This was their goal all along!
Hope died within Isabella. Her red, tear-filled eyes stared unwaveringly at her family as she asked, her voice choked with sobs, "If... if Serena were the one who lost... would you just stand by and watch her suffer this humiliation? Would you force her to honor the contract?"
"No."
Old Mr. Lancaster, who had been silent until now, spoke in a heavy tone.
That single word struck Isabella's heart like a bolt of lightning.
Her face went ashen with devastating, heart-wrenching pain.
The hand clutching Catherine's arm fell away, limp and defeated.
She staggered back two steps, a picture of misery.
Seeing her shattered and lost expression, Old Mr. Lancaster continued in that same heavy voice, "What I mean is... I trust Serena. She wouldn't lose."
Isabella's eyes widened in shock.
She snapped her head up.
She looked at the expressions on her family's faces.
It was only then that she finally understood.
Given how much they doted on Serena, if it had been a duel she was certain to lose,
they would have stepped in to stop it long ago.
How could they have possibly allowed the bet to proceed?
They knew all along...
Serena had this level of skill at the piano, this kind of ability.
That was why they let things escalate to this point.
They knew... Serena had the power to utterly crush her.
Yet they allowed Karen to provoke Serena and propose the bet.
They watched coldly as she made a fool of herself, like a performing clown.
They watched coldly as she walked step by step into a pit of her own digging, with no way to climb out.
They weren't even trying to hide it anymore, not even bothering with a pretense. They were openly defending Serena, right in front of her.
In their hearts, they no longer saw her as their granddaughter, daughter, or sister!
That was why they could hurt her so carelessly.
In that moment, Isabella truly felt
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alone and helpless. The whole world had betrayed her. No one loved her, and no one would help her
All hope was lost.
Everything she had ever relied on crumbled in an instant.
Everyone was helping Serena. Everyone was on Serena's side.
In the end, under the weight of countless stares, under Nicholas's icy gaze, and with the Lancaster family's silent consent, Karen and Isabella once Vaelion City's most glamorous pair of socialites-Sank
Their faces were as white as sheets.
Overwhelmed with humiliation, they slowly sank to their knees in front of everyone. Publicly, they apologized to Serena.
It was a picture of absolute humiliation, every word of their apology tasting like ash in their mouths.
Hailey and the other two socialites were completely stunned by the scene unfolding before them.
They were so terrified they were shaking uncontrollably.
They never could have imagined things would escalate to this!
Serena actually possessed such breathtaking skill at the piano. In a top-tier event like this, she had
managed to conquer the entire
audience with her playing.
Even the vice president of the International Music Association had been won over by Serena!
And now, the eldest daughter of the Blackwood family and the eldest daughter of the Lancaster family...
These were two of the most prominent figures in Vaelion City's socialite circle.
And now, both of them had been forced by Serena alone...
Forced to kneel and apologize in public!
Was she really just some girl from the countryside?