The Lies

The moment I asked her mother to come out, Winnie immediately panicked.

Mrs. Romger stepped outside, her gaze flickering suspiciously between the two of us before finally settling on me.

She approached respectfully. Then, I turned to Elias and let out a cold laugh, demanding, "Tell him who the real Whites' heiress is."

Without any hesitation, she replied, "Of course it's you…"

Yet, before Mrs. Romger could finish, Winnie suddenly cut her off, her voice rising sharply. She dropped to her knees with a thud, her face already streaked with tears. "We grew up together—why do you have to make this so ugly?

"Is it my fault that Elias and I fell in love with each other? I'm even begging you now, so what more do you want?"

Mrs. Romger furrowed her brows tightly, her hands clenching.

Before I could react, she suddenly made me beg. "Of course she is. How dare you make the heiress kneel!"

I looked at her in disbelief, but the sharp pain in my knees told me this was real.

Winnie quietly let out a breath of relief.

"Amelia, just because you are a White doesn't mean you are the heiress." Elias chuckled coldly. "Winnie is the Whites' only daughter. She's even treated you like a sister all these years and paid for your education. Learn how to be grateful."

He walked over and crouched in front of me, lowering his voice.

"I received a job offer from White Group a few days ago. Winnie arranged it for me, so if you stop making a scene, I can promise you this.

"I'll still take care of you as a mistress after I marry her. I can give you everything—except the position of being my wife."

I forced myself to look up at him through the pain. 'Is this really the man I have loved for years? Geez, I still remember how he held me when we first became a couple and swore that he'd work and provide us with a beautiful future.

'Yet, for this fake heiress, he's willing to discard me without hesitation.'

I slapped him hard across the face. "In your dreams."

Elias' expression darkened instantly. Seeing himself as part of the Whites, he turned to Mrs. Romger, demanding, "You're Mrs. Romger, right? You still can't blur the lines between a nanny and an employer, even though Winnie and Amelia grew up together."

"She'll just keep bullying Winnie if you don't teach her a lesson," he added.

Winnie hesitated, grabbing his arm. "You're taking things too far."

He gently patted her hand, soothing her. "Once the White family is yours, you'll need to learn how to run things. You're too kind—I'm just helping you."

Watching the two of them put on this act made me feel sick.

"Keep playing the role long enough, and you'll forget it's all an act," I warned. "You know the truth best, Winnie."

The hesitation in her eyes vanished, replaced by venomous resentment. She barked at Mrs. Romger, "What are you waiting for? Drag her into the courtyard. Make her beg. She is not to be allowed to stand until she apologizes."

Mrs. Romger looked like she wanted to object, but her expression darkened as she finally called over the servants.

Under her authority, the servants hesitantly pushed me down onto the hard courtyard floor.

Winnie walked over and patted my face, her eyes holding a calculating coldness I had never seen before. "Amelia, see this? I'm in charge of the Whites now. Tell me something.

"If I were to kill you now and here, given our history, do you think Mr. White would take me in as his goddaughter? Wouldn't that make me the real heiress of the family?

The scorching sun burned my skin, and my knees felt like they were kneeling on hot coals.

I glared at her furiously. "Oh, you wouldn't dare, Winnie."

"I'm sick of being beneath you." She slapped me hard across the face. "We're both humans—what makes you better than me except a powerful father? I won't accept it. No, I won't!"

She struck me again and again, almost feral, as if she wanted to beat me to death right there.

…

"What the hell is going on here?"

As my vision blurred, I thought I heard Timothy's voice, only for Winnie to scream.