Chapter 196
Before she could recover, I stepped closer, lowering my voice so only she could hear.
“Careful, Linda. Some skeletons don’t stay buried forever.”
Her smile faltered, but she quickly masked it, turning back to the cameras with a laugh that sounded just a little too forced.
“Of course, we all have our versions of the truth,” she said, her voice regaining its sugary tone.
But tonight isn’t about the past. It’s about celebrating success. Come, won’t you give me a hug?
The room was already electric with tension, but the moment Linda extended her arms for a hug, the whispers among the crowd swelled into outright jeers. Fans shouted insults at me, their voices full of contempt and self–righteous fury.
“She dares to show up here and not even accept Linda’s olive branch? What a shameless bully!” one fan yelled.
“She should just crawl under a rock. How dare she come here after what she did?” another chimed in.
The wave of anger washed over me, but I stood unmoved. I was no stranger to their accusations, no stranger to their venom.
I knew exactly what Linda wanted: to paint herself as a saint who forgives even the most wretched villains while further entrenching me as the irredeemable monster in this story.
If I rejected her hug, I’d be a callous and ungrateful wretch.
If I accepted, I’d confirm her fabricated narrative and let her rise as the forgiving victim. Either way, I would lose.
Lirian, standing just behind me, placed a cautious hand on my arm.
“Sophia,” she whispered, her voice low and urgent, “don’t do anything rash.”
turned to her and smiled faintly. “Don’t worry,” I said softly. “This time, I’m ready.”
With a graceful, deliberate motion, I stood.
heels clicked against the marble floor, silencing the murmurs for a fleeting moment.
The
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Chapter 196
Every eye in the room was on me.
met Linda’s wide–eyed gaze, her outstretched arms still frozen mid–gesture.
ross
“I came here today to show everyone something.” I said, my voice carrying across the room with clarity and calmness.
Linda’s confident facade cracked ever so slightly.
Her frown deepened, and confusion flickered in her eyes.
“Something?” she echoed, her voice wavering.
The murmurs began again, people craning their necks and pulling out their phones to record.
Behind Linda, the large screen that had been playing a montage of her career highlights flickered.
Suddenly, the screen displayed a new video, grainy but unmistakably real.
The footage was taken in a dressing room on a movie set.
In it, a young actress adjusted her makeup in the mirror.
inda
appeared beside her, her movements casual but predatory.
Without warning, Linda grabbed the actress’s hand and slapped herself with it, leaving a red mark
on her own cheek.
Gasps rippled through the audience as Linda’s voice rang out in the video.
“The role that I have my eye on, who allowed you to compete with me for it? How dare you ask me to be your supporting role?”
she sneered at the stunned actress, Croatia,
“Do you know who my boyfriend is? Ryan, the future Alpha of the Stardust pack. And Arman from the Moon Shadow pack is my suitor. When they see the injury on my face, you’ll be begging for forgiveness.”
The video ended with Linda glancing at Croatia’s chest with a calculating smirk before storming out.
of the room.
Pandemonium erupted in the venue. Fans who had staunchly defended Linda were now left reeling.
Wait, was this the Croatia incident?!” someone whispered.
I remember this! Linda claimed Croatia bullied her and leaked those scandalous photos. Croatia’s career was ruined because of this!”
Linda shrieked, lunging for the screen.
“No! This is a lie! A fabrication!” she screamed, her voice hysterical. “Who edited this? Who’s trying to frame me?!”
Her protests were drowned out by the crowd’s uproar.
Social media was already ablaze, hashtags like #LindaExposed and #CroatiaJustice surging in real–time.
Amid the chaos, another video began playing on the screen.
This one was filmed at a university, showing a rustic–looking girl being jeered at by a group of fashionable students.
They surrounded her, spitting insults.
“Country bumpkin, go back to your village!”
one of the girls taunted, chewing gum as she spat it onto the girl’s book.
The girl clutched her books tightly, her face a mask of humiliation.
When she tried to defend herself, the group burst into laughter.
Just as one of the bullies reached out to shove her, I appeared in the frame.
Without hesitation, I dumped a bucket of water over the group, leaving them drenched and sputtering.
The audience at the banquet gasped in recognition.
E
The video zoomed in on me handing my coat to the humiliated girl to cover her soiled clothes.
The person who posted the video had included a heartfelt caption:
“I’m a child who grew up in an orphanage, just like Ms. Linda claimed to be. But unlike her, we didn’t have piano lessons or sponsors giving us monthly allowances. It was Sophia who stood up for
when no one else would. Now that I’ve graduated and built my career, I can’t stay silent while the
lip Alpha’s Substitute Liner A Heart Claimed A Soul Reborn
196
person who helped me is vilified. Let the truth be known.”
**
The Alpha’s Substitute Lana. A.
