The storm raged vi0lently against the windowpanes outside, but within the manor, every corner radiated opulence: crystal fixtures shimmered, wine glasses chimed, and the elite mingled, relishing a flawless gala.

Nobody paid attention when a rain-drenched girl, roughly eight years old, stepped into the ballroom cradling an infant. Her unshod feet stained the immaculate ivory rug with every step.

Initially, the attendees recoiled in revulsion at her presence, as though destitution itself had dared to invade their radiant festivities.

However, the girl didn’t plead for charity or quiver in distress. She advanced with poise, as if driven by a singular, unwavering objective.

While a few guests indignantly summoned the guards and others sneered at the sight of her rags, the child marched directly toward the groom, Leo, and his bride, Victoria.

Halting before the pair, she locked eyes with them and hissed with a terrifying, adult-like gravity:

— How could you do such a thing?..

Leo knitted his brows, utterly bewildered by the intrusion.

— Who are you? What are you talking about?

The girl pulled the infant closer to her heart and leveled a shaking finger at Victoria.

— It was her that night. She left the baby near the trash bins. I saw everything…

Leo pivoted instantly toward his bride. Victoria’s complexion turned ashen, and then she erupted into frantic shrieks like a culprit cornered at a crime scene.

— She’s lying! I’ve never seen her before! Leo, tell them to throw them out immediately! This is all about money!

But Leo had stopped listening. The surrounding world seemed to dissolve into nothingness. His vision was fixed entirely on a specific birthmark on the infant’s miniature hand.

He moved forward with leaden steps, lifted the tiny hand into his own… and his face drained of all color.

Saltwater traced paths down his face.

He glanced at the street child, then back at Victoria, and in that gaze, every trace of affection had vanished—replaced by pure dread and sudden clarity.

He then cast his eyes down at the newborn and murmured in a ghost of a voice:

— This can’t be…

Leo remained paralyzed, his eyes locked on the baby’s small hand. His sister, Sofia, possessed an identical mark—a peculiar shape, resembling a crescent moon at the root of the thumb. The memory from his youth was far too vivid for him to doubt what he saw.

Only a few weeks prior, Victoria had shared a heart-wrenching account with him. She alleged she had been trailing Sofia’s car when Sofia suddenly veered off course.

The vehicle had breached the guardrail, plummeted off a jagged precipice, and sank into the ocean. Search teams recovered only the body of the pregnant Sofia, swept onto the sand by the tide. The car was lost to the abyss. She was officially pronounced deceased.

Yet now, staring at the child, Leo realized: a similarity this precise was no accident.

He slowly shifted his focus toward Victoria. In a sudden motion, he seized the collar of her bridal gown and pulled her close to his face.

— Tell the truth. Right now… or you’ll tell everything to the police.

Her skin turned ghostly, her mouth twitched, and for the first time, genuine terror surfaced in her expression.

A several hours later, within the confines of the precinct, a new revelation emerged: rapid DNA analysis verified that the infant was indeed a biological kin of Leo.

Crushed by the mounting proof, Victoria’s composure shattered.

With a vibrating voice, she admitted to orchestrating Sofia’s abduction. Her plan was to eliminate her rival permanently and stage it as a tragic mishap. However, the child had arrived sooner than she had anticipated.

To Victoria, the baby represented a danger—a competing claimant to Leo’s wealth.

— I had no intention of sharing all of this with anyone… especially when I was supposed to become his wife, she murmured, shielding her eyes.

An icy stillness enveloped the room. Leo sat in the silence, realizing he had come within moments of wedding a m0nster.