The crowd stopped in their tracks.

James's expression froze. He had already noticed that Ethan and Alice would glance at this man before speaking, which suggested that this man's status surpassed that of the Drake Family. He couldn't afford to offend him.

A bead of cold sweat slid down James's temple. "I don't quite understand what you mean."

"Don't understand?" Ethan glanced at Logan's face, then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"Didn't Mr. Clark just insist that Miss Clark and Mr. Perez were entangled in some inappropriate relationship, and that Miss Clark needed to be taught a lesson?"

"I..."

Ethan didn't give James a chance to speak. "And why is Mr. Clark so sure it was Mr. Perez in the room? If we hadn't been here today, wouldn't Miss Clark have been falsely accused?"

James instinctively looked toward Katie, and the crowd swiftly turned to follow his gaze.

Katie's face froze as she theatrically burst into tears. "I... I didn't mean to doubt Selina. It was all that assistant's fault for misleading us!"

James stammered and nodded. "Y-Yes, it wasn't our fault. We were deceived by lies..."

Ethan nodded slightly. "Oh, I see. It seems Mr. Clark doesn't trust his own daughter. A mistress whispers something, and you believe it. A few words of provocation, and you're ready to cut ties with the eldest daughter of the Clark Family."

"Even though her mother is gone, she's still the eldest daughter of the Clark Family. How could you let anyone and everyone bully her?"

Selina lowered her head, feigning meekness. "Mr. Drake, Father trusts Aunt Bryant and my sister the most. I've gotten used to it."

Katie and Natalia covered their mouths and began sobbing, as if the world owed them something.

James's mind buzzed. "No! That's not it. I was just tricked by Mr. Perez's assistant. I was furious in the moment! How could I ever cut ties with my daughter?"

Selina slowly asked, "I have no grievances with Mr. Perez's assistant. Why would he deliberately frame me?"

Natalia shook her head, holding back tears. "Sister, are you suspecting me? I know you don't like me and think my mom and I took your place, but I've always sincerely thought of you as my sister. How could I ever deliberately set you up?"

Katie cried loudly, "Exactly, it's all a misunderstanding! Selina, you even let Mr. Drake question us. Do you even see us as family? Everyone knows how worried I was about you just now. How could you..."

James's heart softened at Katie's tears, and in his frustration, he roared.

"Selina, what nonsense are you spouting? Katie and Natalia have always said you're still young and told me not to hold grudges against you. And this is how you repay them—with false accusations? You've really let me down!"

Selina coldly replied, "Have I really let you down, or does Father already know the truth?"

James suddenly felt an ominous sense of foreboding.

"Last night, Mr. Perez did visit my room," Selina said, raising her eyes to meet his. "Mr. Perez told me that Father had sold me to him for fifty million."

James nearly choked on his breath!

The crowd exchanged uneasy glances, unsure whether Selina was telling the truth.

Mr. Perez really came? And fifty million... wasn't that the exact amount Perez Group invested in Clark Group?

Selina continued, her tone unhurried. "Mr. Perez drugged me, and if it weren't for Mr. Drake and his friends arriving in time, I would've..." She paused, her eyes piercing James. "Father, care to explain what's going on?"

James noticed the way everyone was looking at him, their gazes suddenly laden with suspicion. His face flushed red as he raised his voice in an attempt to cover his guilt.

"No, no! How could you believe Mr. Perez's nonsense? You're my daughter, my own flesh and blood. Why would I sell you for a little money? If Mr. Perez targeted you, it's because you weren't careful enough! How could you blame others?"

Selina's eyes darted quickly, and she suddenly lowered her head, choking back a sob.

"Oh, really? Even now, Father, you're pushing all the blame onto me? But why don't you mention that I originally didn't want to meet Mr. Perez? It was Mrs. Bryant who forced me to toast him!"

"Yes, it's all my fault, entirely my fault. My very existence doomed Mrs. Bryant to forever be the mistress. I've accepted Father's favoritism, but I'm also your daughter. Must you destroy my life just to pave the way for your illegitimate child?!"

The crowd shuddered. It was true—Selina had no one to rely on in this family, forced to endure life under the mistress's thumb.

Ethan spoke up as well. "Last night, Miss Clark was drugged. As a doctor, I can tell the drug was colorless and odorless, applied to the skin. Yesterday, only Mrs. Bryant touched Miss Clark's hand. Mr. Clark, don't you know who might have done this?"

James was truly panicking now, his body stiffening. "N-No, no, that's not true..."

Katie's face turned pale. She raised her voice, crying out in distress.

"Selina! I only helped you because you were drunk. You... you can't push the blame on me just because you've been wronged! Everyone says it's hard to be a stepmother, but what did I ever do wrong?"

Selina nodded slightly. "You're right. I shouldn't blame others for my suffering. But..."

She deliberately paused for two seconds, meeting Katie's anxious and terrified gaze, and suddenly smiled.

"But, Mrs. Bryant, I have evidence that you bribed Mr. Perez's assistant to spread those rumors."

Katie's breath caught abruptly.

"Mr. Perez invested fifty million in Clark Group, I was drugged, you bribed the assistant, and then you all stormed in to catch me red-handed... Mrs. Bryant, doesn't that sound rather interesting?"

Katie's face turned ashen, her body trembling uncontrollably. "I don't know. I don't know anything—it's all just a coincidence!"

Selina let out a mocking laugh. "If it's a coincidence, then why did you bribe Mr. Perez's assistant?"

"If you can't explain that, I'll have to suspect that you deliberately handed me over to Mr. Perez to drive me out of the Clark Family!"

Ethan hummed in agreement and added, "After all, first Natalia steals Miss Clark's fiancé, and then this huge incident happens to Miss Clark. It does seem highly suspicious that you two are behind it."

"I-I..." Katie stammered, her panic so intense she looked on the verge of fainting.

What kind of accusation was this? If word got out, how could she and Natalia show their faces in society again?

"Enough!"

After a full minute, James finally couldn't hold back anymore. He pointed at Selina and roared,

"Nothing happened to you, did it? We're all family—what's the point of holding a grudge? Shut your mouth!"

Selina curled her lips into a mocking smile. "Oh, I see. As long as I'm not dead, it doesn't matter what Katie does to me—I should just endure it. How naive of me to think Father would stand up for me."

"Father doesn't even love his first wife; why would he care about his first wife's daughter? Since Father wants me to shut up, I'll shut up. Mrs. Bryant, Sister, I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

James and Katie's throats tightened, leaving them speechless: "..."

Selina's pitiful, wronged demeanor—what was she up to?!

From across the room, Logan's eyebrow quirked upward.

His wife was retreating to advance. She claimed she wouldn't pursue the matter further, yet in doing so, she had successfully pushed Katie and Natalia into the center of the storm.