Chapter 643: Hypocrisy
When the finished cake arrived, it looked flawless. Everything seemed normal.
Nothing appeared suspicious. Mira had genuinely believed she had made the correct decision.
Until the poison was discovered. At that point, her entire world came crashing down.
Tears once again streamed down her cheeks. "It was my fault."
She looked at Aurora with red eyes. "If I hadn’t trusted him..."
Her voice cracked. "If I hadn’t been so stupid..."
She couldn’t continue. The words became trapped inside her throat.
In reality, there was something she still hadn’t mentioned.
Mr. Davis had demanded nearly double the original budget.
To avoid causing trouble for the Waters family, Mira had quietly paid the difference herself.
She had sacrificed her own savings. She simply wanted Adam’s birthday to be perfect.
She wanted to repay the kindness everyone had shown her.
Instead... she had almost caused a tragedy.
After struggling with herself for hours, she had finally come here.
She had chosen to tell Aurora the truth.
The reason Mira had chosen to tell Aurora instead of anyone else was quite simple.
Aurora was much more approachable.
Whenever Mira looked at Olivia, Theodore, Lucas, or even Adeline, she subconsciously felt that they were older, more mature, and somehow beyond her reach.
Aurora, however, felt different. She felt like someone Mira could actually talk to.
Someone who would understand.
Aurora sighed softly. "It’s alright."
Her voice was calm. "I understand."
Hearing those words, Mira felt a small amount of relief.
However, before she could relax completely, Aurora continued.
"Mira, I’m going to be honest with you."
Aurora looked directly into her eyes. "I don’t feel happy after hearing any of this."
Mira lowered her head. Her fingers tightened around the empty glass. "I know."
Aurora leaned back slightly.
"Yes, you’re remorseful. You regret what happened."
Her expression became serious. "But if everyone in the Waters family had died today..."
She paused. "Then that remorse would’ve been completely worthless."
The words struck Mira like a hammer. Her eyes immediately reddened. Fresh tears began gathering in them.
Yet Aurora continued mercilessly.
"You insisted on handling everything by yourself. You believed you could solve the problem alone. In the end, what happened?"
Aurora pointed toward the door. "You almost brought disaster to the entire Waters family."
Mira’s shoulders trembled.
"Do you understand your mistake now?"
Mira immediately nodded. "I do."
Her voice was trembling.
"I shouldn’t have involved the family. I should leave."
She stood up abruptly. "I promise."
Her breathing became uneven.
"I’ll never show my face before any member of the Waters family again."
The more she spoke, the more panicked she became.
Her face turned pale. Her chest rose and fell rapidly.
It was obvious she was on the verge of a full anxiety attack.
Aurora sighed.
Then she grabbed Mira’s shoulders firmly. "That isn’t what I was trying to say."
Mira froze. She blinked through her tears. Aurora looked directly into her eyes.
"What I’m trying to tell you is something completely different."
Mira stared at her silently.
Aurora continued. "If you can’t handle a problem on your own, then depend on people who can."
Her voice softened slightly.
"Especially when those people are your family. Especially when they’re willingly extending a hand toward you."
Mira bit her lip. "But all I do is cause trouble for them."
Aurora couldn’t help laughing. The sound carried a hint of helplessness.
"The real problem isn’t causing trouble. The real problem is refusing help until the trouble becomes everyone’s problem."
Mira immediately felt ashamed.
Her head lowered further.
She finally understood what Aurora was trying to say.
Aurora crossed her arms. "Now go get some rest."
Mira looked up. "What about Mr. Davis?"
Aurora’s eyes turned cold. "I’ll deal with him."
Mira was stunned. She opened her mouth. "But you..."
She stopped herself. What she wanted to say was obvious. Aurora was still young, at least on the surface.
Aurora chuckled. "Don’t underestimate me."
A dangerous smile appeared on her face.
"You’d be surprised how easily I can deal with people like him."
She casually stretched her arms.
"After all, I have plenty of experience dealing with trash."
Mira hesitated; eventually, she nodded. "I’ll ask Mary to help you."
Aurora didn’t bother stopping her.
Soon, Mira left the room.
The moment the door closed, Aurora’s expression became completely serious.
She immediately began investigating Mr. Davis.
Within minutes, she discovered something interesting.
A very strange connection. To be precise... the connection led directly to Mira’s aunt.
Gwen.
Aurora narrowed her eyes.
As she continued reading the information, everything slowly started making sense.
"So that’s why."
The deeper she dug, the uglier the truth became. Years ago, Gwen’s husband had been deeply in love with Mira’s mother, May.
Even after marrying Gwen, he had never truly forgotten her. Whenever May needed help, he would secretly provide it.
This continued for years, then May died. After her death, Gwen’s husband shifted some of that attention toward Mira.
The little girl reminded him too much of her mother. To him, it was simple concern. To Gwen, however, it became something far uglier.
She convinced herself that one day her husband would become emotionally attached to Mira.
Or worse. She imagined countless disgusting possibilities.
The more she thought about them, the more she hated the innocent child.
As a result, she abandoned Mira at an orphanage.
Not only that, but she continuously interfered whenever Mira had an opportunity to improve her life.
Aurora’s expression darkened further. When Mira earned a chance to attend university, Gwen interfered.
The orphanage director himself had wanted Mira to continue her education.
After all, she was exceptionally talented. One day she could have become a famous architect.
At that point, she would naturally repay the orphanage many times over.
Unfortunately, Gwen repeatedly sabotaged those opportunities.
She even paid the orphanage director three million dollars to remain silent.
Aurora’s eyes became colder and colder. "So that’s how it was."
She leaned back in her chair.
"If money makes the world go around... Then let’s see how much you enjoy losing yours."
.....................................
The next morning. Gwen was spending time with one of her secret lovers.
Her husband was away. Everything seemed peaceful.
Then... Ding. Her phone vibrated.
Gwen ignored it. A few seconds later... Ding.
The notifications kept coming. Frowning, she finally picked up her phone.
The moment she looked at the screen, her expression froze.
Then it turned pale. All color drained from her face.
Her hands began trembling violently. "No..."
She hurriedly checked again. The result remained unchanged.
The money was gone. Every cent inside several of her accounts had disappeared.
The lover beside her tried asking what happened, but Gwen immediately pushed him away.
"Impossible."
Her voice trembled. "Impossible!"
She frantically contacted her bank. Then cybersecurity services.Then her lawyers.
Unfortunately, she was destined to be disappointed.
Because by the time she noticed the problem... everything had already been completed.
................................
Meanwhile, Aurora continued investigating Mr. Davis.
The more she investigated, the stranger the situation became.
Eventually, she discovered an unexpected truth.
Mr. Davis’s cousin had never intended to poison the Waters family.
In reality, he had simply been greedy.
To save money and effort, he had delegated the work to a newly recruited chef.
The chef had a good reputation. He worked hard.
And he was willing to accept less money. That was the only reason Mr. Davis’s cousin had hired him.
Aurora frowned. She immediately continued digging deeper.
Several hours later, the answer finally surfaced. The chef had connections to the Brown family.
More specifically, he had been raised and financially supported by them when he was an orphan.
Aurora’s expression instantly darkened.
"So they still haven’t learned their lesson."
A dangerous glint flashed through her eyes. The Brown family had already suffered countless setbacks.
Yet they continued targeting the Waters family.
This time, they had crossed a line that could never be forgiven.
Attempted murder. Aurora stood up.
Her chair slid backward with a sharp sound. "Very well. If that’s how they want to play..."
A cold smile appeared on her face. "I’ll make sure they regret ever being born."
Without hesitation, she began releasing information about the Brown family.
Every secret that had been buried beneath years of influence and money started surfacing one after another.
The internet exploded overnight.
Meanwhile, the reason behind the Brown family’s actions soon became clear.
Their son, Jim Brown, had already been sentenced to death.
And instead of accepting the consequences of his crimes... the Brown family had decided to take revenge against the Waters family.
Unfortunately for them, they had chosen the worst possible enemy.
Aurora understood everything the moment she discovered the truth.
She couldn’t help but snort coldly.
The Brown family was truly shameless. They had been the ones who provoked her first.
They had repeatedly targeted her family, framed innocent people, and even attempted murder.
Yet when Aurora retaliated, they acted as though they were the victims.
The hypocrisy was almost laughable.
After exposing several scandals involving the Brown family, Aurora turned her attention toward Mr. Davis.
This time, she showed absolutely no mercy.