Chapter 4

The bodyguard nodded and stepped back.

Adriel turned to the guests with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, everyone. My daughter's a bit under the weather today, so she won't be able to greet you. I hope you'll get to meet her next time."

With that, he stepped away, Leia quickly following after him.

In the audience, Damon turned to Dad. "Noelle's just never been properly disciplined. She has no sense of manners at all."

Mom chimed in, clearly annoyed. "How's she supposed to help run the family business if she can't even keep it together in public?"

Leia feigned concern. "Noelle must've just been really nervous, but leaving like that at the last minute was way out of line."

Dad nodded, disappointment flickering in his eyes. "Looks like we really need to teach her a lesson. She actually froze up at such an important event," he said.

Just then, the bodyguard stepped forward. "Mr. Anderson, we've found Miss Anderson."

"Where is she?" Dad's tone was serious.

"She's in the restroom," the bodyguard replied.

"What?" Dad looked confused. "What's she doing in there? Take us to her."

The restroom door was locked from the outside, but they popped it open without any trouble.

When Mom saw me dressed in a janitor's uniform, she didn't even ask if I was okay. Instead, she went straight to blaming me.

"Noelle, do you have any idea how much your sudden exit hurt our company's image?" she snapped.

Damon jumped in, "You're old enough to know better, but you still make us worry. You're nothing compared to Leia."

Even Dad was frowning. "Noelle, what's going on here?"

I looked at them with an innocent face, playing the victim. "The door was locked from the outside. Clearly, someone did it on purpose. Why are you blaming me for something so obvious? Are you all just trying to make things difficult for me?"

Everyone suddenly looked embarrassed, and Dad tried to smooth things over. "We were just worried about you, don't take it the wrong way. By the way, do you know who locked you in here?"

I gave Leia a pointed look. "Leia spilled her drink all over me and told me to go change.

"But then she just disappeared; my clothes and phone were gone, and the door was locked from the outside. I tried everything, but I couldn't get out.

"Honestly, I thought you all just didn't want me around, so you had Leia lock me up. If I'd known it would turn into such a mess, I would've just climbed out the window."

Everyone turned to stare at Leia.

"What's going on here?" Dad demanded, his expression stern as he fixed his gaze on Leia. "And didn't you say you hadn't seen Noelle?"

Leia looked visibly flustered, but in no time, her eyes welled up with tears. "Noelle, I know you can't stand me, but you can't just frame me like this. I had nothing to do with it."

As soon as Leia started crying, everyone instantly took her side.

Mom was the first to defend her. "Leia never lies. There's no way she'd do something like this."

Damon jumped in, scolding me. "Noelle, you can't just accuse Leia of dodge responsibility. That's so shameless!"

I frowned, just about to say something, but Leia jumped in first, twisting the knife and making me look even worse.

She said, "Noelle, I know you're jealous because I took your spot and everyone likes me now, but you can't just accuse me and break everyone's heart like this."

Dad's expression turned grim. "Noelle, don't say things that'll mess up our family."

I kept quiet. In my previous life, I had no proof, and with everyone taking Leia's side, I couldn't defend myself no matter what I said.

But this time, I kept my cool and pointed right at the wall across from the bathroom door. "If you don't believe me, just check the security cameras."

When I mentioned checking the security cameras, Leia's eyes lit up for a split second, but she kept her poker face.

She said, "Come on, Noelle, I heard those cameras have been dead for ages. You're not trying to set me up just because you knew that, are you?"

But just then, the party hall manager spoke up. "The cameras were back up and running before the party started."