Chapter 3

Sophia POV

Three days later, the Sterling family manor hosted a banquet.

I walked into the hall in a black dress, my expression cold. The hall was filled with laughter and conversation. My biological parents, Mr. and Mrs. Sterling, were gathered around Vivian, their faces full of affection.

"Vivian is really making something of herself. She'll definitely win first place at this International Perfume Competition!" Mrs. Sterling held Vivian's hand, smiling from ear to ear.

Vivian lowered her head with false modesty. "I just got lucky. Don't praise me. Sophia is the real genius perfumer. My entry 'First Snow' was actually inspired by her previous work."

"What kind of genius is she!" Mr. Sterling snorted coldly, glancing at me with disgust as I entered. "Always with that sour face, like someone owes her millions. Nothing like you, considerate and sensible. If she had even half your talent, I'd thank the heavens!"

I stood there, listening to my biological father's degradation, feeling nothing inside.

It had always been like this. Ever since Vivian was adopted, I became the Sterling family's unwanted child. No matter how hard I worked, how excellent I became, in their eyes I could never match a single word of Vivian's sweet talk.

Adrian came downstairs, naturally walking to my side, putting his arm around my shoulders, smoothing things over. "Mr. Sterling, Sophia hasn't been feeling well lately. Please don't scold her."

He turned to look at me, his eyes so tender they seemed ready to drip water. "Sophia, why so late? Your hands are freezing."

I calmly avoided his touch, walked to the sofa and sat down, looking directly at Vivian. "You said your competition entry is called 'First Snow'?"

I caught a flash of guilt in Vivian's eyes, but backed by Adrian's support, she forced herself to remain calm. "Yes, Sophia. Why?"

"Nothing." I coldly curved my lips. "Just thought the name sounded familiar. If I remember correctly, this is a top-secret formula I started conceptualizing six months ago and locked in my laboratory safe."

The moment I spoke, the hall fell silent.

Vivian's face paled, her eyes instantly reddening as she looked at Adrian with grievance. "Adrian, Sophia... how can she slander me like this? This is clearly a formula I stayed up several nights to create!"

Mrs. Sterling immediately stepped protectively in front of Vivian, pointing at me and cursing.

"Sophia, have you no shame! You can't write anything yourself because your inspiration's dried up, so you're jealous of Vivian? On what basis are you claiming Vivian's hard work as yours!"

"Whether it's mine or not, checking the lab surveillance and computer records will tell us." My tone was calm but each word hit hard.

Adrian frowned slightly, stepping forward to stand between Vivian and me. He pulled out a stack of printed documents from his pocket and handed them to Mr. Sterling.

"Mr. Sterling, these are Vivian's creative drafts and timestamped records. Three months ago, Vivian had already completed the initial draft of 'First Snow.' And the records in Sophia's lab were only created yesterday."

Adrian looked at me with pained, disappointed eyes. "I know you've been stressed lately, Sophia. But you can't steal Vivian's work just because you can't come up with your own formulas. And then blame her for it."

I looked at the forged evidence in his hands and laughed.

A cold, mocking laugh.

He didn't just steal my formula. He altered the timestamps and made me look like the thief.

Slap!

A resounding slap struck hard across my face.

Mr. Sterling trembled with rage, pointing at me and roaring. "You shameless thing! Apologize to Vivian right now!"

The blow made my head turn to the side, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of my mouth. I didn't cover my face or defend myself. I just looked at this group of people with the gaze one reserves for the dead.

"Fine, I'll apologize." I wiped the blood from my mouth, my voice cold as ice. "Vivian, I hope you win worldwide fame with my formula."

With that, I turned and strode out of Sterling Manor.

I didn't look back, but I knew that to them, the words of someone they considered mentally unstable and crazy wouldn't matter at all.