Chapter 4

They forcefully grabbed my phone from my hand and smashed it onto the floor.

A couple of them restrained me so tightly that I could barely breathe.

Then they produced a black leather bag and tried to shove me inside so they could haul me out of the ballroom.

One of the sneered, "How dare you pretend to be the heiress? I'll make sure you never set foot in the Lynch family again.

Robert snorted, "Someone like her could never be my daughter. Vincent, you know exactly what Yara is like, don't you?"

Vincent chimed in right away, "That's right, Yara is always gentle and thoughtful. Seriously, does that woman even realize? What kind of heiress shows up looking all dusty and worn out like her?"

But John kept trying to stand up for me. He said, "Of course, she looks like this after working in archaeology. Even if you think she's making it up, you can't treat a girl like that."

Yara's tone was full of scorn and mockery as she shot back, "Mr. Davis, I'm William's real granddaughter. Why can't you get that through your head?

"If my grandpa finds out someone messed with his granddaughter, she will be lucky if he only kicks her out."

Suddenly, a voice demanded, "Is that so?

"I'd like to see who dares to bully my granddaughter!"

At the very moment I was about to pass out, I finally heard my grandpa's voice.

In my previous life, after they drove me to my death, they said I brought it on myself.

They called me a poor girl who didn't know how to show any gratitude, and claimed I was so greedy I tried to steal the real heiress's spot.

So when my grandpa returned from his archaeology expedition, he didn't even get to see my body.

This time, I was planning to come back with my grandpa, but he had some final work to wrap up, so he only just arrived now.

As soon as my grandpa walked in, the guests immediately turned on me, pointing fingers.

One of them said, "Mr. William Lynch, that brazen intern was bullying your granddaughter, Yara. Mr. Robert Lynch already put her in her place."

The feeling of being choked still lingered, and my cheeks were streaked with tears.

Thanks to Robert, all the guests were sure I was the imposter. Nobody even noticed how pale Yara and Robert had gotten.

Robert was a mess, panic written all over his face. He couldn't even meet my grandpa's eyes and stammered, "E-everyone, the engagement party's been disrupted. The Lynch family will have to reschedule and invite you all again."

Vincent was still clueless, frowning in confusion. He said, "Robert, isn't it even better now that William is back to witness the engagement between our families? As long as we kick out this shameless pauper, the engagement can still go on."

My grandpa's face was unreadable. He raised an eyebrow at Robert, and though his voice wasn't loud, it was enough to make Robert's legs tremble.

My grandpa said, "Oh? An engagement? My granddaughter is getting engaged, and no one bothered to tell me?"

Yara mumbled nervously, "Grandpa."

But my grandpa acted like he didn't hear her at all. He fixed his gaze on Robert and demanded, "You explain."

His natural authority left Robert completely speechless.

I couldn't tell whether Vincent was plain clueless or just deaf to the panic radiating off Yara and Robert, but he jumped in with a shiny save.

He said, "Yara and Robert just figured you were busy, that's all. Now that you're back, this just makes our engagement party even more special.

"You don't even know. If it weren't for that bitch Sylvia, we'd be exchanging rings already."

Robert frantically grabbed Vincent, but he couldn't stop him from running his mouth.

My grandpa said coldly, "When did my granddaughter become the 'bitch' you all keep talking about?"

His words left everyone in the room speechless.

With a stern face, my grandpa nodded, and a sharp-eyed maid quickly came over to help me up.

Leaning on the maid, I lifted my gaze to my grandpa: eyes bloodshot, voice cracking. I said, "Grandpa, I don't even know when I became the 'bitch' they talk about, or when I suddenly gained a sister."

My grandpa gave me a gentle look, but the instant he spotted the red marks on my skin, his expression turned to stone.

No one dared to make a sound. Everyone was sweating bullets, just waiting for my grandpa to say something.

After a long, tense silence, my grandpa let out a cold snort.

He said, "I kept quiet when you said helping that poor girl would protect the company's name. Now you're telling me any random girl off the street can be my granddaughter?"

Right away, the bodyguards hauled Yara to her feet and slapped her across the face again and again, leaving her cheeks swollen and red.

I spoke up just then, "It was Dad who had me thrown out, kept insisting Yara was his real daughter."

No sooner had I finished speaking than Robert was kicked to the floor.