Chapter 5

The award ceremony took place three days later.

Chloe and I sat in the front row as finalists. Robert and Ethan sat in the VIP section as sponsors. The bronze and silver awards were announced one by one.

With each name, Chloe grew more excited.

She was extremely confident.

When the silver list was finished and neither of our names had been called, the tension in the room reached its peak.

This meant the grand prize—the Gold Award—would be between her and me.

For us and the entire high-society circle, this was more than just a competition.

Robert had already made it clear to the public:

"Real or fake daughter? I only care about the strong."

"Whoever ranks higher in this competition will be the sole heir of the Sinclair family and marry into the Vance family. The other one will have nothing to do with us."

The spotlight danced between us.

Finally, it locked onto me.

"The Gold Award winner of this year's Design Competition is—Elena!"

Applause erupted like a tidal wave.

I stood up. I could feel Chloe's body go completely rigid beside me.

I walked onto the stage and took the heavy trophy from the presenter. Robert stood up, a proud smile on his face as he congratulated me. But then, a disbelief-filled whisper came from below the stage.

"Impossible... This is impossible..."

Chloe's face was white as a sheet.

She abruptly stood up, staring at Ethan in the VIP section, her eyes filled with shock and betrayal.

Ethan's reaction was complicated.

He seemed to have expected part of this, but another part clearly caught him off guard.

Robert ignored her outburst.

He ordered the security guards to keep an eye on Chloe so she wouldn't cause trouble.

Then, he took the microphone and addressed the media.

"Since Elena won the Gold Award, I officially announce that she is now the sole heir to our family empire!"

He paused and nodded toward Ethan in the VIP section.

"And we have a double celebration tonight."

"Taking this opportunity, I officially announce the betrothal of my daughter, Elena, to the heir of the Vance family, Ethan!"

But before Robert could finish, I stepped forward and gently covered his microphone.

*Screech—*

A harsh feedback noise rang through the speakers.

The applause stopped instantly. The entire hall went dead silent, everyone looking at me in confusion.

I met Robert's shocked gaze and spoke into the microphone.

"Father, you've got the wrong person."

I paused, my voice echoing clearly in every corner of the room.

"He isn't Ethan."

The air seemed to freeze.

I stared at the man whose pupils dilated in shock, and said slowly, "Evan, are you still not done playing pretend?"