Carter Family Mansion, Living Room.
"Grandma, it's getting late. I need to take dinner to my parents at the hospital," Toria said, trying to find an excuse to leave after being forcibly brought to the Carter Family mansion.
Mrs. Carter, with a kind and gentle smile, replied, "I've already had your parents moved to our private Carter Family hospital. They are being well taken care of, so you don't need to worry."
Upon hearing this,Toria's eyebrows furrowed, and she abruptly stood up, questioning, "Grandma, did you move my parents without my permission to use them as leverage against me?"
"Oh, dear girl, what are you thinking?" Mrs. Carter chuckled instead of getting angry.
"You could say this was fate, bringing you and my grandson together. You know, that rascal of a grandson of mine isn't getting any younger, and he's never had a woman by his side.
So, I had to take matters into my own hands and drug him. The plan was to set him up with the young lady from the Hayes family, but by some twist of fate, it ended up being you. Luckily, you're a good girl, too.
Listening to Mrs. Carter, Toria Kingsley finally understood why Leo Carter had been drugged. It all made sense now. She and that bastard must have been tied together by some awful, cursed fate from a past life!
"I..."
Just as Toria was about to say something, an elderly butler with silver hair entered the room.
"Madam, the Young Master has arrived." "Tell that rascal to get in here," Mrs. Carter commanded.
"Yes, Madam," the butler replied before turning and leaving the room.
Soon after, Leo, dressed in a sleek silver-gray suit, walked in.
His gaze first landed on Toria before shifting to Mrs. Carter.
"Grandma," he greeted.
"Finally decided to come back, did you?" Mrs. Carter remarked sarcastically, then pointed towards Toria.
"Just in time, let me introduce you to someone..."
Before she could finish, LeoCarter interrupted, "Grandma, no rush.
Let me introduce you to my girlfriend first."
"Girlfriend?" Mrs. Carter was taken aback, clearly surprised.
Toria was even more shocked, feeling a deep sense of injustice. If only Mrs. Carter knew more about her own grandson, she wouldn't have lost her dignity!
"Come in," Leo Carter called out to the person outside the door. All eyes turned towards the entrance, and soon, a woman in a sky-blue, cinched-waist pleated dress walked in, her high heels clicking against the floor as she kept her head down.
Her figure seemed so familiar.
"This is my girlfriend, Chloe Turner," Leo introduced her to Mrs Carter.
Hearing the name "Chloe Turner", Toria's mind went blank, and she stood there in a daze.
As Toria stared at Chloe, she lifted her head to meet Toria's gaze.
The two sisters locked eyes, unable to hide the surprise in their pupils, both harboring the same confusion in their hearts.
Why is she here?
How did she end up here?
"Isn't this Chloe, the talented and beautiful daughter of the Turner Family from New Orleans?
What trick did you use to convince her to pretend to be your girlfriend this time?" Mrs Carter hit the nail on the head with her sharp observation.
"Hello, Grandma Carter," Chloe greeted politely.
"A week ago, I was in a car accident, and Chloe saved me. When she pulled me out of the car, I gave her the Carter Family's heirloom ring. Grandma, you know what that ring signifies,"
Leo explained, raising his left hand to show the ring on his finger.
Tori glanced at the black diamond ring and suddenly remembered.
No wonder she had found a ring in her pocket after saving him that day. It turned out Leo had slipped it in her pocket when he was rescued.
But the next day, after Chloe showed up, the ring had vanished.
Toria had wondered where it had gone. Now it seemed clear that Chloe had known the ring's true owner was Leo and had taken it!
Toria stood up, "That ring is—"
"Toria, what are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you," Chloe interrupted quickly, masking her shock. She swiftly grabbed Leo's wrist and cut Toria off, saying,
"Toria, he's the one I told you about, the one I 'risked my life' to save."
"Leo, this is Victoria and," Chloe introduced with a seemingly innocent smile "I met her while I was working as a delivery driver to experience life."
Her shameless lies made Toria feel utterly disgusted. For a moment, Toria wanted to tear off Chloe's hypocritical mask, but she held back after some thought.
The only proof that Toria had saved Leo was was the ring, her name left at the hospital, and the surveillance footage.
But since Chloe had managed to steal the ring and deceive Leo, she must have already checked the surveillance footage and covered all her tracks. The Turner family likely destroyed the footage as well.
If Toria accused Chloe now, she would have no evidence to back her claim, and it would only cause more trouble for herself. It was better to wait and see how things unfolded.
"Is that so?"Leo's sharp eyes scrutinized Toria, his gaze growing deeper and more intense.
"Toria, what a coincidence! I didn't expect to see you here. Do you know Leo too?" Chloe asked, her voice dripping with false sweetness.
Chloe remembered Leo mentioning that his grandmother had arranged a marriage for him. Could Tori be the one? But how could she know anyone from the Carter family?
Chloe's heart was filled with unease.
Toria couldn't be bothered to deal with Chloe's drama. Instead, she turned to Mrs Carter and said, "Grandma, Mr Carter already has a girlfriend. There's no reason for me to stay, so I'll be heading back."
She was testing Mrs Carter's attitude to plan her next move. Facing the powerful and ruthless Leo and the constant threats from the Turner family who would use her foster parents against her, Toria had to be extremely cautious.
As she turned to leave, Mrs Carter stood up and grabbed Toria's hand. "Don't be hasty, dear. Sit down for a moment."
She pulled Tori into a chair and then sternly addressed Leo, "You rascal, come with me!"
"Yes, Grandma," Leo replied, following Mrs. Carter into the inner room but not before casting a meaningful glance at Toria.
With a creak, the inner room door closed.
Unable to contain her anger any longer, Chloe rushed forward and hissed,
"Toria, you little bit—"
Smack, smack—
Before Chloe could finish the word,Toria's hand shot out, striking Chloe twice across the face.
"Besides crowning yourself 'Queen of the Slut-Shamers' every day, what else can you do? Oh, right, you can also steal credit and play the innocent little saint. Isn't that right, sister?"