On the giant screen, the footage shifted. Vivian was huddled in a dimly lit corner, her voice cold and calculating.

"Six years ago, if Clara’s damn father hadn't kicked me off the award list, I would have won the Excellence in Science Award back then. I won’t let that brat stand in my way this time!"

A collective gasp rippled through the hall.

"Vivian Lim is literally trying to kill Julian Pierce!" someone shouted from the back.

"She destroyed the only artificial heart that could save him... she’s essentially signing his death warrant!"

"She’s a modern-day Jezebel. Absolute ice in her veins."

Vivian, draped in her elegant bridal makeup, had been sitting in the front row. The moment her own face appeared on the screen, she lunged toward the stage like a madwoman.

"Shut it off! This is a lie! Clara Joy forged this to frame me!"

But before her fingers could touch the screen, Julian’s hand clamped around her wrist like a shackle of cold iron.

"You actually dared to use a fake donor to deceive me?" Julian’s voice was a low, dangerous growl. "Do you have any idea how much that heart meant to my survival?"

Vivian shook her head frantically, terror bleeding through her makeup. "Julian, no! It’s not what it looks like! This is a deepfake Clara made to turn you against me. Don't fall for it!"

Julian’s face was a mask of shadowed fury. "Forged? The donor report being a fake is a fact! That can't be forged!"

Meeting Julian’s lethal gaze, Vivian began to tremble uncontrollably. "Julian... I was scammed too! I’m a victim just like you! Besides, the Pierce family is so wealthy—you can just find another donor, right?"

Julian let out a harsh, guttural sound and shoved her away. He looked at her with pure loathing.

"Find another? You know better than anyone how rare my blood type is. Yet, you chose to incinerate my only hope just to secure a trophy for yourself!"

Vivian slammed against a table, a sharp, searing pain radiating through her back. She ignored it, scrambling up from the floor to grab Julian’s leg, her voice dissolving into a pathetic plea.

"Julian, we’re husband and wife now! We’re supposed to stand together. Please, believe me!"

At the mention of "husband and wife," Julian slowly knelt in front of her. He wrapped his fingers around her throat, his expression devoid of any remaining warmth.

"Husband and wife?" he whispered. "The ceremony was never finished. The papers were never signed. By what law are we married?"

Vivian’s face turned a bruised purple from the lack of oxygen. She stared at him with wide, panicked eyes. "Julian Pierce... you can't do this to me. Everyone in North Bay thinks I’m your wife now. I am a Pierce!"

Julian’s grip tightened. "Threatening me? You’d better check if you even have the leverage first."

With a violent flick, Julian hurled her off the stage. Vivian tumbled down the steps, landing in a disheveled heap of white silk and lace.

"You can't do this!" Vivian screamed from the floor, her eyes flashing with a manic light. "You were the one who chose to burn Clara’s lab! You did it willingly! You were the one who sent her to prison!"

Julian froze. A sharp, phantom pain stabbed through his failing heart, making it hard to draw breath.

"Shut your mouth!"

But Vivian had found his weakness. she crawled forward, whispering loud enough for the microphones to catch. "Julian, we are two of a kind. Clara wants to destroy us both. She is the enemy, not me!"

As the words left her lips, the screen behind them flickered and changed again.

This time, it was a grainy dashcam video from six years ago. The moment Vivian Lim’s car slammed into Clara’s father.

The video was taken from a parked car across the street.

Clara’s father, Thomas Joy, was walking home with a bag of groceries when a car veered sharply and plowed into him. He hit the pavement, his body twitching as he struggled to breathe. There was still a chance—a sliver of life left in him.

But then, the car’s reverse lights flickered on. The vehicle lurched backward, the tires grinding over Thomas’s body with sickening weight, until the man beneath the wheels was silent forever.

Vivian stepped out of the driver’s side, looking triumphant. She held an unopened bottle of high-proof liquor. She walked over and kicked Thomas’s limp body.

"You old fossil," she spat. "It was just a little plagiarism. Why couldn't you look the other way? I was supposed to win the award, and you ruined it. Now look at you."

She unscrewed the cap and chugged half the bottle in one go. After wiping her mouth, she adjusted her hair, composed her face into a mask of grief, and dialed Julian’s number.

"Julian... help me! I’ve done something terrible... I’ve been drinking and I think I hit someone... I’m so scared!"

The press corps erupted into a frenzy of righteous indignation.

"She didn't just hit him—she murdered him! She made sure he was dead!"

"The cruelty is unbelievable. Clara was raised by her father’s killer, sent to jail by him, and had her life's work destroyed by him!"

"Julian Pierce isn't just a victim; he’s an accomplice!"

Julian couldn't listen anymore. He lunged forward, grabbing Vivian by the collar, his eyes bloodshot with rage. "You killed Professor Joy on purpose. You weren't drunk driving—you calculated the whole thing!"

Vivian shook her head, her eyes wide with terror. "Julian, it was so long ago! Who knows if this video is even real? Clara is just trying to poison us! She wants to ruin our lives!"

SLAP!

Julian delivered a blow that sent Vivian’s head snapping to the side. "Shut up!"

"You murdered her father. You drove her away. It was you. All of it."

Vivian clutched her swollen cheek, her expression turning truly demonic. "Oh, stop acting so innocent, Julian! Who was the one who covered it all up back then? Who buried the evidence?"

"Don't forget—you are the architect of this lie. We are in the same boat. If I go down, I’m dragging you into the abyss with me!"

Julian’s hands found her throat again. "Are you threatening me?"

Vivian looked at him, unfazed. "Julian, the only thing that matters now is finding that little brat, Clara."

Julian’s grip loosened. He looked at his guards. "Take her back to the estate. Lock her up. No one lets her out without my direct order."

Vivian’s eyes widened. "Julian! I am your wife! You can't do this!"

He didn't spare her another glance. He turned to his assistant, his hands shaking. "Any word on Clara?"

The assistant shook his head nervously. "Nothing, sir. We’ve searched every corner of the city. She’s vanished."

Julian felt a suffocating weight in his chest. He looked up at the now-dark screen. "Trace the ID that uploaded the videos. Every digital footprint leads somewhere. Find her!"

As the assistant hurried away, Julian felt as if his very life force had been drained. He slumped into a chair, the world around him fading into a cold, dark blur.