Gasps and murmurs spread like wildfire across the deck as the scandalous footage continued playing on the massive screen. The grotesque display of Ophelia and Devin in intimate moments was bad enough, but the sudden appearance of another man—older, his hands roaming over Ophelia’s body while she lay there, lost in pleasure—sent shockwaves through the crowd.

Ophelia’s breath hitched, her entire body trembling as the horror of the situation sank in. “No! No, it’s fake! It’s not real!” she screamed, her voice cracking. But the evidence played out before her, a damning reel of betrayal.

“Turn it off! Someone turn it off now!” Kelly shrieked in a panic, looking around for someone—anyone—to fix this nightmare.

Alex’s men scrambled to locate the source of the video, but within minutes, they returned empty-handed.

“We can’t find where the footage is being broadcast from,” one of them reported, his face tight with concern.

“Find that bastard Devin! I want him brought to me now!” Alex barked, his fury barely restrained.

As if on cue, a commotion erupted at the far end of the deck. A group of security guards stormed onto the scene, dragging a struggling Devin by the arms. His face was bruised, his hair disheveled, and yet, his lips curled into a smirk.

“Boss, we found him hiding in the lower levels,” one of the guards said, shoving Devin to the floor in front of Alex.

All eyes turned to the man responsible for the chaos.

April, who had been watching from the sidelines, clenched her fists as she marched toward Devin. Their eyes locked, and before she could even open her mouth, he pointed a shaking finger at her.

“It was her! She planned all of this!” Devin screamed, his voice desperate. “She’s the reason all of this is happening!”

April felt the air escape her lungs as the accusations hung in the air like a thick, suffocating fog.

She had played a role in this, but not this. Not this complete destruction of Ophelia. Not this nightmare of a wedding.

“Liar!” April spat, her voice sharp. “I told you to call it off! I stopped the plan! I never wanted this to happen!”

Alex stepped forward, his eyes narrowing as he studied his eldest daughter. For the first time in years, he didn’t immediately assume the worst about her.

“I don’t believe him,” Alex said firmly, his voice cutting through the tension.

Before April could even feel relief, Devin let out a dark laugh. “You don’t believe me?” he scoffed. “Then maybe this will convince you.”

A sudden force knocked Devin’s head sideways—a punch from Sen, whose face was dark with rage.

“Speak the truth, or I swear to God, I’ll kill you,” Sen growled, his fists shaking with barely restrained anger.

April’s breath caught in her throat. He doesn’t believe Devin either, she realized, her heart pounding.

Devin chuckled through bloody teeth. “Fine,” he said, wiping the corner of his mouth. “I’ll show you all the truth.”

One of Alex’s men handed Devin his confiscated laptop, and with one click, the scandalous footage vanished from the screen. Instead, a new video appeared.

This time, the setting was dark, a dimly lit corridor captured by a hidden camera. A man loomed over a clearly intoxicated Ophelia. She swayed on her feet, her voice barely audible as she mumbled for him to back off.

And then, April entered the frame.

In the recording, she looked at the man and said, “This should be enough.”

The footage ended.

Silence blanketed the deck.

April’s mouth went dry. “That—that’s fake,” she stammered, shaking her head. “I never said that!”

The look of disgust on her father’s face told her everything she needed to know. The betrayal in Ophelia’s tear-streaked eyes cut deeper than any blade.

April turned toward Sen, desperate for him to believe her, but the cold, hard set of his jaw sent her heart plummeting.

“I can’t believe you would do something so cruel,” he said quietly.

April stepped back as the world seemed to spin around her. “You have to believe me! I saved her that night!” she pleaded, her voice rising in desperation.

“I thought you wished me well as a sister,” Ophelia choked out, her voice raw with emotion. “How could you, April?”

April shook her head violently. “I didn’t! You know I wouldn’t—”

Devin smirked, relishing the chaos. “I even have our conversation recorded,” he added, pulling out his phone.

The speakers crackled, and April’s voice echoed across the deck: “Ophelia chose fame over love.”

More gasps from the guests.

April felt her entire body tremble. “I did say that, but—”

But no one was listening.

Her father. Her mother. Sen. Ophelia. The guests. They all looked at her as if she were a monster.

April staggered back, her heel hitting the ship’s railing.

She turned her head slightly, glancing at the dark ocean below.

Ophelia took a step forward. “April, I knew I was adopted, but I trusted that deep down, you didn’t completely hate me,” she sobbed. “Why did you have to ruin everything?”

April opened her mouth to speak, but Ophelia kept going, her emotions overflowing. “If you didn’t want me in your life, I would have left! I would have disappeared! You didn’t have to do this!”

She took another step forward, her hands trembling.

“Ophelia—”

“Why? Why?!” Ophelia shouted, her voice breaking.

April’s eyes widened as Ophelia lunged toward her, but her foot slipped—

And suddenly, Ophelia was falling.

The gasps of the guests blurred into the deafening roar of the ocean as Ophelia tumbled over the railing.

April screamed.

“Ophelia!”