If Calin and Shin had once been in a relationship, perhaps people would have understood her resentment. Or if Shin had been a scumbag who fed her false promises about a future together only to abandon her for another woman, then perhaps the crowd would have sympathized with her anger.

But judging from how completely speechless Calin became after Shin’s questions, it was painfully obvious that none of that had ever happened.

They weren’t lovers.

They probably weren’t even friends.

At most, Calin had simply been someone standing within Shin Keir’s social circle, silently building castles in the air while mistaking her own expectations for mutual affection.

And now that illusion had been shattered in front of everyone.

The banquet hall grew increasingly quiet as the guests slowly pieced the situation together.

In the beginning, many had instinctively sided with Calin because her tears, desperation, and family circumstances sounded tragic. But once emotions settled, logic began creeping back into their minds.

Hearing Shin speak without the slightest reservation for her sake, Calin could no longer hold herself back.

"Why am I convinced we should’ve been engaged?" she screamed, her voice echoing across the banquet hall. "Why don’t you ask Elder Madam Keir?! For years, she kept calling me her future granddaughter-in-law! She told me countless times that she’d officially arrange our engagement and announce it during her last birthday banquet, but she couldn’t because Eleanor Keir, that lunatic, would’ve gone hysterical!"

Master Keir, who had remained silent among the crowd until now, frowned deeply.

Although the old matriarch was currently in a coma, there was no denying that she had indeed favored Calin back then.

"Yes, you never promised me anything," Calin continued emotionally, tears streaking down her face, "and yes, you never did anything to make me misunderstand. But isn’t it normal for families like ours to have engagements decided by elders? Back then, you never openly refused Elder Madam Keir’s intention of pairing us together!"

The guests, who had only just been swayed back toward Shin’s side, found their opinions tilting once again.

"Let me guess," Calin laughed bitterly, her voice trembling with resentment, "you couldn’t even be bothered to refuse because you, Shin Keir, never respected Elder Madam Keir in the first place! Along with your crazy stepmother, you hated their existence so much you couldn’t even stand breathing the same air as them!"

At this point, it was obvious Calin had already given up on making Shin love her.

But if she was going down, she refused to be painted as the only villain in the story.

"Calin, there’s something you don’t know."

Master Keir finally spoke. He sighed heavily before continuing, his tone calm yet authoritative.

"My mother was indeed fond of you, and it’s true that she once expressed interest in having you become her granddaughter-in-law. But that was merely her personal opinion. You are also correct that, in families like ours, elders often arrange suitable matches for the younger generation. However, the Keir family is different. As for Shin’s fiancée, that decision wasn’t made by my mother alone. It was unanimously agreed upon by the Keir clan elders."

The moment the words "Keir clan elders" were mentioned, murmurs immediately spread through the hall.

Among first-tier elites, everyone had heard whispers about the retired elders hidden away in an exclusive private community far from the public eye. Rumor claimed they stood behind every major decision within the Keir clan, including the selection of future heirs.

For all of them to approve Yeri, that was no casual matter.

It meant Shin had gone to extraordinary lengths to make the clan accept her.

At the side, Saeki casually added, "If I remember correctly, the one Elder Madam Keir originally tried to match you with was Tristan- "

"Yes, but that was after Brother Shin refused!" Calin shouted instinctively, cutting him off.

The moment the words left her mouth, she realized too late that she had slipped up.

"What?" one guest blurted out immediately. "So it didn’t matter who she got engaged to as long as it was a Keir?"

Another guest quickly connected the dots, eyes widening with scandalous excitement.

"Now that you mention it... wasn’t Bryce also once considered part of the Keirs? Could that be why she got engaged to him too?"

The crowd instantly erupted into another wave.

Shin Keir had never promised her anything. Never pursued her. Never hinted at marriage.

Yet Calin had acted as though Shin belonged to her by default, as though every woman near him was automatically stealing something that was hers.

The more they thought about it, the stranger it became.

"Why are you all bullying my daughter?! Is justice blind now?!"

Madam Ricci abruptly jumped up, no longer pretending to faint. She rushed in front of Calin protectively like a furious mother hen shielding her chick from wolves.

"I can personally testify that Elder Madam Keir did assure my daughter she would be engaged to Shin Keir! Our entire family believed it! Why wouldn’t we? We’re talking about the Keir matriarch herself! My daughter was young and naive enough to trust those words."

Madam Ricci declared indignantly, lifting her chin high as she continued.

"It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Elder Madam Keir took advantage of my daughter’s feelings for Shin over the years and received plenty of benefits and gifts from our family because of it! Now that our family is facing difficulties, all of you can’t wait to trample over us!"

"But how many people here have benefited from the Ricci family before?" Her eyes swept across the banquet hall accusingly. "The reason our family ended up in this state is because we offended the Keirs! Elder Madam Keir realized she couldn’t control Shin anymore, so she immediately washed her hands clean of us. Otherwise, if our family hadn’t fallen into this situation, my daughter would’ve never become desperate enough to fall for Bryce’s promises!"

However, instead of guilt, pity, or emotional sympathy, her words only offended the people present.

Unlike emotional netizens easily swayed online, the guests gathered here were elites who had survived years navigating the shark-infested waters of upper society.

Businessmen, socialites, investors, politicians... people who dissected every sentence for hidden meaning as naturally as breathing.

And Madam Ricci’s speech sounded less like a plea for justice and more like she was calling everyone present ungrateful parasites.

Even if the Keirs truly had wronged Calin, what did that have to do with the rest of them?

And regarding the "benefits" the Riccis gave...

Was any exchange in high society ever truly one-sided?

To the proud elites present, her words landed terribly.

One elegant socialite immediately sneered. "Your daughter gave benefits to the Keir matriarch? Then let’s also talk about what she gained in return. Didn’t Calin spend years throwing her weight around and suppressing people using the Keir name?"

Madam Ricci’s expression stiffened.

Before she could retaliate, another young socialite around Calin’s age suddenly spoke up coldly. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"I agree." She crossed her arms. "Last year, Calin and her friends blacklisted me from attending elite gatherings just because I appeared in a candid finance magazine photo beside my father while he was talking to Young Master Keir."

Like a dam finally breaking apart after years of pressure, the young women present who had once suffered under Calin’s suppression began speaking one after another.

"She spread rumors about me because I greeted Shin Keir once at a charity gala."

"Calin threatened several boutique owners not to lend me dresses."

"She publicly humiliated someone during a yacht party just for sitting near the Keir family’s table."

"Didn’t she make people toast to her like she was already Mrs. Keir?"

Stories piled on top of each other relentlessly, like a courtroom where countless old grudges finally crawled out from beneath.

Looking at the spiraling situation, Madam Ricci became completely flustered. Regret flooded her instantly.

She had originally wanted to turn public opinion around, but instead, she had accidentally opened Pandora’s jewelry box.

Her face turned pale as she slowly turned toward Calin, only to meet her daughter’s terrifying glare.

The resentment inside Calin’s eyes was so sharp and venomous that Madam Ricci’s heart skipped a beat.

If they weren’t surrounded by people right now, Madam Ricci could already imagine Calin exploding at her behind closed doors.

Not to mention, the massive LED screen hadn’t stopped playing after the footage of Calin attempting to drug Shin.

The videos continued one after another, exposing countless other atrocities she had committed over the years.

There were clips of her verbally abusing staff and coworkers on set, footage of her throwing objects during fits of anger, evidence of her stealing projects originally meant for other artists, and recordings of her using threats and connections to suppress competitors behind the scenes.

It was just that the scandal involving Shin Keir had been so explosive that the guests instinctively focused on that first.

"Apart from trying to drug Shin Keir, what about Allen?" someone suddenly shouted loudly from the crowd. "He’s still in a coma! And the driver of the other car died in that accident!"

The man looked directly at Calin and continued sharply, "And all this harassment? These disgusting things you’ve done over the years? What’s your excuse this time? Is it Shin Keir’s fault too? Did he hold a knife to your throat and force you to do all this?"

Calin’s face turned deathly pale.

Only then did she fully realize the giant screen was still playing. This entire exposé had clearly been prepared long in advance, waiting specifically for this very moment to detonate like a carefully planted bomb beneath the banquet hall.

"No... no... I’m being framed..." Calin sobbed while shaking her head frantically.

Unfortunately, this time, no one believed her anymore.

The once untouchable "Nation’s Goddess," the elegant top socialite whose smile alone could make countless men lose their composure, had finally been stripped of her carefully crafted mask.

And beneath that flawless face was an ugly, rotten heart stained pitch-black.

Yeri didn’t witness what happened afterward.

Shin had already run out of patience. Worried about her sprained ankle worsening, he simply carried her out of the banquet hall before the chaos could escalate further.

It was only later, after arriving at the hospital for her ankle examination, that Yeri overheard several nurses gossiping excitedly nearby.

Calin had personally invited numerous media outlets to cover her engagement banquet and even livestreamed the entire event.

Which meant everything, from the glamorous opening of the banquet to Bryce’s arrest, the exposé videos, and every horrifying revelation about Calin’s crimes, had been witnessed live by millions of viewers across the country in real time.