Chapter 5

"Did you see the trending topics? Former Luna Clara was forced to divorce, all because of that adoptive daughter."

"She's absolutely terrible. If it were me, I'd expose her online too."

All along the way, people in the hospital were discussing the same thing.

This clearly had Ella's fingerprints all over it.

I didn't understand why she'd put herself in the eye of the storm.

Not until Gareth slapped me without asking any questions.

"Clara, I never imagined you could be so vicious. No wonder you were so eager to break the mate bond with me earlier. You'd already calculated to go after Ella, hadn't you? Using post-birth mate bond severing to gain sympathy, you even manipulated me into it. You're too malicious."

"The media will be here soon. You must apologize to Ella publicly. Do you know how terrible the online comments are? Ella is still so young. If I hadn't arrived in time, you would have driven her to suicide!"

On the hospital bed, Ella sat perfectly fine.

Completely intact, whole and healthy, looking quite rosy.

A person pretending to sleep won't wake no matter how you call.

Besides, someone was waiting for me.

"No need to go to so much trouble."

I handed Mary to the nurse who had followed and took out my phone to start a live stream.

I bowed to Ella.

"Miss Ella, I'm sorry. Regarding the false statements online, I sincerely apologize to you. You're not a manipulative bad sister. I'm the vicious one. I was irrationally jealous of you and your brother's relationship, deliberately broke the mate bond with your brother, posted online to gain sympathy, and even bought trolls to attack you."

Then I bowed to her again.

"Miss Ella, you and Gareth have always been completely innocent, just a normal sibling relationship. I was the jealous one who used disgraceful methods to frame you. Please forgive me."

Every word I spoke was clear and forceful.

With each sentence, Gareth and Ella's faces turned a shade paler.

Ella because I had permanently nailed them to the pillar of sibling shame.

Gareth looked at me with complex eyes, a trace of imperceptible panic flashing through his heart.

Ella glared at me hatefully.

Suddenly, she grabbed her hair, her voice trembling like a sieve.

"I'm not a bad woman, I'm not a bad woman. It was Clara who cheated, she cuckolded my brother. She doesn't cherish my brother, so I will. If that's called sordid and shameless, then just let me die..."

Her sudden agitation broke through the brief panic Gareth had finally felt.

Gareth pulled her into his arms. "Ella, we're not blood siblings. Even if you really like me, you've done nothing wrong."

As his words fell, the livestream instantly exploded with countless rose emojis.

The whole screen filled with congratulations.

It stabbed my eyes painfully.

A large group of reporters pushed through the door, shoving cameras in my face and snapping wildly.

"Clara, does this mean you're actually the homewrecker?"

"Clara, you were just an ordinary werewolf back then. To marry Alpha Gareth, you must have used quite a few underhanded tactics, right? Can you tell us about them?"

Flashbulbs jumped crazily across my face.

They wanted to brand words like "mistress," "lowly," "slut"... all those humiliating labels, red-hot onto my face.

In the shoving, I saw the evil smile on Ella's face.

She lifted her head slightly, and a reporter received the signal.

He suddenly turned the camera and photographed Mary wildly in the nurse's arms.

"Is this the bastard child? Looking like such a freak—Clara really isn't picky."

"Like mother, like daughter. You can tell at a glance she'll be morally corrupt. Take lots of photos, we'll use them for cutaways later. We'll call it 'The Homewrecker's Heir.' That'll definitely make headlines."

Fury burning inside me, I slapped the reporter who said this across the face.

I didn't use much force, but he suddenly fell to the ground, motionless.

"Oh no, Jack has a heart condition. He can't be touched."

"Ah! He's not breathing. You murderer!"

A reporter pointed at me, looking at me like they wanted to eat me alive.

"Don't touch her. If there are any problems, contact my lawyer."

Just as Gareth finished speaking, Ella clutched her heart again, looking uncomfortable.

"Gareth, I got too emotional just now. My heart hurts a bit again..."

I held Mary and looked helplessly at Gareth.

Gareth looked deeply at us, bent down to pick up Ella, and said to me,

"Wait for me."

Then his figure disappeared down the corridor.

And I was surrounded by angry reporters and put in cold handcuffs.

...

Three months later, in court.

The judge announced: "Clara is sentenced to five years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and must pay $3 million in compensation."