After My Stepsister Framed Me, I Married Her Rival

Synopsis

# Chapter 1: The Fall The glittering chandelier of the Waldorf ballroom cast diamonds of light across the champagne flutes and designer gowns of New York's elite. I stood at the center of it all, a reluctant queen bee in a hive of ambitious socialites. My father had insisted on this 'bachelorette gala'—a thinly veiled auction where I was the prize lot. "Smile, Evelyn," Sydney whispered, her manicured hand squeezing my arm with hidden force. "Daddy's investors are watching." I forced my lips upward, feeling the strain in my cheeks. The Carter family image was everything, even if the reality behind closed doors was cold as ice. The soft ping of a microphone being tapped echoed through the room. Sydney stepped away from me, her emerald dress shimmering as she took the stage. Something in her smile made my stomach clench. "Ladies and gentlemen," she began, her voice honey-sweet, "we're gathered to celebrate my dear stepsister, Evelyn Carter, heiress to Carter Dynamics." I searched the crowd for Ryan's face, finding comfort in his familiar features.