Chapter 0003

Jenna rushed over with jealousy burning in her eyes, clearly ready to hit me.

I managed to dodge her, and the anger festering within me for two lifetimes immediately erupted. "You claim to have written this novel, but you have no proof!"

That was when I opened my laptop. "I started writing this novel two years ago. I drafted an outline of the story arc and characters all in this laptop. The time stamp on the documents are clearly marked as well. This is—"

Slap!

Florence stormed over and slapped me hard across the face.

"This laptop belongs to your sister. All the words in there were the result of your sister's deep thoughts and hard work. It has nothing to do with you!"

I was seeing stars from the slap. I fought to hold back my fury. "My cell has a record of my laptop purchase. It is proof that it belongs to me!"

Jenna's eyes widened in disbelief. "Were you planning to steal my ideas when you bought this laptop for me on my birthday?"

"She's your sister! How could you scheme such a thing against her?! I'll kill you, you wretch!"

Florence charged at me like a madwoman, her fists flying, as if I had indeed committed the crime she accused me of.

Even my fiancé, Shaun Reeves, was there. Impatiently, he tried to talk me out of it.

"Sienna, why don't you just admit that you plagiarized Jenna's story? Be straight with this and admit what you did. I'll still marry you on account of our time together."

The crowd had their phones pointed at me, recording everything.

No one questioned whether my family or fiancé were framing me.

"Apologize!"

"You're a thief! Apologize!"

Demand after demand rang out, each more hostile than the last. Malice filled the air, all of it directed at me.

Tyler gave me a sympathetic look, then addressed the crowd. "Please, calm down, everyone. As the editor-in-chief, I promise you'll get an explanation."

He glanced at me, a warning clear in his eyes. "Sienna Lane, we're family. Jenna has agreed not to call the police. You should apologize to her in front of all the fans and tell them Jenna is the real author of this book. You should do what's best for everyone!"

I hated this hypocritical side of him.

I was about to say something when someone else spoke up. "Sienna wrote this wonderful piece of work. I watched her work on it with my own eyes. When did it become plagiarism?"

An intimidating elderly man in a suit appeared by my side. His appearance caused a huge commotion among the crowd.

This man was Elijah Hale, a Nobel Prize winner in Literature. He was also my friend despite our age gap. He was well-respected internationally in the literature field.

I looked at him with tears brimming in my eyes. "Thank you for standing by me, Grandpa Elijah."

"This isn't really help. The truth is the truth, and no one can malign you with me around!"

Elijah patted my shoulder sadly.

The crowd shifted. No one dared question Elijah, and they quickly turned on my family and fiancé.

"How could you frame your sister like that?"

"Shameless!"

"Despicable!"

Tyler looked utterly pale. "Mr. Hale, I—"

Irritated, Elijah cut him off, "You twisted the facts and framed a new author. How can someone like you be an editor-in-chief? Despicable men like you shouldn't be in this field."

Jenna was going frantic. She sobbed and said, "Mr. Hale, even if you are a literature titan, you don't have the right to poke your nose into another family's business."

However, Elijah wasn't having it. "I see now that any Tom, Dick, and Harry has the nerve to doubt me. A fake, hypocritical, vicious woman like you wouldn't be able to write such great work even if you lived ten lifetimes!"

Shaun and my family rushed to defend Jenna, but Elijah rolled his eyes.

"Who are you to waste my time? I've already called the police on Sienna's behalf. You can explain yourselves to them."

The police arrived shortly after and took everyone to the station.

Florence, Jenna, and Tyler were detained for twenty days for fabricating lies and slandering me, as well as for assaulting me. They were each fined a thousand dollars.

As soon as we left the station, Shaun pointed a finger at me and yelled.

"Your sister is in poor health! Can you live with yourself if something happens to her while she's detained? You—"

Splash!

I flung the contents of a water bottle at his face and then smashed the empty bottle on his head. It wasn't enough to ease my anger.

In my previous life, he had forced me into a divorce and even hired thugs to harass me.

How dare he come after me like this when I hadn't even sought revenge?

Shaun stood there, dripping wet, wiping his face furiously. "Are you insane?!"

I clenched my teeth. "You can't even handle a splash of water. Imagine being beaten and screamed at every day, having your blood taken constantly. People like you, who criticize without understanding, are the worst!"

"Sienna Lane!"

"Stop shouting—I'm not deaf!"

Shaun took a deep breath, trying to rein in his temper.

"Your family didn't commit any serious crime. It was a minor mistake. There's no need to be so petty. I don't want a wife who's heartless and vindictive. Go in there and tell the police you're willing to settle this privately. If you do, we'll still get married as planned."

I stared at him coldly. "That's not necessary. Let's break up. You're not good enough for me!"