Chapter 4

Gary quickly ran onto the stage with a flash drive and plugged it into the laptop.

The massive screen in the ballroom lit up.

The first photo was a close-up of a faded, yellowed picture. On five-year-old Charlotte’s inner forearm, there was a distinct pink birthmark. I walked over to the fake Charlotte, grabbed her arm, and turned it over to reveal her completely flawless, smooth skin.

"Charlotte, where is your birthmark?"

Her expression turned grim, but she didn't lose her cool. She yanked her arm out of my grip and gestured to a nearby waiter to bring over her purse.

She calmly pulled out a folder of documents and held them up for everyone to see. Tears welled in her eyes as she spoke with a perfect mix of lingering fear.

"When I was fifteen, shortly after I moved to London for boarding school, I was in a terrible car accident."

"My arm was severely scraped, and the birthmark was completely destroyed by the scars. Here are the medical records from the hospital and my annual check-ups. See for yourselves!"

The waiter quickly projected the documents onto the big screen.

Julian stared at the detailed medical reports, fell silent, and handed her a clean handkerchief.

Not bad. She managed to survive the first round.

I tilted my chin up, gesturing to Gary to show the next slide.

It was a postcard Charlotte had allegedly sent to Julian last year, with a simple greeting written on the back.

"Charlotte, surely you haven't forgotten your own handwriting in just a year, right?"

"Why don't you write a few words right now so we can compare?"

Gary handed her a pen and a piece of paper right on cue.

Charlotte took a deep breath, hesitated for a second, and actually began to write.

A moment later, Gary projected her writing onto the screen. To my surprise, the two handwritings—from the pressure of the pen to the spacing of the letters—were virtually identical!

Julian stared intently at the handwriting. He staggered forward a step, his eyes filling with tears of joy, and murmured under his breath, "Charlotte... it really is you..."

Seeing his reaction, Charlotte felt a surge of relief. She turned to me, chin held high, her voice dripping with smug arrogance.

"See, Charlie? Even Julian recognizes it! What do you have to say now?"

"Where's your next slide? Is that all you've got?"

The guests in the hall held their breath, waiting for my next move. But I remained perfectly still, just watching her quietly.

Thinking I had run out of tricks, Charlotte raised her voice triumphantly. "Fine! Since you have no real proof, let's look at mine!"

She snatched another document from her bag and practically threw it at Gary.

"Go ahead, project it!" she snapped. "Let everyone see the truth!"

"All your suspicions are nothing but baseless jealousy. What I have here is hard, scientific proof!"

Gary shot me a questioning glance, and I gave him a subtle nod.

The screen lit up once more.

This time, it was a DNA paternity test!

Everyone leaned in, their eyes scanning the page. The key conclusion was highlighted in red:

[The biological relationship between the tested father, Arthur Vance, and the tested daughter, Charlotte Vance, is confirmed to be 99.9%.]

"Do you see that? I knew you'd try to pull something like this, so I visited Dad in the hospital before coming here and got a DNA test done. It's black and white. I am his biological daughter."

"If I'm not Charlotte, then who is?"

"Is it you?"

Charlotte’s shrieking voice echoed through the grand hall.

Indeed, the situation seemed to have hit a dead end.

Julian lunged forward, quickly flipping through the original hard copy of the report. When he looked up, his eyes were filled with immense guilt and tender affection for Charlotte.

"Charlotte, I'm so sorry. I let you down."

He shielded her behind him and threw the report violently at my feet.

"Charlie, I was blind. I can't believe I called a malicious, scheming snake like you my best friend for ten years! I won't let you drag Charlotte's name through the mud ever again!"

Julian took a deep breath, his eyes cold with pure disappointment. "As of today, we are done! Our friendship is dead!"

"If you touch her or try to hurt her again, I will make you pay!"

With Julian turning against me, the guests believed her completely. Cruel whispers began to circulate like venomous snakes.

"The DNA test is right there. Charlie has nothing to say now. What a monster, trying to frame his own sister!"

"Didn't you hear Charlotte? He's a sick creep. No wonder he's been clinging to Julian since they were kids. A closeted freak trying to steal his sister's man? Disgusting."

"How shameless! Trying to steal his own brother-in-law. Does he even deserve to run the Vance Group?"

...

Seeing me completely cornered, Charlotte lost all her panic. She flashed me a cruel, mockingly innocent smile.

"Charlie, aren't you going to get down on your knees and beg for my forgiveness?"

"Don't worry. I know about the family rule—only a son inherits the empire. If you bow low enough, I might be generous enough to let you stay in the Vance Group."

A dead silence fell over the room. Everyone was waiting to watch my downfall.

But I completely ignored Charlotte’s taunts and didn't even spare Julian a glance. I simply raised a hand to my assistant.

"Do you know why I was absolutely certain you were a fake the very first second I saw you?"

I paused, letting my question echo in the quiet room.

Then, with absolute composure, I pulled a thin card from my inner suit pocket. At that exact moment, a new image flashed on the massive screen—a high-resolution government-issued ID card with sensitive numbers blacked out.

On the right side was my photo. But the information on the left sent a shockwave through the entire crowd:

Name: Charlotte Vance.

Sex: Female.

Gasps of pure shock erupted across the ballroom!

I slowly swept my eyes over every stunned face in the room before finally landing on the trembling imposter. With a mocking smile, I said,

"Because you got it wrong from the very beginning. I never had a sister recovering in a private clinic overseas."

"I am Charlotte Vance!"

**Chapter Five**