Chapter 463

The slap echoed through the room.

Cassandra's cheek burned as she clutched her face, shrinking back into the sofa. The sting was nothing compared to the humiliation boiling inside her.

Penelope's eyes blazed with fury. "I didn't raise you to be this reckless! Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Cassandra bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

"You let Victoria play you like a fool!" Penelope hissed. "If I hadn't intervened, your grandfather and father would have disowned you after that disaster at the birthday gala!"

"I'm Father's favorite," Cassandra muttered defiantly. "He would never—"

Crack!

Another slap silenced her.

Penelope's voice turned icy. "You think favoritism will save you? Look at yourself—outsmarted by Evelyn, manipulated by Victoria, and now publicly humiliated. Even Eleanor would have handled this better!"

The comparison to her autistic sister was the final blow.

Tears of rage blurred Cassandra's vision as Penelope dragged her toward the Montgomery estate. The whispers started the moment they stepped through the gates.

"Is that Cassandra Blackwood? The one from the viral scandal?"

"Did Julian Montgomery get her pregnant?"

"Please, Julian has standards. That girl's reputation is in ruins."

Each word was a knife twisting in Cassandra's chest.

"Where is Eleanor Montgomery?" Penelope demanded, shoving past the butler. "Her daughter destroyed mine! She doesn't get to hide!"

The butler blocked their path. "Mrs. Montgomery isn't receiving visitors—"

"Lies!" Penelope's shriek echoed through the marble foyer. "Isabelle set my daughter up with counterfeit jewelry and forged her signature! This isn't over!"

A cold voice cut through the chaos.

"Penelope."

Eleanor Montgomery descended the grand staircase, Isabelle clinging to her arm. Dressed in couture silk, every inch the aristocratic matriarch, she made Penelope's fury look cheap.

Cassandra's stomach dropped.

Isabelle's wide, innocent eyes only fueled Penelope's rage. "Your precious daughter framed Cassandra! That Alexa jewelry was fake, and she made sure Cassandra took the blame!"

Eleanor's smile didn't reach her eyes. "My daughter doesn't need to frame anyone. The truth always comes out."

She glanced at Cassandra's tear-streaked face, then added softly, "Though I suppose some people never learn."

The words hung in the air like a guillotine.