Sophia was desperately trying to defend herself again. "S–Samuel was just being kind! He was teaching me how to swim!"

Once more, nobody paid her any attention.

Then, the third photograph appeared on screen. It showed a dimly lit karaoke lounge where a clearly intoxicated Sophia was leaning intimately against Samuel. His hand was inexplicably beneath her blouse.

"I had too much to drink," Sophia stammered. "Samuel was just being a gentleman, taking care of me..."

Her explanations grew progressively weaker with each new image.

Then came the final photograph.

It was taken inside an opulent dressing room on Elise and Samuel's wedding day.

Samuel stood in his groom's tailcoat, pressing Sophia against his dressing table as they engaged in a passionate kiss.

Sophia's face instantly drained of color. Her jaw dropped open, but no sound emerged.

Elise glanced sideways at her stepsister, observing Sophia's complete unraveling. She looked on the verge of total collapse.

The conference room erupted into chaos as the lights came back on.

What a dramatic revelation!

Elise, who had been publicly vilified for weeks, was actually the innocent, self-sacrificing victim.

Meanwhile, Samuel—constantly praised as the epitome of gentlemanly behavior—was exposed as a despicable, contemptible man!

After recovering from their initial shock, the reporters began firing questions at Sophia.

"Sophia Mitchell! Was Samuel Mitchell really having an affair with you?!"

"Sophia Mitchell, how could you steal your own sister's husband? Don't you have any morals? Aren't you ashamed?!"

"No wonder you've been defending Samuel Mitchell all this time. You were his accomplice!"

One journalist laughed mockingly. "You had excuses for the first three photos. What about this last one? Are you going to claim you both slipped and your lips accidentally met his?"

Sophia couldn't withstand the sudden onslaught of questions.

"Argh!!!" She burst into frantic sobs, crying so violently she began choking and nearly blacked out.

The journalists showed no mercy.

"Please respond, Sophia Mitchell. Crying won't change anything."

"You should really learn from your sister, Sophia Mitchell. She remained calm and composed throughout her crisis, not crying like a child."

"Maybe you're just using typical mistress tactics since you're a mistress's daughter? Emotional manipulation with tears and drama?!"

As the reporters' contempt grew more palpable, they gave Sophia no quarter.

When she tried to stand and leave, Elise quickly grasped her wrist. "Sophia, this is your perfect opportunity. You can tell everyone about everything that happened between us."

Sophia glared at Elise with pure hatred—she never imagined Elise brought her to this press conference just to publicly humiliate her live on air!

This was utter humiliation, and Sophia had never experienced such public shame, even as a child!

Now the entire nation knew she was the other woman, that she and Samuel were partners in deception!

She couldn't bear being labeled this way. To everyone, she had always been innocent and noble!

Not only had she completely lost face... How could she possibly steal William from Elise now?!