Chapter 2

Back at the White estate, Lucas threw me onto the living room sofa, looking down with a cold expression. The air around him could freeze someone solid.

A wave of excitement rose in me.

I was sure he was about to start scolding me. This was a perfect chance to raise the hostility level.

I immediately put on my usual defiant look, chin raised, glaring at him, ready for his outburst. I had even prepared my comebacks to make him angrier.

But instead, Lucas just stood there in silence for a long moment, then finally asked, "Does your hand hurt?"

I was completely lost.

Did I hear that right?

"What did you just say?" I asked.

Lucas frowned and repeated, "You slapped Ella just now. Does your hand hurt?"

I was completely confused.

Lucas seemed like he had lost his mind. He should have been scolding me for being unruly, vicious, and for disgracing the White family.

Why did he ask if my hand hurt?

I grew anxious and immediately slipped into full brat mode, acting even more spoiled and defiant than usual. "Why do you care if my hand hurts? Shouldn't you be worried about Ella?

"I slapped her, and instead of comforting her, you come here to question me? Save your fake sympathy. I don't need it."

I assumed he would definitely be angry, because I had been far too rude.

But Lucas only looked at me in silence, said nothing more, and turned to the maid. "Bring some ice and anti-swelling ointment."

Then he went upstairs, leaving me staring at his cold, distant back.

System Notification: [Lucas White's hostility level +0%, now at 66%]

I stared at the system panel, nearly dropping dead on the spot.

Why wasn't the hostility level changing?

Why didn't my attitude trigger any more hostility?

I sat on the sofa, staring at the ice pack and ointment the maid had handed me, suddenly starting to question everything about myself.

Maybe I wasn't evil enough?

The next story node was coming up soon. I told myself that this failure didn't matter that much.

Three days later, Owen would attend the Stellar Grand Awards ceremony.

In the original story, backstage at the event, I would pour an entire glass of red wine over Ella's evening gown in front of all the guests and media, call her a slut, and accuse her of stealing my fiancé while being involved with Owen.

This was what finally made Owen give up on Claire for good. He would post an update on Twitter. [The White family doesn't have a heiress like this, and I, Owen White, don't have a sister like this.]

He would also sever ties with me. Across social media platforms, I was supposed to be branded a vicious idiot, and my reputation would be utterly destroyed.

This was the perfect chance to crank his hostility level up to the max.

I started preparing three days in advance.

I picked out a loud red evening gown similar in style to Ella's, confirmed exactly where she would be seated, and practiced my wine-throwing angle in front of the mirror again and again to make sure nothing could go wrong.

That night, the Stellar Grand Awards ceremony was a star-studded event, with half the biggest names in show business in attendance.

I strutted around in my high heels for ages, holding a glass of red wine, waiting for the perfect moment.

During the mid-event break, Ella was surrounded by a bunch of directors and producers, with Owen and Mason right next to her. Lucas and Henry were nearby, too. All the key players were here.

There were plenty of reporters and guests around, and all eyes were on this spot.

I thought this was the moment.

I took a deep breath, strode over with my glass of red wine, and before anyone could react, I splashed the entire glass right onto Ella's white evening gown.

The wine instantly spread across the fabric, leaving a large, eye-catching stain on the white gown. She looked utterly disheveled.

The whole place went dead silent, every eye fixed on me.

Ella lowered her head to look at her gown, her eyes turning red instantly. Tears began to fall one after another, and she looked so wronged she couldn't even speak.

This was exactly what I was going for.

I immediately put on that signature villain look from Claire, hands on my hips, and started yelling at her. I shouted out every single line from the original story, "You slut!

"Who are you trying to seduce with that dress? Is it because Owen just won an award that you're trying to latch onto him?

"And Mason, you too! You'd rather always be with this bitch than pay attention to your own fiancée. Don't you have any shame?"

I screamed at the top of my lungs, making sure everyone present heard me.

I hoped Owen would come over and cut all ties with me, so I could push the hostility level to its maximum.

I closed my eyes, waiting for Owen to explode at me, waiting for him to cut me off in front of everyone.

But the expected anger never came.

When I opened my eyes, I saw Owen step forward, take off his suit jacket, and drape it over Ella, covering the stain on her dress.

A wave of excitement rose in me.

I thought the plot was finally back on track.

But in the next moment, Owen didn't yell at me. Instead, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me behind him.

Then, facing the shocked guests and reporters, he said calmly, "Sorry, my sister had a bit too much to drink and got a little carried away.

"Sorry for the disruption tonight. I hope you can keep this between us. The White family will take care of the situation."

With that, he turned and quietly gave his assistant a few instructions. The assistant took Ella backstage to get changed.

I was totally speechless.

Did he forget the storyline or something? He was supposed to yell at me. He was supposed to disown me right there. Why did he say something about excessive drinking?

I got anxious, yanked my hand free, and kept freaking out. "I wasn't drunk! I did it on purpose. Owen, are you really gonna ignore me for this slut? Let me tell you, as long as I'm here, she'll never get into the White Family."

Since I had already said such harsh things, I thought he would have lost his temper now.

Instead, Owen only looked down at me and smiled, his tone carrying a hint of indulgence. "Alright, quit making a fuss. It's just a dress, isn't it? I'll buy you a whole wardrobe later, way better than hers. Alright?"

I was completely lost.

Lucas walked over, frowning at me. "You're barely dressed. Aren't you cold? Go backstage and put on a jacket."

Henry came over as well, handing me a glass of water. "Go easy on the alcohol. It's bad for your stomach."

Mason stood off to the side, watching me with a frown, but he didn't say anything harsh. He only said calmly, "Don't be so impulsive next time. If something's wrong, tell me."

I looked at the four men in front of me, almost dropping the glass in my hand.

[System, show yourself! Are you seeing this? Is this story even on track anymore?] I screamed in my head.

System Notification: [Mason's hostility level +1%, now at 73%; Lucas's hostility level +0%, now at 66%; Owen's hostility level -3%, now at 65%; Henry's hostility level -2%, now at 53%.

[Warning! Target characters' hostility levels keep dropping. Please adjust your actions immediately, or you'll fail your final mission.]

I stared at the system panel, my vision going dark as I nearly fainted on the spot.

The levels kept dropping.

I had just splashed wine on Ella at Owen's most important awards ceremony, in full view of everyone, and made a complete scene. But his hostility level had actually gone down.

I wondered if they were somehow born with a tendency to tolerate my bad temper.

I stood there, staring at the strange looks from the guests, feeling completely lost.

I had come here to stir things up, ruin my reputation, and max out their hostility levels. But my brothers and Mason hadn't scolded me. Instead, they were all hovering around me, fussing as if I were some fragile princess.

This wasn't the infamous scene where the villainous supporting character got publicly torn apart. It was a spoiled heiress throwing a tantrum in front of everyone, while four powerful men surrounded her, treating her like royalty.

I was so angry I clenched my teeth so hard I thought they might crack.

But I quickly pulled myself together and told myself I still had more chances.

In the original story, Claire had plenty of similar moments where she actively courted disaster. There was no way I couldn't max out their hostility levels.

For the next month, I tried every possible way to make everyone hate me.

In the original plot, Claire had secretly tampered with Ella's script to make her embarrass herself on set and get scolded by the director. I took it a step further: I set her script on fire and even sabotaged her wire harness.

But Owen's assistant caught it in time, and instead of embarrassing Ella, I ended up preventing a real wire accident. She even brought me a thank-you gift afterward, saying I had somehow helped her by fate or something.

I was totally dumbfounded.

In the original plot, Claire spiked Ella's water with a laxative, causing her to embarrass herself at a high-profile charity gala.

I went all out, bought the strongest one I could find, and secretly poured it into her glass. But in some twisted turn of fate, Mason ended up drinking it instead and spent an entire day stuck in the bathroom.

I was certain he would finally hate me for it. Instead, all I got was a message. [Next time you're planning something like this, give me a heads-up. Don't end up hurting yourself by mistake.]

I was totally speechless.

In the original plot, Claire stole Lucas's company secrets and sold them to a competitor, causing him to lose hundreds of millions and cut her off for good.

I stayed up all night, hacked into his confidential files, and sent them over. But the so-called competitor turned out to be a fraud ring. They tried to blackmail Lucas. But they were exposed by the evidence I had unknowingly left behind.

Lucas didn't lose a single dollar. Instead, he took down their entire group. He even bought me a limited-edition piece of jewelry and said, "Our little princess has grown up. She's helping her brother catch criminals now."

I was hit with another major setback.

The more I tried to make them hate me, the more they spoiled me.

The harder I pushed to max out their hostility levels, the faster those numbers kept dropping.

After a month, Mason's hostility level hadn't gone up and had actually fallen to 60%. Lucas's dropped to 50%. Owen's fell to 40%. Henry's hit a ridiculous 20%.

My storyline completion rate plummeted to 40% instead of rising.

Now there were fewer than sixty days left until my so-called "death birthday party."

I sat in the garden of the White estate, staring at the system panel, on the verge of tears.

I was completely confused about what was going on.

I copied every single one of Claire's evil moves. I even went way harder than she ever did. So why was the plot completely messed up?

The system's voice echoed in my mind, and I froze. [System analysis shows that, in the original story, Claire's actions were driven by her obsession with Mason, jealousy toward Ella, and her need for attention from her brothers.

[But your behavior is aimed purely at seeking death. You have no real attachment to Mason or your brothers, and no genuine jealousy toward Ella. The target characters have detected this, so their behavior has deviated from the script.]

I finally understood what was going on. Claire did all those things because she cared. She wanted Mason's love and her brothers' attention. Her cruelty was mixed with insecurity and resentment.

But I didn't care how they saw me at all. I just wanted them to hate me, kick me out, so I could go back and get treated.

There was no jealousy or bitterness in my malice. Everything I did was driven purely by my mission with a tight schedule, with no real emotion behind it.

They picked up on how detached I was, which was why they sensed something was off and stopped following the original plot.

I got it now.

If I wanted to get the plot back on track and max out their hostility levels, I had to go all in with the most vicious, irreversible move in the original story.

I scanned the plotline and locked onto the second-to-last major story node.

In the original story, a month before the birthday party, Claire hired kidnappers to abduct Ella, intending to have her face ruined. But Mason and her three brothers caught her in the act, with all the evidence laid out in front of them.

That was the moment they completely gave up on her. She was placed under house arrest at the White estate, and everyone began avoiding her as if she were toxic.

Their hostility levels maxed out at 100 percent, setting the stage for the final birthday party shootout.

This was perfect!

I locked onto that story node, and my eyes lit up.

Disfigurement and kidnapping were definitely the ultimate villain moves. They were the most unforgivable things one could ever do.

This time, I was going to pull it off perfectly, make them truly despise me, and finally steer the plot back on track.

I took a deep breath, pulled out my phone, and began coordinating with the black-market kidnappers.

This time, I had to succeed.