The engagement banquet hall glittered with opulence, crystal chandeliers refracting dazzling light.

Adrian Sullivan escorted Isabella Valentine table by table to toast the guests. Isabella wore a haute couture gown, her face adorned with a practiced smile that froze when passing Sophia Laurent's table.

Sophia was sampling dessert, the blue diamond on her ring finger shimmering under the lights.

"Ms. Laurent, you're absolutely radiant today," Isabella paused, her voice saccharine. "One might mistake this for your engagement party."

Sophia lifted her gaze, lips curving. "Your engagement is a joyous occasion. Naturally, I dressed accordingly."

Their eyes locked like crossed blades, tension thickening the air.

Isabella's nails dug into her palms as she stared at the priceless ring. Turning to Ethan Sullivan with feigned innocence, she asked, "Ethan, didn't you divorce? This ring—"

"An engagement ring," Ethan interrupted, his gaze tender on Sophia. "Soon to be a wedding band."

Isabella's smile stiffened.

Adrian tugged her arm impatiently. "We should move to the next table."

Suddenly, the banquet hall's screens flickered to a breaking news segment. A haggard middle-aged man shouted hoarsely:

"I'm Dominic Durand, Sophia Laurent's biological father! That heartless creature abandoned her own flesh and blood!"

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

Isabella's eyes gleamed as she theatrically covered her mouth. "Good heavens, Sophia, is that really you on TV?"

All eyes swiveled toward Sophia.

Ethan stood immediately, commanding his assistant coldly, "Handle this."

Sophia stayed his hand, rising gracefully. She surveyed the room, her voice clear. "Ladies and gentlemen, that man is indeed my biological father. But twenty years ago, he abandoned his wife and child. Now he remembers me only because of gambling debts."

Turning toward the screen, her gaze turned razor-sharp. "Mr. Durand, shall I display your casino IOUs publicly?"

The man onscreen visibly panicked before the feed cut abruptly.

An eerie silence blanketed the hall.

Isabella opened her mouth to speak but was forcibly dragged away by Adrian. Paradoxically, the guests' expressions now held newfound respect for Sophia.

Ethan sat back down, gripping Sophia's hand beneath the table.

"It's nothing," she reassured him with a smile, her eyes flicking toward Victor Sullivan at the head table. "Someone clearly wants to ruin our evening."

Victor was whispering darkly with Theodore Valentine, shooting frequent glances their way.

"Ignore him," Ethan said, placing deboned fish on Sophia's plate. "Try this."

They shared a quiet smile, deliberately oblivious to the undercurrents swirling around them.

Across the room, Isabella trembled with rage. Her venomous glare burned into Sophia.

"Stop staring," Adrian hissed. "You're embarrassing yourself."

Isabella whirled. "What did you say?"

Leaning close, he whispered icily, "You can't even outmaneuver a restorer. Pathetic."

The words stabbed like daggers. Her knuckles whitened around her champagne flute.

This engagement banquet was far from over.