Chapter 2
William strode into the banquet hall, hands in his pockets, flanked by two bodyguards in black suits.
The guests all greeted him as “Young Master Collins.”
William nodded in response, then walked over to us.
Melody immediately threw herself into his arms, her eyes brimming with tears and a wronged expression on her face. “William, I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault for bringing Chloe back from that nightclub in the first place.”
“That’s what caused her to make such a big scene now.”
William gently stroked the back of her head, his voice soft as he comforted her. “It’s alright. With me here, she can’t do anything.”
Then he turned to glare at me coldly, his face full of anger. “Chloe, I only allowed you, a mere singer, to stay in our home out of consideration for Melody.”
“I never expected that after living with us for a few years, you’d become so presumptuous as to try impersonating her and becoming the real Chloe Collins.”
William was the only son of my father’s younger brother. He had lost both parents at a young age.
In the past, he would often come to our house under the pretext of visiting my father, but in reality he was trying to use my father’s status and influence to gain a foothold for himself.
My father, out of consideration for his late brother, arranged for William to be a director in the company. He even allowed William to call him “Dad” just like I did.
Back then, William doted on me a lot, saying having such a beautiful sister was his greatest fortune in three lifetimes.
I never expected that after living in our home for ten years, William would turn against his own family and help Melody bully me!
With just a few sentences, my cousin William had confirmed my identity as a mere singer.
The crowd below immediately turned on me with vicious verbal attacks.
“Miss Collins is too kind-hearted. That’s why this singer was able to bully her.”
“Such an ungrateful wretch who doesn’t know her place. She should be locked up and left to rot in jail!”
Having regained the upper hand, Melody shot me a look of smug triumph.
I completely ignored her and turned to confront my biased cousin William. “Why are you the only one here? Where’s my dear stepmother? Is she too guilty to face me?”
“Mom said dealing with a singer like you doesn’t require her personal attention.”
I immediately took off the priceless jadeite necklace from around my neck and held it up high.
“This was a birthday gift my father gave me when I turned 8. He said only his daughter, the true Chloe Collins, was worthy of wearing it.”
“The 99 jadeite beads on this necklace came from a single piece of raw jadeite worth $50 million that my father specially bought at an international auction. He then commissioned John, a top French jewelry master, to carve my name onto each bead.”
“William, do you still dare claim I’m just a singer now?”
Hearing this, the crowd below all rushed forward, their eyes fixed greedily on the necklace in my hand.
“Mr. Collins did indeed announce publicly before that he gave this billion-dollar necklace to his daughter.”
“Strange. Why would Mrs. Collins and Young Master William let Melody take the place of the real Chloe Collins?”
Melody’s eyes filled with panic, cold sweat breaking out on her forehead.
She had never imagined I would have such a powerful trump card up my sleeve.
William’s face darkened as he reached out to grab the necklace. “Chloe, how dare you steal Melody’s things. Give it back to her immediately!”
His deliberate false accusation caused the crowd below to once again become unsure of who was telling the truth.
I dodged his grasp. William signaled with his eyes, and the two bodyguards rushed forward to pin me down, snatching away the necklace and handing it to him.
After receiving it, William personally put it around Melody’s neck, comforting her, “Sis, be more careful in the future. Don’t let this singer Chloe steal it again.”
Melody nodded lightly. “Thank you, William, for getting it back for me.”
She flashed me another smug smile.
“Chloe, I took you in out of kindness, but you repaid me by stealing the birthday gift Dad gave me and claiming it as your own. You really deserve to die. Grab her and put her hands on the table. I’m going to teach her a lesson she’ll never forget!”
The two bodyguards yanked me up and pressed my hands down on the table, leaving me unable to move.
Melody skillfully picked up a wine bottle and smashed it down hard on my hands.
Excruciating pain shot through me as bones shattered.
The back of my hand was instantly a bloody mess, the white tablecloth stained crimson in a horrifying sight.
I gritted my teeth and let out an anguished growl: “Dad will be here any minute. When he sees how you’ve hurt me, he’ll never let you off!”
In my previous life, when Melody stole my identity as the real Chloe Collins and had me killed, my father never showed up.
But this time, I had notified him in advance. He promised he would arrive at 10 pm sharp, just 5 minutes from now.
Seeing me in such a pitiful state, Melody leaned in close to whisper mockingly in my ear.
“Your dad is still overseas. How stupid are you to lie like this?”
“Besides, with Mom and William backing me, even if your dad found out, he might not dare do anything to me.”
Before she finished speaking, a furious bellow suddenly rang out.
“Outrageous! Who gave you such audacity?”