The Rescue That Was Never A Rescue Chapter 05

The Rescue That Was Never A Rescue Chapter 05

My finger froze over the screen, and I slowly lowered my hand.

If someone else was willing to fight this battle for me, why dirty my own hands?

The host’s voice boomed over the speakers, sharp and theatrical, as the family homecoming

banquet officially began.

Dressed in formal evening wear, Mother and Father walked hand-in-hand onto the stage.

“Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to join our Reed family banquet.”

“Tonight, beyond welcoming home our long-lost eldest daughter Laurel, we have an even bigger announcement to make.”

He paused deliberately, as though my arrival was nothing more than an afterthought-an unwanted prop dragged onto the stage.

Then his voice rose sharply. “I formally declare today that every asset held under the Reed Trust Fund will be transferred entirely to Waverly’s name! She will forever remain our most cherished jewel of the Reed household!”

Down on the ballroom floor, Waverly lifted the hem of her couture gown, the very picture of regal

grace.

Beneath blinding spotlights and envious stares, she basked in my parents’ blatant, unreserved

favor.

Thunderous applause shook the hall, loud enough to rattle the ceiling.

This was supposed to be my homecoming banquet. Yet inside this gilded, glittering ballroom, not a single soul spared me a thought.

Waverly glided gracefully onto the stage and took the microphone. “Thank you, Mom and Dad, for this gift. Thank you, everyone. I’ve also prepared a special surprise for my sister tonight.”

The influencers and vicious trolls she’d invited immediately picked up on the cue, erupting into malicious snickers.

The enormous overhead screen descended slowly.

I stood on the ballroom floor, fists clenched so tightly my nails dug deep into my palms.

Landon had appeared beside me, unnoticed.

His fingers clamped around my wrist in a bruising grip. “Don’t move a muscle.”

I turned my head and looked at the face I had once adored more than anything. Now it only filled me

with revulsion.

I drew a long breath and lifted my gaze slowly.

At the head table, the man in the shadows finally set down his wine glass. He tilted his head upward, and an icy, merciless smile tugged at his lips.

He gave a barely perceptible nod, and the video began to play.

The ballroom, noisy and chaotic a moment before, fell into a deathly hush the second everyone registered what was on screen.

What appeared on the display wasn’t the doctored explicit footage prepared for me. It was crystal-clear surveillance footage captured inside a car.

Landon’s Maybach was parked in a dim underground garage.. Waverly’s giddy, brazen voice echoed crisply for every guest to hear.

“Landon, wasn’t it hilarious when that little country mouse got drenched in champagne? Did you get it on camera?”

On screen, Waverly straddled Landon’s lap. With one arm curled around her waist, he held up his phone to show her clips of my humiliation.

“Of course I did. I went to a great deal of trouble just to cheer you up.”

He pressed a suggestive kiss to her lips, his eyes swimming with indulgent affection.

“She actually believed I rushed over to save her. That grateful, doe-eyed look on her face was pathetically foolish.”

A heavy silence blanketed the room.

“Holy hell… what is going on? The fiancé cheating with the fake heiress?”

“Waverly kept claiming the real daughter stole her fiancé. Turns out she’s the one carrying on with Landon and bullying the poor girl on purpose!”

“This is absolutely disgusting!”

Sharp, outraged whispers rained down on Waverly like a hail of blows. “Turn it off! Shut it down right now!”

Waverly shrieked from the stage and lunged for the control console, pounding it wildly.

But even after she slammed her fists against the console, the footage kept rolling across the giant

screen.

Worse still, my parents’ voices boomed out of the speakers.