Ivan Horne's car left the hotel.

In a certain room of the hotel, Violet Aiken stood by the window. She was supposed to be looking at the scenery outside, but what she saw was Ivan Horne coming to pick up Lia Aiken.

Suddenly, Violet was filled with envy and anger.

Lia had deceived her!

She had said that a junior invited her for breakfast, but in reality, it was to meet Ivan Horne. She feared Violet would follow and steal Ivan's attention, right?

Violet had approached Lia early in the morning to curry favor, with insincerity, hoping to use Lia's relationship to get to know the other young masters of the Horne Family.

Though Violet preferred Ivan, his attitude had scared her. Coupled with her mother's persuasion, Violet thought of befriending the other young masters of the Horne Family.

"Lia! Don't get too comfortable. One day I'll make you return to your former self!" Jealous and furious, Violet stood by the window, gritting her teeth and cursing Lia, fantasizing of one day becoming the most esteemed woman, with Ivan and Lia beneath her feet.

"Ring, ring, ring..."

Suddenly, Violet received a call from her mother.

Fuming, Violet complained to her mother as soon as she answered, "Mom, that witch Lia deceived me! Can I stop trying to please her? I tried flattering her early in the morning, and not only did I not get a good face, she even tricked me. You said that by pleasing her I'd get to know the other young masters of the Horne Family, but she never gives me the chance. Mom, please think of a way, a way to make Ivan leave her."

Until now, Violet couldn't understand why Ivan would fancy Lia.

There are so many women better than Lia, yet Ivan only has eyes for her.

Because Ivan favors her, Lia's life has dramatically changed. Her father, who never regarded her as his daughter, has now changed face and dotes on her as a treasure.

Whenever Violet thought about these things, she couldn't eat or sleep well.

"Dear, you haven't seen the news today, the news from River City. I've been married to your father for so many years and didn't know Lia's background was so disgraceful. Haha, dear, this is truly a blessing for us."

Celine Taylor laughed happily over the phone.

That morning, she had gone downstairs to see all the servants gathered around reading a newspaper. Upon seeing her, they became flustered, trying to hide the newspaper, but it was too late.

Out of curiosity, she, who rarely read newspapers, took it and found Lia on the entertainment section headlines. The newspaper had devoted a lot of space to reporting Lia's disgraceful background, dredging up Tom Aiken's past with his ex-wife.

There were also many representative photos printed in the newspaper.

Celine had been married to Tom for years. Although she knew Tom resented his deceased ex-wife and had suspected Lia's background, she never imagined Lia wasn't Tom's biological daughter but rather part of the Aiken Family, as Lia's biological father was Tom's younger brother.

Now Celine understood why Tom allowed her and her two children to continually make things difficult for Lia; because Lia's existence constantly reminded Tom of his ex-wife and his brother's affair, resulting in Lia.

It's said that Tom once treated Lia like a beloved daughter. Love runs deep, and so does hate – there's truth in the saying.

Now, at twenty-five, Tom's hatred for her hasn't diminished in the least. If not for Ivan's interest in her, Tom would undoubtedly employ every means to force Lia to marry Ethan Aibileen, the playboy.

In any case, Tom just couldn't stand seeing Lia have a good life.

"Mom, I'm in T City right now. How could I see River City news? I also don't like reading newspapers. Mom, tell me, what news? How is Lia's background disgraceful? She isn't my dad's daughter?"

"You could use your phone to check online. I've seen it; there's already such news online. Your dad's a notable figure in River City, and his eldest daughter has turned out to be his niece. Such a thing, how could the gossip mongers miss it? It's sure to become a hot topic."

Celine's words contained schadenfreude.

She felt that after this incident, Lia's reputation would be tarnished. No matter how rational the Horne Family elders might be, they likely wouldn't want Lia as a daughter-in-law. Then, when Ivan breaks up with Lia, her daughter might have a chance.

Even if her daughter doesn't have a chance, as long as Lia doesn't marry Ivan, Celine would be pleased.

Moreover, since Lia isn't Tom's biological daughter, only a niece, she wouldn't be entitled to inherit Tom's wealth, alleviating Celine's worry that Lia might compete with her children for their inheritance.

"Lia is my dad's niece? How could that be? I'll go check online immediately. Mom, bye for now." Violet hung up hurriedly and searched online for the gossip news her mother mentioned.

One search and she found it.

Her mother wasn't lying; it was indeed trending.

The news just came out today, yet it was already trending. Violet started to suspect if someone had paid to boost this piece of gossip.

Lia was unaware that her background had been exposed online. She didn't even know she wasn't her father's biological daughter, nor did she know her mother died due to being caught having an affair with her uncle, leading to panic and shame, or even about the scandalous photos.

She was sitting in Ivan's car, on the way to Lena Horne's house. After about twenty minutes, they reached a large villa where Lena greeted them warmly. As soon as Lia got out of the car, Lena embraced her arm affectionately.

"Sister, you finally came."

Lena said with a smile, "I was worried my brother might intercept and take you to his house."

As she spoke, Ivan lightly tapped her.

"Big brother, don't tap my head. You'll make me silly." Lena said playfully, though Ivan's tap didn't hurt at all.

With a doting smile, Ivan pinched her nose and said, "I want to make you a little silly, so you won't be too cunning, meddling in everything even before adulthood. With such invincibility, beware that nobody dares to marry you in the future."

"Sister Lia, look at my brother here, bullying me like this. You should help me manage my big brother well." Lena tugged at Lia's hand, complaining.

Lia blushed.

This young junior treated her like a sister-in-law.

The truth is, the Horne Family members share quite similar personalities. Both Ivan and Lena are straightforward in pursuing their desired ones.

Lena was straightforward in pushing Lia towards her brother, wanting Lia to become her sister-in-law. Ivan, upon realizing his feelings for Lia, quickly confessed and captured her heart within just ten days, making her his girlfriend.

Who dares compete with Ivan Horne for a woman?