Janelle and the others were struck dumb as they turned to look at Laura.

    Laura cocked an eyebrow, her smile gleaming with mischief. “Surprise!”

    Janelle was incredulous. “Wait a minute? Isn’t Xander’s sister Laura?”

    Xander chuckled, a mysterious smile ying on his lips. “I have many sisters, so what?”

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    His gaze turned icy with a serious undertone. “Also, you’re bullying someone right in front of me. Even if she wasn’t my sister, I can see that you’re intentionally making things hard for her. Do you think I’m an idiot? Or just some fool who doesn’t know right from wrong that I’d let you speak to me like this?”

    All the kids‘ faces changed. Only the little ones were still confused, looking up at their older siblings. “Brother, what does he mean?”

    Xander rose to his feet, pulling Laura behind him, his eyes filled with anger as he scanned their faces. “What it means is you’ve bullied my sister right in front of me. What are you going to do about it?”

    They all looked taken aback.

    Laura stared at Xander’s receding figure and suddenly felt he seemed a bit taller than before.

    Xander’s gaze fell back on Janelle, a sneer forming on his lips. “You see, my sister said your mom broke up someone’s rtionship as a homewrecker, and that wasn’t a lie, it’s a fact.”

    Janelle was stunned. So were the others.

    Xander leaned in, fixing Janelle with a steady gaze. “Your mom once tried to seduce my dad, didn’t you know that?”

    Janelle’s eyes went wide with shock.

    Xander’s mockery grew stronger. “I recognized you the moment I saw you. It seems you’ve inherited your mother’s stupidity and lowliness.” He turned to the others. “Are you sure you want to associate with someone like this and bully my sister?”

    Janelle’s face turned ashen.

    The others choked, suddenly regaining their senses, shaking their heads frantically, “No, no, no! We didn’t! We all think there’s something wrong with Janelle!”

    “Yeah, Janelle! How could you do such a thing? It’s really sly!”

    Feeling wronged, Janelle looked at them in disbelief. “How can you flip–flop so quickly? You were just defending me a moment ago!”

    They exchanged awkward nces. “Well, we didn’t know what kind of person your family was, did we? Who knew your mom was addicted to being the other woman?”

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    “That’s right! With your mom being like that, you’ve got some nerve making fun of others.”

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    Some even went over to Laura to apologize. “L, we’re so sorry, we misunderstood you. Please forgive us and don’t be mad.”

    “Yeah, yeah, L, she was mean to you, and we’ll get back at her for you, but don’t be mad at us!”

    “Yes, yes, yes! L, don’t be mad!”

    Laura blinked, suddenly finding the situation somewhat amusing. She thought, ‘Do these girls have no backbone at all?‘

    She waved it off generously. “I’m not mad at you.”

    Their faces brightened, visibly relieved.

    But Laura continued with a smile. “Because I don’t like friends who stand on shaky ground. You all seem like fair–weather friends.”

    The others were baffled.

    Xander smirked. “Well said.”

    Feeling humiliated, Janelle stood up from the ground, pointed at them, and shouted, “Don’t let her fool you with that act. The gift her mom sent to our host isplete junk. It’s garbage, and that’s all they can afford. They’re just using trash to pose as quality, trying to rub shoulders with the rich!”

    Her voice, clear and shrill, echoed across half of the venue. The adults turned their heads in surprise toward the source of the voice.

    Camden saw his daughter escting the situation and quickly interceded. “What are you talking about? Don’t say such things–you’ll cause a misunderstanding!”

    Janelle, doubling down, persisted, “Dad, I saw it with my own eyes. That sponge pudding’s mom gave Mr. Hester a defective thing. It’s his birthday for crying out loud, and they insult him with broken stuff.”

    Keshawn, hearing the upset, approached with a stern expression. “Insult? What broken stuff?” He thought, ‘Are there problems with the gifts given to me?‘

    Curious onlookers began to gather around. But Janelle was undeterred, gesturing towards Laura. “Mr. Hester, her mom gave you a broken thing. I saw her mom slip a damaged bracelet into the gift box. They want to insult you.”

    Laura snorted in derision.

    de, her aura sharp as her name, stepped forward as the crowd parted. “Who’s trying to frame me now?” She stood beside Laura, firmly stating, “The gift I gave is in perfect condition. There’s no way it could be otherwise.”

    Laura’s eyes danced as she watched Janelle’s outburst.

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    Feisty Janelle defended her ground. “Just because you say you didn’t, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. I saw it myself, don’t lie.”

    Cassidy, trying to smooth things over with a veneer of gentleness, walked up and apologized to the crowd. “I’m so sorry everyone, my daughter’s manners arecking. Please, don’t be mad.” She reproached Janelle, “What’s gotten into you? How could you scream and shout at a birthday banquet? What could possibly warrant such a fuss?”

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    Flushing, Janelle shot back, “I’m standing up for Mr. Hester; he got a second–rate gift. If you don’t believe me, just open their gift and see for yourself.”

    Perplexed, Keshawn eyed de.

    She stated unequivocally, “Mr. Hester, my gift was carefully chosen, it’s definitely to your taste.”

    Camden smirked knowingly, “Let’s just see, shall we Mr. Hester? Let’s see if it’s as Ms. Nancy Huber ims, a well–prepared gift.”

    Keshawn’s face darkened, and with a sign, a family member brought the gift forward. As the gift box opened, everyone’s eyesnded on the damaged bracelet within.

    For a moment, de couldn’t believe it, yet remainedposed, “I need to review the surveince footage. This is impossible.”

    Camden clicked his tongue softly and coldly suggested, “Go check and see if Ms. Nancy Huber has been wronged.”

    However, the verdict from the waitstaff was damning–the surveince cameras were nonfunctional, capturing no evidence. The crowd exchanged knowing looks, their eyes brimming with mockery as they silently judged de.

    Some even suggested cynically, “Someone must be too poor to afford a proper gift, so they staged this whole drama.”

    “Yeah, ridiculous. How could Ms. Nancy Huber afford to be in such ce?”

    With a stern face, Keshawn demanded of de, “Ms. Nancy Huber, what’s going on here?”

    de had no answers, yet calmly maintained, “Mr. Hester, I brought the ancientndscape painting. It couldn’t have been this. Someone must have switched it.”

    Camdenughed scornfully, “But you don’t have enemies. Who would’ve switched your gift?”

    Unexpectedly, Laura raised her hand, “It’s me.”

    The crowd gasped, turning their attention to her.

    Camden asked in astonishment, now even smiling, “You switched it? Why would you do that?”

    With a twinkle in her eye, Laura dered, “Because you prompted your daughter to sabotage the gift. So, to protect my mom’s present from being tampered with, I switched it beforehand.”

    Camden’s smile vanished instantly, “What did you say? Are you insulting my daughter?”

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    With a nonchnt smile, Laura grabbed a phone from Xander, brought up a video, and presented it to the crowd, “Caught red handed.”

    Janelle gasped, as did Camden and Cassidy.

    de’s eyes gleamed with hope.

    Laura lifted the phone above her head, beaming proudly, “Here you have it–the voice, the face, the act. I’m curious, how will you try to squirm your way out of this one?”

    Camden was speechless, his expression a mix of shock and confusion.

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