Chapter 9 After Camilla received the recording, Leon's personal villa was trashed on that very day itself. However, that was not the extent of her rage. A few days later, I was driving alone to the research lab when a runaway truck emerged from a side street and came barreling straight at my car. In the nick of time, two black SUVS shot out from the sides. One collided perfectly with the truck's front end, pushing it off course, while the other positioned itself behind my car, shielding it. My bodyguard's crisp voice came through the earpiece. "Are you alright, Mrs. Marra?" Pressing my hand against my racing heart, I looked at the truck driver. The bodyguards had seized him and were keeping him subdued on the side of the road. True enough, he was a hardened criminal whom Camilla had hired. "Send him to the police station." Lorenzo's icy voice came through the phone. "Deal with Camilla as well." "Hang on!" I said into the earpiece as I stared into the distance, watching as Camilla's car sped off in a hurry. "Now's not the time yet." I wanted her to be utterly humiliated and ensure that her fall from grace was a public spectacle. A month later, at the Global Elite Arms Summit, Camilla was on stage in an off-season gown. With a forced smile, she introduced her "new creation" to everyone. "This improved formula will revolutionize traditional explosives-" Her voice cut off abruptly. The giant screen behind her flickered to life. It started playing a high-definition surveillance recording of me, working late into the night as I modified my design schematics. Then, it showed how Camilla had snuck in and stolen the design schematics from my drawer. "What is this? Turn it off! Now!" Camilla screamed as she charged toward the tech operator. Meanwhile, the screen rolled through a collection of my design revisions throughout the last ten years, every page denoted with precise timestamps down to the second. Finally, a set of reports from leading weapons experts appeared, confirming that the "new design" Camilla was presenting was basically an exact match of the notes I'd made when I was 15. The audience erupted while I calmly walked up the stage. 1/3 Chapter 9 "Ladies and gentlemen, I'm Elena Marra," I said. Immediately, the crowd fell silent. +25 BUnus "What you just saw was only the tip of the iceberg. Camilla Cassano, the 'creation' that you just introduced as yours, and all of your previously awarded works, actually belong to me." I pointed at the screen, which displayed irrefutable evidence that backed me up. Camilla shrieked hysterically, "That's enough! Why won't you leave me alone? Mom and Dad made me do it! They said our family needed a dazzling genius!" The cameras instantly swung toward my parents, who were sitting in the audience, their faces pale. Without looking at them, I said, "For years, I've wondered how someone can steal another person's hard work without feeling even the slightest prick of a guilty conscience." My tone was light and tinged with acceptance as I continued, "I get it now. It's because others make it easy for them." I paused on purpose, glancing over at my parents' trembling figures. "For example, a mother who blames her daughter for the difficult childbirth, or a father who thrives off the flattery of others. Or even..." Looking at Leon next, I added, "Or even a fiance who, despite knowing the truth, chooses to turn a blind eye to it for the sake of personal gain." Leon looked up at me, regret in his eyes. "Elena..." Without giving him a chance to finish, I turned around and walked off the stage. My parents caught up to me in a corridor in the backstage area. "Elena!" Dad cried out frantically. "We didn't know Camilla would go this far..." I stopped walking, but I didn't turn around. "If you're here to plead on Camilla's behalf, you can save it." At that moment, a commotion came from the front hall. Through the door crack, I saw a police squad entering. "Camilla Cassono, you're under suspicion for commissioning an attempted murder," the lead police officer said while showing the warrant. "You need to come with us." Camilla's desperate shrieks echoed in the hall. "I didn't do it! That bitch set me up!" The police officer calmly pulled out a tablet. "On the 16th of last month, you transferred 50 thousand dollars to an underground hitman organization. The target was your younger sister, Elena Marra." The screen showed the bank transactions and call logs. "We have concrete evidence of your criminal activities." Dad staggered backward, while Mom clutched her chest in anguish. At last, it finally occurred to them that their toxic parenting style had led to severe consequences. 2/3 Chapter 9 +25 Bonus Lorenzo walked up to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. Smirking at Camilla, I said, "I'm afraid we won't be able to see each other again, my dear sister." As Camilla was hauled off kicking and screaming, the clients who'd paid for the goods without receiving anything immediately ambushed my parents and Leon. The once-mighty Cassano family had completely fallen apart. Three months later, my parents, disheveled and destitute, appeared at the gates of the Marra estate. "Elena," Mom said hoarsely. "We have nowhere else to go." Dad's back was hunched, all of his pride and arrogance no longer to be found. "On account of us being related by blood, please take us in." I signaled the butler to give them a bag of gold coins. "I wasn't just speaking out of anger when I said I no longer have anything to do with you." My parents stared at the bag of gold coins in shock. They didn't reach out to take it. "We're not here for money!" Mom abruptly burst into tears. "We came to apologize!" Without answering, I walked back into the estate, the heavy iron gates closing slowly behind me. They didn't pick up the bag of gold coins. Supporting each other, they stumbled away around the corner, disappearing from view. Many years later, I completed my revolutionary research on explosive stability at my research lab, and the results I found reshaped the global weapons industry. When I came out of the conference hall, I saw a familiar black sedan parked by the side of the road. The door opened, and Lorenzo came out holding a little girl. Beside him was a handsome little boy whose eyes were a mirror image of his. "Mommy!" the little girl shouted as she opened her arms wide to dive into my embrace. "Daddy said he's taking us to eat your favorite ice cream!" Smiling, Lorenzo wrapped an arm around my waist and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "You've done well, my genius wife." In the sunlight, his gaze was softer than it'd been on the day we first met. I basked in the bliss of my current life, the nightmares of my previous life having long faded away. As for the past, it would remain buried where it belonged. The End. Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!