Chapter 3

The ball was held at the most luxurious five-star hotel in Ashford.

I stood at the opulent entrance in a faded T-shirt and muddy canvas shoes, a stark contrast to the glittering surroundings.

The security guard reached out to stop me. "Sorry, you can't come in if you're not dressed properly."

I didn't bother arguing. I called Sofia.

I'd figured as much. That fake innocent Sofia would never miss a chance to humiliate me.

Sure enough, ten seconds later, Sofia came out in a couture gown, wearing my mother's sapphire necklace.

She flashed the guard a sweet smile. "Let her in. She's my sister."

Then she turned to me, her eyes practically dripping with mockery. "Irene, don't you think you're embarrassing the Thorne family by showing up like that?"

I ignored her and walked straight in.

I quickly scanned the entire place.

Control room was around the corner on the second floor. Three blind spots in the security cameras. The lounge was at the end of the hall. The urn was definitely there.

The gossip buzzed around me like a swarm of flies.

"Is that the so-called real heiress the Thornes brought back from the countryside? She looks like a goddamn beggar."

"I heard she got kicked out for stealing, but Sofia's such a saint, she still claims her as family."

"How embarrassing."

Sofia stepped right up to me, dropping her voice, her tone venomous. "Your mother's urn is in the lounge on the second floor. Apologise and beg. Then I'll give it back."

I stared at the sapphire necklace she wore around her neck.

That was my mom's last keepsake. Sofia had ripped it away from me three years ago.

"The necklace is mine, too," I said, my tone flat.

"You think you deserve it?" Sofia sneered. She reached up to show off the necklace. "Just some nobody's kid like you, and you—"

Before she could finish, the lights in the hall suddenly went out. The music stopped dead.

A countdown lit up the big screen on stage: 3, 2, 1.

The whole place fell silent. Everyone was waiting for the charity promo to start.

But Sofia's heart skipped a beat. A wave of inexplicable dread washed over her.

The corner of my mouth lifted.

I'd brought a USB drive, planning to sneak into the control room during the chaos and play it. But someone else beat me to it.

As soon as the clip flashed on screen, the entire room erupted.

It wasn't a charity promo at all. It was surveillance footage from the girls' bathroom at the academy.

Sofia, flanked by a few other girls, had a skinny girl cornered. Her face twisted with malice. "You think you deserve to compete with me for that reserved spot?"

She slapped the girl hard across the face, ripped up her books, and threw them right into the toilet.

Whispers rippled through the crowd.

"Oh my god, is that really Sofia? She always looks so sweet and harmless, but she's actually this cruel?"

"She bullied a classmate to snatch a reserved spot? That's beyond low."

"So she was faking it the whole time?"

Sofia's face turned as white as a sheet. She screamed, "Turn it off. That's not real. Someone's framing me."

The principal was sweating bullets. He yelled into his headset for someone to kill the power.

But the screen was locked; the footage kept looping, and the sound was crystal clear.

Up in the control room on the second floor, the technician was already knocked out in the corner.

The wolf crouched on the console, its paw pads pressing against the keys. It fumbled five or six times, its claws nearly scraping the surface, before finally switching to the right loop mode.

Watching the chaos erupt downstairs, it let out a low snicker.

Then it slipped back through the ventilation duct, vanishing into the shadows without a sound.

It wasn't until the security guards smashed the server that the screen finally went dark.

But Sofia's reputation was trashed completely.

The socialites who used to hang around her scrambled to distance themselves, their eyes full of contempt.

Victor was shaking with rage. He stormed over and slapped Sofia hard across the face. "You're a disgrace. Get out of here, now."

Sofia clutched her face and ran out, sobbing.

Amid the chaos, I slipped quietly up to the second floor, unnoticed.

I pushed open the lounge door and grabbed my mom's urn.

The urn was spotless, not a single scratch on the edges. No way Sofia would have taken such good care of it.

I hesitated for a second, but brushed it off.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something silver peeking out from between the couch cushions. I slipped it into my pocket without a second thought.

It was a silver signet ring, the face engraved with the Blackwood family crest.

It felt solid and weighty. Obviously, it was a token of authority from a top-tier family.

Recently, it was all over the news: Aiden Blackwood, the CEO of the Blackwood Group, had been attacked overseas. His condition was unknown.

Word was, he always kept this heirloom silver ring on him. It was the token of authority.

I twirled the silver ring in my fingers, not really thinking much of it.

Ashford was huge. No way a ring I randomly picked up would turn out to be from the Blackwood family.

I walked out of the hotel, clutching my mom's urn. The night breeze swept over me, cool.

I was moving so fast that the silver ring slipped out of my pocket and landed on the floor in the hallway. I never noticed.

A shadowy figure stepped out from the darkness, following me at an unhurried pace.

I stopped in my tracks.