Chapter 2
Lauren pulled up a group chat on her phone.
I glanced over, and the group name was boldly displayed: [The Five.]
Lauren said, "Evan and Ethan told me all this. At first, I couldn't believe it. How could Peyton do something like that? But they sounded so convincing, I doubt they'd lie about it.
"Dad, Mom, if I keep quiet and a bigger scandal breaks out, what will happen to the Rivers family? I can't stand by and let you two be the subject of gossip."
"I'm sorry. I got worried because I care about you guys."
Joe took the phone, scanned the chat logs, and his veins stood out as his face shifted between pale and livid. His rage and shock were battling for dominance.
Juliana gave a cold, mocking laugh.
Charles frowned. "Everyone's openly accused you. What excuses do you have left?"
Without glancing at the phone, I arched an eyebrow. "Ms. Rivers, this is your so-called evidence?
"Just a few chat logs and suddenly I'm an escort? If I say you're the one, does that mean it counts as proof as well?"
Lauren bit her lip, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Peyton, they're all big-name heirs from influential families. Why would they make up lies about you and risk their own reputations for no reason?"
I cut Lauren off, "Fine, then let's call the police and let them clear my name."
Lauren's expression shifted, and she blurted out, "Peyton, I was trying to protect your reputation by keeping all this under wraps. But if you insist on making a scene, then don't blame me for what comes next."
She fiddled with her phone for a moment and brought up a photo.
Then, right in front of everyone, she projected the photo onto the big screen in the ballroom.
In the photo, a woman barely dressed, her clothes slipping off her shoulders, was sitting on the lap of a pot-bellied old man.
The man had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, grinning lecherously.
Her head was bowed, long hair covering most of her face, making her features impossible to see. But the figure and outline looked uncannily similar to mine.
Juliana clutched her chest, utterly heartbroken. "You... I'm so disappointed in you. I thought I'd finally found my real daughter, only to discover you have no sense of shame at all."
Charles stepped forward to steady her, shooting me a venomous glare. "The proof is right in front of us. Are you seriously still going to deny it? You've brought nothing but shame to the Rivers family."
I fixed Lauren with a cold stare. "That photo? It's an AI face-swap fake."
A flicker of panic flashed in Lauren's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by wounded indignation.
She bit her lip, her tears falling in quick succession as her voice trembled. "Peyton, I really didn't want to expose your secrets. Why are you making me do this? I tried to give you a way out, but you threw it all away."
Ryan immediately jumped in to back her up. "So now, anything dirty or disgusting. Do you blame it on AI when you get caught?
"Peyton, Lauren already gave you a chance to save face, but you had to push things and force a confrontation."
Just then, the ballroom doors were roughly flung open.
A man and a woman, both looking nasty and mean, stormed in.
The woman screeched, "Peyton? What Peyton? Her real name is Peyton the Slut. You heartless brat. I raised you for twenty-eight years, and now you want to walk out like you don't care?"
The man followed close behind, as aggressively. "Yeah, what rich girl? You're the money-draining kid we raised. Now you think you're rich and can pretend we don't exist? In your dreams."
I froze, every muscle in my body tensing up. Those were Lauren's real parents. And they were the ones who raised me.
Joe barked, "Who are you? Security, get them out of here."
Monica Sterling, my adoptive mother, let out a cold, mocking laugh, hands planted firmly on her hips, her words practically spraying spit everywhere. "Who are we?
"We're her adoptive parents, the ones who raised her through thick and thin, cleaning up every mess she made.
"Mr. Rivers, you'd better watch out. Don't let this born-to-be-trash little slut fool you.
"She's been rotten since she was a kid. She even went after my husband."
Joseph Sterling, my adoptive father, wrung his hands, his lecherous eyes roaming over me like he owned the place.
That stare had jerked me awake more times than I could count, haunting my nights.
He barked, "Yeah, that's right. She was a security guard at a fancy apartment complex, barely scraping by with less than two thousand dollars a month.
"But before she reconnected with her real family, she suddenly started throwing her weight around, cut us off, and tossed 160 grand dollars at us like it was pocket change.
"Where'd all that money come from, huh? No way she could've gotten that kind of cash without whoring herself out."
The crowd gasped in shock.
Joe and Juliana's veins bulged at their temples, their whole bodies trembling with rage and humiliation.
Charles curled his lips in disdain, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "So, it turns out you're not an escort, but a disgraceful daughter, too."
Lauren nestled against Ryan, sobbing right on cue. "Peyton, this is all my fault. I took everything that should have been yours. But you didn't have to let yourself fall so far."
Monica yanked a stack of photos from her bag, her face twisted in a nasty grin as she tossed them into the air for everyone to see. "And these. All proof she was messing around with my husband.
"Let's see you talk your way out of this now."