Sophie Shaw was utterly baffled.

She had always suspected the necklace was stolen at school, but after she reported it, the police failed to turn up any useful leads.

The auction was tomorrow night.

Her mother, a designer, had used the English name Lynn. The name was renowned in the jewelry design world. The item description noted that the necklace was a one-of-a-kind piece from the hands of the late, famed designer Lynn.

As the final and most anticipated item, the starting bid would likely be staggering.

Based on the design and the embedded diamonds alone, the necklace was worth at least ten million...

Sophie Shaw’s heart pounded with anxiety. She only had twenty million. Even if she used it all for the auction, it probably wouldn’t be enough.

She looked down, scrolling through her phone’s contacts until she found the number for Officer Thorne, who had been in charge of the necklace case. She dialed it.

"Officer Thorne, I’ve found my mother’s necklace. But for some reason, it’s listed as an item for tomorrow night’s auction at Golding & Ray Auction House..."

After she explained the situation, Officer Thorne asked her to add him on a messaging app.

Once they were connected, she took a picture of the item on her computer screen and sent it to him, followed by the address of the Golding & Ray Auction House.

Vianne Kane was hiding outside, her ear pressed against the door, listening to every word of Sophie Shaw’s call with Officer Thorne.

Her lips curled into a smirk, and she flung the door open.

Sophie Shaw jumped, startled. She spun around and glared at her. "Could you knock before you barge into my room?"

"Force of habit."

"Please show me a little respect."

"Sister, I just forgot to knock. Don’t make such a big deal out of it."

"What do you want?"

"The driver took Joel to school. Damian and I are about to go see Grandfather at the hospital. Want to come with us?"

Just as Sophie was about to refuse, Vianne crossed her arms and her voice dripped with sarcasm. "He may not be your real grandfather, but considering the Kane family raised you for all these years, it’s only right that you pay him a visit, isn’t it?"

She had backed Sophie into a corner, leaving her no choice.

A few minutes later, she was trailing behind Vianne, climbing into Damian Morgan’s Rolls-Royce.

Vianne slid into the passenger seat, leaning toward Damian in the driver’s seat. She cupped his face and planted a kiss on him. "Damian, I’m so worried Grandfather won’t pull through this time."

This was the second time the old man had fallen ill this year; his last hospital stay had been for several months.

"Don’t worry. Fate smiles on good people. He’ll be fine."

Damian soothed her, his hand cupping the back of her neck as he leaned in and pressed a kiss to her red lips.

Sophie sat in the back, her stomach churning as she watched them flaunt their relationship right in front of her.

Damian’s gaze, his tone, his every move—it was all so gentle, just like when he had pursued her.

He had once said something that had made her heart flutter: "Sophie, you’re the one for me in this lifetime. I, Damian Morgan, can’t be with anyone but you. Heaven and earth can bear witness, the sun and moon my testament."

It was because of those honeyed words that she had decided to take him home to meet her family.

But no sooner had she brought him home than he cheated on her.

For six months, she had been kept in the dark like a fool. All those nights she’d helped him by working late, he had probably been in Vianne Kane’s bed, tangled up in a passionate embrace.

She turned her head away, unable to watch the two of them in the front seat.

Vianne complained playfully, "Damian, stop it. Your ex-girlfriend is right here, you know. Behave yourself."

Damian glanced back at Sophie’s cold expression in the rear seat, and his mood inexplicably soured.

He had expected her to break down, to cry and cause a scene when he and Vianne announced their engagement. But she hadn’t.

She had been surprisingly calm. The moment he broke up with her, all she had asked for was management rights to the Heart of the Ocean.

"Vianne, Sophie is mature about these things. She doesn’t care."

’Doesn’t care?’

Sophie’s chest rose and fell sharply.

’How could I not care?’

They had been together for three years, not three days.

She had simply seen him for the ugly person he truly was and resolved to let him go. But the pain of being deceived and toyed with still lingered, and seeing him with Vianne magnified it endlessly.

"To be so calm about a breakup... I guess Sophie’s just a cold-hearted person by nature."

Damian said sarcastically. He then told Vianne to buckle her seatbelt and started the car.

On the way to the hospital, his eyes flickered up to the rearview mirror from time to time, observing Sophie in the back seat.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t reacting—her eyes were red-rimmed. She was just fighting back tears.

During the years they’d dated, she could have been described as frumpy. After the breakup, however, she had started paying attention to her appearance.

Today, Sophie was once again stunning.

She wore light makeup and was dressed with simple elegance. She was wearing a dress again—a long, high-necked knit dress under a long black coat—looking sophisticated and beautiful.

She was a feast for the eyes.

Damian couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. In three years, why had he never once touched her?

His gaze dropped, his sleazy eyes traveling from her face down to her chest.

’By the looks of it... she’s pretty stacked.’

"Damian, focus on the road,"

Vianne reminded him, rolling her eyes as she noticed where he was looking.

Damian immediately snapped his attention back to the road, turning to placate Vianne. "You’re so beautiful today, Vianne."

She forced a smile. "Well, I was born this way. Of course I’m beautiful."

"By the way, Vianne, didn’t you land a role in a new show? When do you start filming?"

"Not until after my sister’s wedding. I’m not the female lead, so my scenes won’t be filmed for a while."

"You’re co-starring with Nina Halloway this time?"

Hearing the name ’Nina Halloway’, Sophie’s grip on her handbag tightened.

She thought of the woman she had seen doing yoga at Alaric Blackwood’s house last night.

’That must have been Nina Halloway, right?’

"Yeah! Nina Halloway is a veteran actress, a multi-award winner for both TV and film. So many people would kill to act alongside her." Vianne pouted as she spoke, a sour note in her voice. "And that recent scandal online just made her even more famous. It was bad press, sure, but her profile exploded."

Damian, ever the conversationalist, chimed in, "You mean the rumors about her and Alaric Blackwood?"

"Exactly! First the father, now the son. That Nina Halloway came back from overseas, and she’s just so... open. The way she fools around is just shocking."

As she spoke, Vianne turned to look back at Sophie. "Your fiancé’s list of scandals doesn’t end there. I heard he’s having an affair with his assistant. I remember her—she was a scholarship student sponsored by the Blackwood family. Got great grades and went straight to the Blackwood Group after graduation."

"And there’s more..."

Vianne then reeled off a list of Alaric Blackwood’s rumored flings: socialites from The Kingsport Circle, A-list actresses, and even a certain heiress he was always seen with while studying in Unisia.

"I remember that woman got pregnant with Alaric Blackwood’s child."

Vianne covered her mouth with feigned shock. "Oh my god, Alaric Blackwood might have a secret love child in Unisia."

"Was the baby born?" Damian asked.

"Who knows? Maybe, maybe not. With something that shady, a man with Alaric Blackwood’s status would be sure to cover his tracks."

’A child?’

’That was a bombshell of a scandal!’