CHAPTER 480: HOW COULD SOMEONE WHO GREW UP WITH HER NOT RECOGNIZE HER?

She couldn’t let anyone see her panic, so she forced herself to act affectionate.

"Second Brother, Gavin Brother, you’re here? Why didn’t you say anything? Were you looking for me?"

The uneasy feeling in Gavin’s chest only grew stronger. He was about to say something, but Aiden cut him off.

Aiden gave Sophia a deep, searching look before turning to "Selina."

"No reason."

Hearing that, the imposter finally let out a breath of relief, smiling softly.

"That’s good..."

But her smile froze halfway when Aiden spoke again.

"Weren’t you the one who texted me to come?"

The smile on the imposter’s face stiffened, and the room went utterly silent.

Aiden’s expression darkened.

This woman had called him "Second Brother" and Gavin "Gavin Brother" with absolute accuracy, which meant she had done her homework—she knew Selina’s relationships inside and out.

Fishing for more, Aiden said, his tone sharp with implication, "You contacted me yesterday, asked me to come by this afternoon. Already forgot?"

Gavin frowned, the oddness gnawing at him, but he still nodded.

"Yeah. You suddenly reached out to Second Brother. He said he wasn’t comfortable, so he asked me to come too. Selina, are you okay? What’s going on?"

The imposter’s eyes darted to Selina—and, as expected, found a mocking glint waiting for her there.

Her temper flared.

That bitch!

She’d done this on purpose. She must have sent that message to Aiden on purpose—to drag him here and expose her!

The imposter rushed to cover, stumbling over her words.

"Y-yes, Second Brother, I did ask you to come. I just haven’t been sleeping well and almost forgot."

Aiden nodded.

"What did you want to talk about?"

How the hell was she supposed to know what Selina wanted to talk to Aiden about?

She stammered for a long moment, failing to come up with anything convincing.

Aiden’s brow furrowed, assuming she didn’t want to speak in front of the others. Ever considerate, he simply nodded.

"Fine. We’ll talk later. You all carry on."

Then he crossed his arms, leaned against the doorframe, and closed his eyes like he had all the time in the world.

Jealousy clawed through the imposter’s chest.

Aiden thought Selina had something she couldn’t say out loud—and he was willing to wait for her.

Why was it always Selina who was adored? Why?!

But then she reminded herself—she was Selina now. She could enjoy that affection too.

The imposter let out a deliberately shy, "Okay."

Gavin’s brow creased.

...Something’s wrong.

Something’s very wrong.

What’s with this weird, cloying tone? Selina, his Selina, had never been like this. And the way she acted—it made his skin crawl.

The unease coiled tighter and tighter in Gavin’s gut.

Selina was acting strange.

And Aiden—he was too cold.

Everyone knew the Foster heir was a cold man by nature.

But not with Selina.

He might’ve been distant to the rest of the world, but not her. Never her.

A thought hit Gavin like a jolt of lightning.

His eyes widened as he turned sharply to Aiden—then swung his gaze back again.

Same face.

Exactly the same face.

But suddenly, everything felt wrong.

The expressions.

The tone.

The eyes.

It wasn’t her.

It wasn’t Selina.

The realization snapped into place, and everything—Logan’s reactions, Aiden’s stiffness—made sense.

If this woman wasn’t Selina...

Where was Selina?

And then, in a flash, Aiden’s mind locked on the obvious.

That "Sophia," the one who had shown up out of nowhere—

She’d known the Sapphire Valley Villa inside and out.

No hesitation, no one guiding her.

She’d walked straight in.

Could she...

Could she be Selina?

On the other side of the room, the three board members hadn’t noticed anything off with Aiden and Gavin.

Their faces were dark as they spoke.

"Miss Carter, you’re here on behalf of the Carter Family? Does that mean the Carter Family has an issue with the board’s decision?"

Selina’s tone was slow and unhurried.

"Not exactly," she said, her lips curving. "But the combined shares of the entire board still don’t add up to Mr. Reid’s holdings. So how exactly did you reach the conclusion that you had an ’overwhelming majority’ to force Logan to step down?"

At the end of the day, in a for-profit company, isn’t it all about shares?

Logan had absolute controlling interest.

What waves could these so-called board members possibly make?

Unless...

Selina’s smile sharpened.

"Unless Mrs. Reid joined Owen’s camp. After all, Mr. Reid did transfer half of his shares to you."

In an instant, several sharp gazes turned on the imposter.

She clenched her teeth.

"I..."

Logan leaned back slightly, his expression carrying a faint, knowing smile.

"Selina, is what Miss Carter says true?"

The imposter started to shake all over.

Seeing there was no hiding it anymore, one of the board members furrowed his brow.

"Fine, I’ll just say it outright—it was Mrs. Reid who helped us!"

He sneered.

"Logan, even your own wife doesn’t trust you to manage Reid Group. That in itself shows your failure. Mrs. Reid had the wisdom to see young Owen’s potential. Are you really going to blame her for that?!"

Another board member chimed in, his tone dripping with mockery.

"After all, you were the one who insisted on transferring shares to Mrs. Reid. You’ve got no one to blame but yourself!"

A third board member added, almost cheerfully, "That’s right. Mrs. Reid, you don’t have to worry—we’ll guarantee your safety. At the shareholder meeting in a few days, just tell the truth. Even if you support Owen, that’s your right."

"Mrs. Reid, don’t be afraid. You’re a major shareholder, same as Logan. Whatever you say—I’ll back you up!"

Inside, Selina let out a mental whistle.

Wow.

This imposter was really that confident she wouldn’t expose her?

"So that’s where their confidence comes from," Logan said slowly, voice laced with a subtle, dangerous amusement.

"If it’s Selina, I won’t say anything now. We’ll wait for the shareholders’ meeting."

The board members mistook his calm for weakness.

After all, if anyone knows your secrets, it’s the person on the pillow next to you.

This time, they were certain—Logan would be ousted.

Reid Group would fall neatly into Owen’s hands.

Their masks dropped completely.

After announcing the date of the shareholder meeting, the three board members left, not bothering with any further pretense.

Suddenly, the living room felt much emptier.

Selina’s lips curved, her voice almost playful.

"Well, the board’s gone. Mrs. Reid, didn’t you have something you wanted to say to Foster’s heir? You can go ahead now."

The imposter’s heart hadn’t even steadied yet, and now it jolted again at those words.

"I don’t see what that has—"

The words ’to do with you’ hadn’t even left her mouth when Aiden’s voice cut in.

"It doesn’t matter," Aiden said flatly. "If Selina doesn’t want to say it, she doesn’t have to. But Miss Carter—" his tone shifted as he straightened his posture— "I have a question for you."

Then he turned, striding toward the back garden.

Gavin immediately followed.

Selina arched a brow, just about to move her feet—

When behind her, the imposter’s voice came, sharp with malice and tinged with triumph.