Chapter 2

The next day, the Chen household was a storm of silent fury. My stepmother, Eleanor, refused to even look at me, her lips pressed into a thin, disapproving line. My stepfather, Richard, had demanded an explanation, which I refused to give. I simply repeated that the engagement to Liam was off, a final decision. The air was thick with unspoken accusations. Chloe, for her part, was a master of her craft, drifting around the house with a sad, worried expression, occasionally casting a "sympathetic" glance my way that was meant to look like pity but felt like a victory lap.

They thought they could control me with disapproval and confinement. They were wrong. I spent the morning locked in my room, not in despair, but in planning. I used the old desktop computer in my room to research. I looked up Ethan Stone, the venture capitalist from my memories. He was still relatively unknown, but I remembered he was on the cusp of making several key investments that would launch his career into the stratosphere. I found his firm' s contact information and composed a careful, professional email, hinting at a "time-sensitive and highly profitable" tech opportunity. I didn't expect an immediate reply, but I had planted a seed.

My chance to counterattack came sooner than I expected. Eleanor informed me, through gritted teeth, that we were all attending a charity luncheon that afternoon. It was a major social event, and our family' s absence would cause more gossip than my presence. "You will behave yourself, Ava," she had warned, her voice low and menacing. "You will smile, and you will apologize to Liam's mother if you see her. You will fix the mess you made."

I just nodded, a picture of meek compliance. Inside, I was ready for war.

The luncheon was held in a lavish hotel ballroom. The clinking of silverware and the low hum of polite conversation filled the air. I saw the Hayes family seated at a prominent table, Liam looking sullen and his mother radiating cold fury. I felt Chloe' s eyes on me from across the room. She wouldn't let last night's failure stand. She would try again, here, in public.

I just had to wait for it.

I excused myself from my family's table under the pretense of getting some fresh air on the adjoining terrace. I found a quiet spot and called the number I had given Lily. She answered on the first ring, her voice hesitant.

"Miss Chen?"

"Lily, it's Ava," I said, keeping my voice low. "I need a favor. It' s important. I need you to tell anyone who asks that you and I were in a meeting this morning from 9 AM to 11 AM, in the public library downtown, discussing your project. Can you do that for me?"

There was a pause. "A meeting? But we weren't..."

"I know," I interrupted gently. "But I need you to say we were. I'm about to be accused of something I didn't do, and I need an alibi. This is the first step in our partnership. Trust me."

I could hear her take a deep breath. "Okay, Miss Chen. 9 to 11 AM. Public library. I'll remember."

"Thank you, Lily," I said, a wave of relief washing over me. "I won't forget this."

I hung up just as I saw Chloe approaching me, her faithful friend, a girl named Sarah, trailing behind her. Chloe's expression was one of grave concern. The performance was about to begin.

"Ava, there you are," she said, her voice dripping with false sympathy. "We were all so worried. Listen, something terrible has happened."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is it?"

"Mrs. Sterling's diamond bracelet," Chloe said, gesturing toward a table where a wealthy older woman was in a frantic discussion with the hotel staff. "It's gone. She said she had it on just an hour ago."

Just then, Sarah stepped forward. "Ava, I don't want to say anything, but... I saw you. Near Mrs. Sterling's table. You were acting so strangely."

My moment had arrived. I knew the plan instantly: they had likely paid a staff member to plant the bracelet in my purse. They would "reluctantly" suggest a search, and I would be publicly humiliated as a thief. It was a classic, vicious move.

"Is that so, Sarah?" I asked, my voice calm.

Chloe put a hand on my arm. "Ava, just tell us the truth. If you took it by mistake, we can handle this quietly. No one else has to know."

Her offer of "help" was the bait. If I got defensive, I'd look guilty. If I accepted, I'd be admitting fault.

"There's nothing to tell," I said plainly. "I didn't take any bracelet."

As if on cue, my stepmother, Eleanor, arrived with Liam's mother, both of them looking severe. The circle was closing in.

"Ava, what is this I hear?" Eleanor demanded. "First the scene last night, and now this?"

"Chloe seems to think I've stolen a bracelet," I said, loud enough for the people at nearby tables to hear. The conversations around us began to quiet down.

"No one is accusing you of anything, dear," Chloe said quickly, "but Sarah saw you, and we just want to clear this up." She then turned to the hotel manager who had joined the group. "Perhaps, to clear my sister's name, you could just check her purse. I'm sure it's all a misunderstanding."

The manager looked uncomfortable, but the pressure from several high-profile guests was mounting. "Miss Chen, if you wouldn't mind..."

"I don't mind at all," I said, holding out my small clutch.

But before he could take it, a man's voice cut through the tension.

"That won't be necessary."

We all turned. Ethan Stone was walking toward us. He was exactly as I remembered from business journals-charismatic, with sharp, intelligent eyes and an air of calm authority. He had received my email.

"Mr. Stone," my stepmother breathed, her eyes wide with surprise. The mood of the group shifted instantly. Ethan Stone was a name that commanded respect.

Ethan stopped beside me and gave me a polite nod before addressing the group. "I'm afraid there has been a mistake. Miss Chen couldn't have been anywhere near Mrs. Sterling's table an hour ago."

Chloe's face paled. "What do you mean, Mr. Stone?"

"I mean," he said, his voice firm and clear, "that Miss Chen was with me. We had a business meeting that ran late. She only just arrived here."

A collective gasp went through the onlookers. My alibi was far more powerful than a quiet meeting with a tech prodigy. A public meeting with Ethan Stone was unshakeable.

Chloe was stunned into silence. This was not part of her plan. She quickly looked at the person she must have paid, a young waitress who was standing nervously nearby. "But... this waitress, she told me she saw Ava."

All eyes turned to the waitress. The young woman looked terrified, caught in the crossfire. She stared at Chloe, then at me, then at the imposing figure of Ethan Stone. Her nerve broke.

"No! That' s not what happened!" the waitress blurted out, her voice trembling. "Miss Davis... she... she paid me! She gave me a bracelet and told me to slip it into Miss Ava's purse when no one was looking. She told me what to say!"

The revelation dropped like a bomb in the silent ballroom. Every eye was now fixed on Chloe, whose face had turned a ghastly shade of white. Her carefully constructed image of a sweet, innocent girl shattered into a million pieces.

"That's a lie!" Chloe stammered, looking wildly at our mother for support. "She's lying! Ava, tell them!"

But I just looked at her, my expression cold. "Why would she lie, Chloe? You were the one so certain I was a thief."

Liam, who had been watching the scene unfold with a mixture of anger and confusion, was now cornered. His mother was looking at him, her expression demanding he do something to distance their family from this unfolding disaster. The scandal Chloe had designed for me had just exploded in her own face.

Liam stepped forward, his face a tight mask of disgust. He looked at Chloe, then at the stunned crowd. "I don't know what kind of sick games Chloe is playing," he announced, his voice ringing with false sincerity, "but Ava would never do something like this. My family and I will not be associated with such malicious slander."

He had just publicly defended me to save himself, throwing Chloe under the bus without a second thought. It was a beautiful, ironic moment of poetic justice.

Chloe looked completely broken, tears finally streaming down her face as the whispers around the room grew louder. Her engagement to the senator's son, her social standing, her entire future-it was all crumbling around her. As the hotel security escorted the crying waitress away for a formal statement, my stepmother grabbed Chloe's arm and practically dragged her out of the ballroom, their faces a portrait of public shame. My work here was done. The trap had not only failed; it had backfired spectacularly.

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