Chapter 43: Shannon Everett’s True Colors Exposed

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Shannon Everett’s True Colors Exposed

An idea sparked in Shannon’s mind. She spoke in an obedient, gentle tone, pulling Wyatt’s attention back to her. "Wyatt, look over there."

Wyatt followed her gaze. Not far away was a huge screen that could be used to play videos.

Shannon picked up the nearby remote and pressed the play button.

A video slowly appeared on the screen.

It was a collection of photos of Shannon and the Everett family, from her childhood to the present.

When Shannon was one, she was held in Mr. and Mrs. Everett’s arms.

When Shannon was two, she was playfully following behind Wyatt.

When Shannon was four, Mason Everett was feeding her by hand.

When Shannon was five, she gave her first drawing to Wyatt.

...

The images appeared one by one, filled with familial love and memories.

After watching the video, Wyatt couldn’t help but feel his eyes sting. "Shannon, this is..."

Shannon beamed. "Wyatt, it’s a video I edited myself. It’s not very good, so please don’t laugh at me."

Wyatt wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. "Silly girl, why would I ever laugh at you? This video holds all of our family’s memories, from childhood until now. I’m beyond moved!"

The onlookers couldn’t help but murmur in agreement. Some of the more sentimental people were even moved to tears.

Wyatt gazed at the large screen, still savoring the moment. The video Shannon had edited reminded him of all the times they had shared in the past.

’I’ve been neglecting Shannon these past few days,’ he thought suddenly. ’I really shouldn’t have.’

’Shannon is such a good, considerate sister. How could I treat her so coldly!’

Shannon noticed the change in Wyatt’s expression, and the corners of her mouth lifted in satisfaction.

She was best at playing the family card.

Winning back Wyatt’s trust this way was effortless.

Shannon turned her gaze toward Sienna Everett in the distance, her eyes filled with the smug triumph and contempt of a victor.

「Over here.」

Since they weren’t far away, Keith Sterling also saw the video on the big screen and was rendered speechless. "Holy crap, this is so unbelievably fake!"

Keith Sterling glanced worriedly at Sienna Everett.

’He could tell that Sienna valued family ties. Would seeing Shannon showered with such affection by the Everetts upset her?’

’The Everetts were really something else. They finally find their long-lost real daughter, bring her home, and then do nothing but abuse and berate her, all while showering the fake daughter with affection. What the hell were they thinking?’

’You’d have to be kicked in the head by a donkey to be that brain-dead!’

But when Keith Sterling looked over, he found that Sienna’s exquisite and radiant face showed no change in expression whatsoever, as if she were watching a clown show.

"What is it?" Sienna asked, raising an eyebrow when she saw him studying her.

"Nothing, nothing! I was a little worried... but it looks like I was just overthinking things!"

Sienna knew what he was worried about.

’From the moment she cut ties with the Everett family, from the moment her heart had turned to stone, she had stopped holding even a shred of hope for them.’

’In her eyes, the Everetts were now worse than strangers.’

「Meanwhile.」

Shannon had just finished playing the specially-edited family video, moving Wyatt to tears just as she had expected. She was just about to put down the remote.

Suddenly, another video began to play automatically on the large screen.

The sound of sobbing entered everyone’s ears without warning.

"SOB SOB SOB... Please, I’m begging you, let me go!"

Hearing the sound, the surrounding crowd whipped their heads toward the screen.

’Holy shit, what is this?’

’Who’s crying?’

’That’s creepy as hell!’

The crowd stared at the large screen.

The screen showed a dimly lit room.

In the room, Wyatt Everett was unconscious on the floor, tied up with ropes and showing bloody marks from a beating.

Besides Wyatt, Shannon and Sienna were also there, each tied to a chair. It seemed they had been kidnapped.

Shannon was crying in fear, her face stained with tears as she pleaded for help nonstop.

The sobbing from before was coming from her.

Sienna’s hands were tied behind her back. A few strands of her long, black hair were out of place, but they couldn’t hide her devastatingly beautiful face.

She tried to comfort Shannon next to her. "Shannon, don’t cry. It’s okay. Nothing’s going to happen."

Shannon sobbed uncontrollably. "Those thugs kidnapped us! They’re going to kill us, I know they will!"

Though the same age as Shannon, Sienna’s gaze was firm. She treated Shannon like her own sister. "Don’t be afraid, Shannon. I’ll protect you..."

Just then, the door was kicked open with a BANG, and a tall man walked into the room.

The man first kicked the unconscious Wyatt, then walked up to Sienna and Shannon. In a coarse voice, he laughed strangely. "Today, I’m going to finish off that piece of trash, Wyatt Everett! You two are his sisters. Is either one of you willing to die for him?"

The video had started playing too suddenly, too abruptly.

Everyone in the crowd was stunned, unable to react for a moment.

As for Wyatt, when he saw the man in the video, his expression visibly turned cold.

’He would never forget that man, not even if he were burned to ash!’

This was one of the thugs who had kidnapped him!

He had been kidnapped, beaten unconscious, and didn’t know what happened afterward. All he knew was that Shannon had risked her life to save him, while Sienna had selfishly abandoned him and escaped on her own.

’And now, he was actually seeing a video from the kidnapping?’

At the side, Shannon saw the video that had suddenly started playing. Her scalp tingled as a chill shot up from the soles of her feet, so cold that her hands began to tremble.

’How could this be...?’

’She had destroyed this video long ago. How could it suddenly be playing?’

’No!’

Shannon immediately raised the remote, wanting to turn off the video.

But pressing the off button did nothing!

The video on the large screen kept playing!

’What’s going on?’

’Who played this video?’

’No!’

’Stop playing!’

However, the heavens did not hear her prayer.

The video continued to play. The thug was laughing strangely as he questioned her and Sienna, "Well? You’re both Wyatt Everett’s sisters. Who’s willing to die for that piece of trash?"

Wyatt Everett’s kidnapping wasn’t a secret. The crowd slowly started to remember the incident, and hearing the thug’s question, they immediately made their own judgments.

"It must have been Shannon who stood up!"

"Yeah, Wyatt said before that Shannon was the one who saved him, while someone else just ran away!"

"Even though Shannon isn’t their biological daughter, she was willing to die for Wyatt. Based on that alone, how can Sienna Everett even compare to her!"

Wyatt also had a good idea of what was coming. Although he had been unconscious at the time, he later learned that it was Shannon who had saved him.

However, in the next moment...

In the video, Shannon, faced with the thug’s question, first froze for a second, then shook her head violently.

"I don’t want to! I don’t want to die for Wyatt Everett! If you’re going to kill someone, kill him! Don’t kill me!"