Chapter 9：Epitaph of the White Rose
1094words
"Ready?" Alexander walked up behind me, placing his hand on my shoulder.
I nodded: "All the evidence is in place. Tonight, the truth will be revealed to the world."
Alexander handed me a small box: "Your anniversary gift."
I opened the box to find an exquisite brooch shaped like a white rose, with a miniature camera embedded in its center.
"The perfect weapon." I smiled, pinning the brooch to my formal dress.
The banquet was held in the ballroom of the Sinclair mansion. Alexander and I, as the main characters, received blessings from the guests. Clara stood nearby in a purple gown, forcing a smile. Since the Sinclair Pharmaceuticals stock crashed, her status had greatly diminished, yet she still clung desperately to her identity as the "Sinclair heiress."
"To my dear sister and her perfect marriage." Clara raised her glass in toast, her tone carrying undisguised jealousy.
I returned a smile: "Thank you, 'sister.'" I deliberately emphasized the word "sister."
Halfway through the banquet, I stood at the center of the stage: "Everyone, thank you all for coming to celebrate our anniversary. Tonight, I'd like to share a special gift—a long-buried piece of family history."
The big screen lit up, playing an old black and white footage. In the image, a young nurse was in the nursery, carefully switching the positions of two babies.
"This is May 15, 1990, the day the Sinclair family heir was born." My voice was calm and cold, "The nurse in the footage is Margaret Hopkins. She switched two baby girls—one was the true Sinclair bloodline, the other was her own daughter."
The whole venue erupted in commotion. Clara's face instantly turned deathly pale.
"This is malicious slander!" she screamed.
I continued: "DNA test results show that Clara Sinclair has no blood relation to the Sinclair couple, while I—" I paused, "am their biological daughter."
The screen switched to the DNA comparison report. Clara rushed toward the stage, trying to stop the playback, but was stopped by security.
"You forged the evidence!" Clara hysterically shouted.
"There's no need for fabrication." I said calmly, "The truth has always been there, it was just covered up. Just like how you concealed my drug test report, making everyone believe I had a genetic disease."
On the screen appeared the call records between Clara and Margaret. Clara's voice was clearly audible: "Mom, we can finally get rid of that impostor forever."
Clara's eyes were red with fury. She suddenly pulled out a small silver knife from her handbag and rushed toward me: "You took everything that belonged to me!"
Just as the knife was about to pierce me, Alexander stepped in front of me. However, unexpectedly, Clara froze at the last moment—her gaze moved past us, fixating on the large screen behind, her face instantly turning as white as paper.
"This... this is impossible..." Her voice was hoarse as the knife clattered onto the marble floor.
The guests looked at the new image on the big screen in shock—a recording of Clara's private conversation with a doctor was being played clearly.
"The genetic test results confirm that you have no blood relation to the Sinclairs," the doctor's voice echoed through the banquet hall, "Your mother, Margaret Hopkins, did indeed switch the babies at birth."
Clara collapsed to her knees, her face contorted with extreme shock. She looked around to see everyone—board members, business partners, social elites—staring at her with eyes that had uncovered a fraud. The identity and status she had carefully built completely crumbled in this moment.
"No!" she screamed hysterically, clawing at her own cheeks, leaving red marks, "This is a lie! I am a Sinclair! I am!"
Security quickly moved forward to control the situation, and medical staff injected her with a sedative. When Clara was loaded into the ambulance, her eyes were hollow, her mind already broken.
Alexander walked up to me and handed me a black velvet box.
"Suitable for commemorating tonight's victory," he said.
I opened the box, inside was a black diamond ring, as deep as the night sky.
"This is the end, and also the beginning." Alexander put the ring on my finger, "The true heir of the Sinclair family has returned."
I watched as Clara was carried away, feeling a complex emotion. Within the satisfaction of revenge, there was a hint of emptiness.
That night, the master bedroom of the Sinclair mansion welcomed its true owner for the first time. I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the white roses swaying in the moonlight in the garden.
"White roses," I murmured, "symbols of death and rebirth."
Alexander embraced me from behind: "Also the beginning of a new life."
I leaned against his chest, feeling his heartbeat. Although Clara's madness was within my expectations, seeing her breakdown did not give me the satisfaction I had imagined. Perhaps revenge itself cannot bring true happiness, but is merely a necessary conclusion.
"Howard Medical's stock price dropped 12% today," Alexander's voice sounded in my ear, "Ethan has begun to feel the pressure."
I turned gently, facing Alexander: "His board has an emergency meeting next Tuesday. From what I know, three major shareholders have already lost confidence in him." A cold smile appeared on my lips, "Ethan always thought he was invincible, not knowing that I've anticipated his every move."
"How do you plan to close the net?" Alexander's eyes sparkled with admiration.
I walked to the desk and opened an encrypted folder: "I have obtained all his secret communications with Clara, as well as evidence of their conspiracy to steal my research results." My fingers gently slid across the screen, "More interestingly, I discovered that he has been misappropriating company funds for high-risk investments, with losses exceeding 200 million."
Alexander raised an eyebrow: "Enough to ruin his reputation completely."
"Not just that," I closed the laptop, my gaze turning sharp, "I want him to sign a confession with his own hand, admitting how he betrayed and framed me. Let him understand that he has not only lost everything but will also live in shame forever."
Alexander poured two glasses of wine, handing one to me: "You always see ten steps ahead. That's why I admire you."
I took the glass and clinked it lightly against his: "Ethan will soon understand that betraying me was the biggest mistake of his life."
