Mark

Startled by her sudden assertiveness, the woman paused. But she glared at Hailey and hissed, "Fine. Let's talk. Your sister seduced my husband and destroyed my family. Shouldn't she be punished?"

"That's nonsense!" Hailey fired back. "My sister would never do something like that!"

"Would never?"

The woman scoffed. She grabbed a bank card from a nearby salesperson and held it up.

"This card belongs to my husband. It has one million dollars in it."

She turned to the salesperson. "Check the balance. If it's not a million, I'm wrong."

"I'm sorry, but we can't check a customer's balance without authorization," the salesperson replied.

"Then swipe it. Try a million. Then try one dollar. You'll see."

"Sorry, we can't perform any transactions without a purchase."

The woman growled, then turned on Hailey.

"You think the card's not enough proof? Fine—look at her neck!"

She pointed to Natalie. "That's where he left his mark last night."

Everyone stared at Natalie's neck.

Her fair skin and delicate features made the faint bruises on her collarbone stand out in sharp contrast.

"They're really there?"

"She seemed so innocent. Who knew she was that kind of girl?"

"Some young women these days—selling their bodies for cash. Disgusting."

The woman, feeding off the crowd's judgment, sneered triumphantly.

"Not convinced yet? Fine. Want real proof? I'll strip her down right here!"

She lunged toward Natalie.

But this time, Hailey didn't stop her. She stepped aside as though startled, watching with twisted glee.

In her heart, she laughed.

Natalie was about to be humiliated—stripped in public.

That would teach her to challenge Hailey Roberts.

She would always be nothing more than Hailey's personal blood bank.

Ha.

A feverish gleam filled Hailey's eyes as the woman grabbed Natalie's collar

Just as Natalie was grabbed by the collar, her hand swiftly moved. In her grasp was a gleaming dagger.

The woman's eyes widened in shock as Natalie pressed the cold blade against her carotid artery.

"Let go, or I'll make sure you not only embarrass yourself but also lose your life."

The woman immediately backed off, hands in the air. "Y-You… Don't do anything crazy! Murder is a crime!"

Natalie sneered. "Oh, so now you remember the law? When you were spreading rumors and slandering people, did you forget that was illegal too?"

"I-I..." The woman stammered, her eyes darting nervously toward the dagger, clearly afraid of making one wrong move.

Just then, Hailey rushed over, grabbing Natalie's hand while ensuring the live broadcast camera caught the scene.

"Sis, don't do this. Let's talk, okay?" she said sweetly.

With that distraction, the woman bolted three meters away.

Surrounded by a crowd, Natalie naturally had no intention of actually hurting anyone. She calmly lowered the dagger.

Seeing the threat gone, the woman's courage surged.

"She's insane! A homewrecker and a maniac with a knife!"

"Yeah! Just because you have a blade doesn't mean you can hide your affair with my husband!"

"You think I don't have proof? I do!" the woman shouted, pulling out a stack of photos and holding them high.

"If I didn't have evidence, would I be making a scene? I've done a full background check on you, top to bottom!"

"And it's not just my husband. These photos show you with multiple men. Want to see them, everyone?"

The crowd began to buzz with excitement.

"Yes!"

"Show us!"

"Don't just talk—prove it!"

"No, please don't..." Hailey's voice trembled with panic.

"Ma'am, please be reasonable," Hailey pleaded, her eyes wide with fake sincerity. "I admit Natalie went too far pulling a knife, but she's only twenty years old. Please think about her reputation."

The woman's expression twisted with rage. "Reputation? What about mine? Because of her, my whole family is falling apart!"

"What do you want then?" Hailey asked, pretending to be helpless.

"It's simple," the woman said, shaking the photos. "Make her kneel down and apologize! Promise me she'll never see my husband again. Or I'll post these photos not only here at the mall but all over the internet!"

"No, you can't do that!" Hailey gasped, turning to Natalie with a panicked expression. "What do we do now?"

"Just apologize, Nat. Kneel and say you're sorry. We can't let these go online!"

Hailey's expression was perfect, her voice filled with false concern. Natalie couldn't help but laugh coldly.

"Hailey," she said with a smirk, "you've really outdone yourself with this performance. Bravo."

Hailey's eyes flickered with panic. Something wasn't right. The crowd began to murmur in confusion.

"Why isn't she scared?"

"Could it be… she's innocent?"

Hailey discreetly signaled the woman, a small motion only the two of them would catch. The woman sneered and raised her voice again.

"Making you kneel and apologize is being generous. Do it now!"

"Kneel? Who do you think you are?" Natalie locked eyes with her. "Trying to ruin me with some poorly photoshopped images? Pathetic."

The commanding aura she exuded made the woman instinctively step back.

Hailey's eyelid twitched slightly.

Afraid that Natalie might regain control of the situation, she clenched her fingers tightly.

Receiving the signal, the woman tossed the stack of photos into the air.

They fluttered down like snowflakes, and the crowd gasped as they picked them up.

"Oh my god…"

"This is insane!"

"I can't believe it's her!"

The photos were explicit. Although the men were all different, the woman's face was unmistakably Natalie's.

"Why would someone so pretty throw herself away like this?"

"All for money? Shameful!"

"She should be banned from society!"

Natalie stood still, her expression unreadable. The images were fake—she knew it. But it was Hailey's act that amused her the most.

Hailey bent down, gathering photos in a panic, clutching them to her chest.

"It's not real! That's not my sister! These are fake—clearly fake!"

She picked up one photo and exclaimed, "Look! This woman has a scar on her arm! My sister doesn't!"

Hailey held it up triumphantly. The crowd turned to look at Natalie's right arm.

And there it was—a faint scar, now surprisingly visible.

"Hailey, stop lying. The scar is right there. It matches exactly!"

Hailey turned and stared at Natalie's arm, eyes wide with disbelief.

How could this be?

She had grown up with Natalie. She knew every scar. Or at least she thought she did.

Desperate, Hailey held up another photo. "Look! The woman in this one wears two earrings. Just like my sister—" she stopped mid-sentence. Natalie's two ear piercings were clearly visible, perfectly aligned with the photo.

Hailey's desperate defense only served to prove the photos' authenticity.

Fans began to whisper, then shout. The atmosphere turned explosive.

The woman, remembering her goal, suddenly lunged forward and yanked Natalie's clothes.

Caught off guard, Natalie's collar tore slightly, revealing snow-white skin marked with red.

The woman shouted gleefully, "Still denying it? Kneel down and apologize!"