Her Familial Usurper System Failed On Me Chapter 04

Her Familial Usurper System Failed On Me Chapter 04

The auction was at a hotel on the south end of the city.

As Nora entered linked arm-in-arm with Mom, nearly every pair of eyes in the ballroom locked onto her.

She wore the pale gold gown, smiling demurely. The simple fact that Mom hadn’t pulled away from her was already feeding endless whispers among the guests.

A few socialites quickly swarmed around her, their words sweet but laced with knives.

“Miss Nora, you look lovely tonight. Is Mrs. Langley finally ready to bring out her younger daughter?”

“I heard Miss Anna was a little bit strange. Miss Nora is much more presentable.”

“Mrs. Langley needs a daughter who can hold her own. Miss Nora, you’ll have to help share the burden.”

Nora lowered her head, her voice soft. “My sister just isn’t well. Please don’t speak ill of her.”

The more she deflected, the more they piled on.

The more they tore me down, the brighter Nora’s eyes grew.

The system was probably chirping in her ear—replacement progress at ninety-nine percent. Just one last push.

That was when I stepped through the doorway.

First the doorman froze. Then the servers stopped. Then the entire ballroom hit pause.

I walked in slowly, wearing my pink sponge-pattern pajamas, clutching my rag doll, shuffling in slippers.

Someone laughed out loud.

“Is that Miss Anna?”

“She came to an auction in pajamas? Seriously?”

“Mrs. Langley must be mortified.”

Nora’s eyes burned with triumph.

She let go of Mom’s arm and hurried over to me, pitching her voice loud enough for everyone around to hear. “Anna, how could you show up looking like this? Do you have any idea what formal occasion this is?”

I looked at her. “Where’s Mom?”

Her smile faltered for a second, then recovered. “Mom’s busy. Don’t embarrass yourself. Listen—go back home.”

I walked past her, heading deeper into the crowd.

She grabbed my doll and yanked.

I stopped. My grip tightened.

“Give it back.”

Nora dropped her voice, her gentle mask slipping clean off for a fleeting moment. “You think holding this trash will make Mom feel sorry for you? Anna, look at yourself. Mom doesn’t want you anymore.”

In one swift motion, she snatched the doll and hurled it into the champagne tower fountain.

Golden champagne splashed everywhere. The doll sank into the bubbling liquid.

My hands were empty. My chest felt hollow.

Nora raised her voice, the tears coming again. “Anna, that’s enough! You burst in here looking like that and shove this filthy thing in everyone’s face—you’re embarrassing the entire Langley family!”

All eyes turned to Mom.

Mom stood at the back of the crowd, her expression frozen.

She walked forward step by step, the heels hitting the floor with quiet authority. The crowd parted to make way for her.

Nora stepped aside, her lips pressed tight to suppress a smile.

She waited for Mom to drag me out in front of all these people. Waited for Mom to publicly disown me. Waited for the system to notify her that she’d finally claimed victory.

Mom reached me.

I looked up at her and pointed at the pool. “My doll.”

Mom glanced at the water, then turned to Nora.

A sharp crack cut through the silent ballroom.

Nora’s head snapped to the side. She stumbled into a champagne table, glasses shattering around her.

She clutched her face, and this time, her tears were real.

Mom’s voice was low with barely contained fury. “Who gave you permission to touch Anna’s doll?”