Chapter 227: The Ones Who Wronged You

The parade of cars pulled up to the gates of the Morgan estate.

April looked out the tinted window, her dark eyes reflecting the blinding, ostentatious lights illuminating the sprawling stone mansion ahead.

In her past life, whenever she ran away from this mansion, she was somehow dragged back in ropes, through mud, forced to endure the cold, brutal punishment of Madam Morgan. She never succeeded in escaping once.

But this time, she ran away and not only that, she became powerful enough that not even the Morgans could touch her.

She was clad in a fortune of sapphire and flanked by the most dangerous, powerful men in the country. Her past self could never imagine this but it did happen. And it was thanks to being reborn and bound to this mysterious system.

So she would do its will to the bitter end.

The cars came to a smooth halt along the red carpet. When Samuel opened the vehicle door, the air outside was thick with the hushed chatter of high-society guests and the flashing lights of exclusive media outlets.

April stepped out first, her hand extended to help Emily down onto the carpet.

A quiet, collective ripple went through the crowd lining the grand entrance.

The onlookers didn’t just see one breathtaking woman; they saw two identical figures descending side-by-side. One wrapped in the deep, regal blue of an ocean of sapphires, her aura sharp and commanding; the other glowing like pure, woven starlight in white diamonds. The twin dresses, crafted by a master artisan, reflected off one another under the estate lights in a harmonized display of sheer, unapproachable luxury.

Beside April, Emily’s breath hitched. Her hand trembled slightly inside her sister’s grip.

For Emily, grand banquets like this had never been places of celebration. In her past experience, she had only ever been dragged to the fringes of these rooms—forced to stand silently in dark corners while Clara paraded around, surrounded by spiteful high-society minions who took every opportunity to snicker, mock, and shove Emily down. To the upper crust, Emily had only ever been an easy target and the memories there were none to smile about.

She had been dragged to a stall once, beaten by Clara’s friends, dress torn and face busted, but when she managed to walk out, limping and asking for help, she was scorned and called shameless and pathetic.

Emily’s shoulders began to instinctually tense, her chin dipping as her nerves threatened to pull her back into that familiar, suffocating shell.

"Head up, Emily," April’s voice cut through her anxiety, low, smooth, and laced with absolute, unshakeable steel.

Emily blinked, looking over at her twin.

April didn’t look at the crowd; her dark eyes were fixed straight ahead on the grand double doors of the mansion. "You have no reason to hide. The ones who should be bowing, the ones who should be shrinking into the shadows... are them. The ones who wronged you."

Emily took a deep, steadying breath. Looking at the sharp, fearless confidence radiating from April, something shifted in her chest. She slowly lifted her head, straightening her spine as the delicate diamond tiara atop her soft waves caught the light.

She wasn’t okay. Not at all. But standing beside April, she felt the least she could do was not bow her head and make her look pathetic.

Behind them, the rest of the car doors opened.

Xavier stepped out first, buttoning his black tuxedo, his tall, imposing frame immediately commanding the respect of every corporate executive nearby. Alexander followed, smoothing his double-breasted suit jacket with an easy, lethal grace.

And then Nat stepped into the light.

The chatter near the entrance died down instantly. Nat didn’t bother with proper elite decorum; his eyes sweeping over the venue with a predator’s lazy, terrifying indifference.

"Is that... Executive Reed?"

"My God, look who is behind him... the red hair... Isn’t that the Golden Dragon?"

"Why would the Golden Dragon be at a Morgan family event?!"

The murmurs swelled into a nervous, cautious hum as the group ascended the marble steps and crossed into the grand foyer.

The interior of the Morgan ballroom was a dazzling expanse of crystal chandeliers, flowing champagne towers, and live orchestral music. The city’s ruling elite had gathered in full force to celebrate the Morgan family’s newest enterprise launch.

As they glided into the hall, the atmosphere subtly shifted. The sheer presence of Xavier, Nat, Alexander, and Oliver walking in formation behind the two jewel-clad sisters forced conversations to stall as heads turned one by one.

Deep within the crowd, near the private VIP lounges, Gerald Pearson—Madam Morgan’s older brother—was conversing with a few board members. His eyes idly drifted toward the grand archway, and the moment his gaze landed on Xavier, Alexander, Nat, and the woman whom he had been auctioning against for the land deed of the hillside fortress, the glass in his hand nearly slipped from his fingers.

Gerald’s face drained of all color. Ever since their humiliating showdown at the auction, Gerald knew he had made mortal, unforgiving enemies of the golden dragon and his allies.

The sight of Nat’s eyes scanning the room made a cold sweat break out across Gerald’s neck. Without saying a word to his companions, Gerald turned on his heel, quietly shrinking into the moving crowd and vanishing behind a massive marble pillar to keep out of sight.

Near the central floral arrangement, Liora was standing quietly. Her eyes happened to catch the movement near the entrance and she looked up.

But then she accidentally set her eyes on April, and her breath caught in her throat.

She stumbled back a step, her hands clutching her dress in sudden, instinctual panic. She remembered the last time she met April—she remembered the terrifying, cold aura the former maid possessed when she asked her to leave, and then Cai returned broken after their encounter.

Liora wanted nothing to do with her and instinctually backed away toward the drapery to hide, as if fearing she would come to her if she stayed in her line of sight for too long. But as she peeked through the leaves of the drape, her mind froze in utter confusion.

There wasn’t just one. Standing right beside the terrifying woman in sapphire was another identical face in white diamonds. Liora pressed her back against the wall, her eyes wide with unutterable dread, completely terrified to make a sound.

"Just... What is going on?" ¹

Further into the hall, the LeMoreno family was holding court among a group of wealthy investors.

Selma Le Moreno—Cai and Johan’s mother—was speaking in a sharp, haughty tone, her fingers draped in heavy emeralds.

Selma had always openly despised Emily. To her, Emily was nothing more than a useless, spineless, good-for-nothing burden who had somehow stumbled into a marriage with her son. In Selma’s eyes, only a girl like Clara—refined, confident, and well-connected—was worthy of favoring but it was unfortunate that she was not the biological child.

"Cai, make sure you greet the board members properly," Celestine said dismissively, not even looking at her son as she adjusted her silk shawl.

Cai, still leaning heavily on a carved cane due to the brutal, secretive beating April had inflicted on him in the dark alley, absorbed his mother’s nagging in tense silence.

There was nothing wrong with his legs, but it seemed to have something to do with trauma. He was so traumatized from broken bones that had somehow been healed and re-broken over and over that it felt like his legs were hurting whenever he tried to walk on his own two feet.

Suddenly, Selma’s eyes caught the figure in white standing near the main aisle. Her brows pinched together in deep irritation. "What on earth... Is that Emily? What is that useless girl doing dressed like that? Who allowed her to step into the center of the room?"

Selma began turning around, fully intending to march over and harshly reprimand her ’good-for-nothing’ daughter-in-law for daring to stand in the spotlight instead of staying out of sight.

"Cai, look at your pathetic sister-in-law—" Selma started, but the moment Cai turned his head, his gaze didn’t land on Emily.

It landed squarely on April, standing right beside her in sapphire blue.

Cai’s entire body went dead rigid.

A violent wave of terror slammed through his nervous system. The lights of the ballroom seemed to blur as his brain instantly replayed the sound of a baseball bat shattering his bones in the dark, the horrifying image of a cold, pitch-black gaze looking down at him without an ounce of human mercy.

"M-Mother..." Cai stammered, his voice cracking into a thin, pathetic wheeze.

Sweat broke out across his forehead in seconds. His knees began knocking together so violently that his cane rattled against the polished marble floor.

"What is wrong with you?" Selma snapped, glancing at him with deep disgust. "Stop trembling like an idiot!"

"D-Don’t... don’t go over there..." Cai gasped, practically wetting his pants as he stumbled backward, clutching his father’s arm for balance. "Please... don’t..."

April’s sharp hearing picked up the faint, pathetic commotion from across the floor. Slowly, she turned her head, her dark eyes locking directly onto Cai.

A slow, terrifyingly but serene smirk touched her lips. With a subtle, elegant flick of her wrist, she manifested a tiny, crystal vial of glowing spatial revitalization water between her fingers—the exact potion she had used to repeatedly restore his body just to break it again.

She held the vial up slightly, letting the ambient light catch the liquid, tilting it in a silent, playful threat.

Cai let out a choked, muffled shriek, scrambling backward so fast he nearly knocked over a tray of champagne glasses, his face turning the color of chalk.

Behind April, Nat let out a low, rumbling cackle, tossing his head back in dark, unbothered amusement at Cai’s complete mental breakdown.