for a title for me.

Even if it was just as a woman kept by James.

As long as I had some connection with the Lawson family, even a minor one.

After all, due to "my scandal," everyone was convinced that the Lawson family would definitely break off the engagement.

And in the commercial world, people, not wanting to offend the Lawson family, were too afraid to invest any money into my dad's business.

If it weren't for the money, my dad wouldn't have let me out.

James was indeed handsome and wealthy, and his demeanor was enough to show that he was definitely a well-educated child from a prominent family.

"Long time no see, James."

I broke the silence first.

The person opposite frowned slightly, took a sip of his coffee, and said, "Riley, you used to call me Jamesy.' Why are you being so distant now?"

I nearly choked on the water in surprise.

I didn't expect that my sister's way of addressing him would be somewhat... affectionate.

"Well, the situation is a bit different now. Besides, I'm here today to discuss the breakup of the engagement." I swallowed the slightly sour saliva and said, "I know. The Lawson family is definitely waiting for me to say it in person."

Even if the person sitting in front of him was really my sister, there's no way a family would graciously accept an unwed daughter-in-law like this. Especially since this was the first time Riley was meeting him.

9

But, to my surprise, what James said next was unexpected.

"Riley, if you're referring to the things online from before, I can tell you responsibly that I don't mind. A woman's purity has never been the measure of her worth. Besides, it's never been your fault, but those bad people's."

I paused. It seemed my sister's choice was truly exceptional.

"I have already started investigating the previous incident. The hotel's surveillance footage was completely deleted. Although it's a bit tricky, please give me some time, and I will help you clear everything up."

I couldn't help but ask, "Did you ever like me?"

Did you like my sister? Was it a mutual feeling between you two?

"My feelings for you have never been a simple commercial marriage commitment. Since I was seven, you've always been the only woman I, James Lawson, ever wanted to marry."

Looking at his serious face, I felt a pang of bitterness.

If it weren't for those bad people, if my sister hadn't faced such an ordeal and passed away, then they would have been a perfect match, a pair destined for each other.

A sudden ringing broke the silence between us.

"What? The company headquarters' system has been hacked. I'll be there immediately."

The man's attractive voice had a touch of urgency.

It seemed to be quite an urgent matter.

"Riley, I'll have the driver take you home."

He turned to leave.

I picked up his suit that he had left on the sofa, paused, and said, "Let's go together. Maybe I can help."

10

This was probably the biggest crisis the Lawson family had faced in decades.

The headquarters' system was hacked, and valuable commercial secrets worth billions were at significant risk.

The head of the technical department was sweating profusely as he reported to James,

"Their technology is too advanced. It will take us at least three days to reorganize the system. By then, they might... might have completely succeeded in getting what they want."

Before James could explode in anger, I spoke first, "If Mr. Lawson trusts me, I might be able to give it a shot?"

So, under the astonished gazes of everyone,

I reorganized the system in less than 20 minutes.

I also managed to trace the hacker's IP address.

"Follow this address to catch them. You need to act fast or they’ll probably get away."